After a contentious debate, the National Assembly last evening unanimously supported the AFC’s motion which urged the government to make all possible diplomatic and legal efforts to protect the rights of Guyanese nationals in Barbados and other Caricom states, ensuring there is no discrimination on the basis of nationality.
The debate on the motion was marred by excessive heckling and flared tempers which forced the Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran to intervene on several occasions. The Speaker was even forced to suspend the House for some time, on one occasion.
The motion was moved by AFC Leader Raphael Trotman who said that it was “a simple but serious one”, which was intended to “exhort our Regional leaders to restore the fundamental imperatives of the notion of togetherness.” He explained that he was forced to move the motion since the party was yet to be convinced that the matters addressed in the motion had been adequately addressed at the recent 30th Caricom Heads of Government Meeting.
He emphasised that the motion was not designed to embarrass the government or the country in any way. Trotman told the National Assembly that “when this motion was drafted and presented for debate I had no intention of creating public hysteria or using the immigration issue for political purposes as has been suggested by the Guyana Head of State”. Trotman described this view by President Bharrat Jagdeo as being “myopic”.
He also said that the motion was “about Guyanese everywhere” and emphasised that it had “nothing to do with the racial element of Guyanese who may have been targeted for discrimination”.
The AFC Leader, while acknowledging that within the Treaty of Chaguaramas “there is the right of the exercise of individual sovereignty within each state” which recognizes to right of each state to enforce its own laws as it sees best, said that citizens of any state needed to be treated with respect. He argued that there existed” a higher moral law of humanity” which says that there must be a basic modicum of respect for the rights of citizens of any state when they are within the boundaries of another state.
He contended that “Caricom, as an institution, is as strong, or conversely as weak, as the rights of any and every citizen of every one of its constituent nations (and they must be) treated in a fair and dignified manner”. He added that based on commentaries prior to and even after the conclusion of the 30th Heads of Government Meeting, he has concluded that Caricom was now at its weakest point, especially as Guyanese citizens found themselves being subject to insularity and xenophobia.
He stated that in spite of “the words in the (recent Caricom) communiqué and the dedication to oneness, the implementation of policies within some nations has not been suspended or withdrawn.”
Trotman’s use of the word “myopic” to describe the views of the President sparked some controversy in the National Assembly. PPP/C MP Odinga Lumumba objected to such a word being used as he said that it besmirched the character of the President. While Lumumba sought the Speaker’s advice on the matter, a shouting match ensued between himself and members of the Opposition benches which prompted the Speaker to suspend the sitting in an attempt to restore order.
After a suspension, the Speaker chided the Members of the Assembly for their behaviour and urged them to behave like true “custodians” of the Parliament. Trotman later apologized and stated that his intention was not to bring the house into disrepute or to tarnish the image of the President. Lumumba attempted to apologise but after a brief exchange of words between himself and the Speaker, he left the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, during the debate on the motion, Government Member Gail Teixeira disputed Trotman’s argument that he did not intend to embarrass the government or the country. She identified the placement of an advertisement in the Stabroek News during the meeting of the Heads by the AFC and other groups as an unpatriotic act. Teixeira argued that some of the assertions made in the advertisement were extreme and painted a false picture of what Guyana was actually like. She described such an act as one which sought to create “public hysteria”.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett also spoke on the motion and she commended Trotman for his balanced presentation on the motion during yesterday’s sitting. She outlined several efforts that had been undertaken by the government to address the situation especially as it related to the treatment of Guyanese nationals in Barbados. The Foreign Affairs Minister stated that the recent Heads of Government Meeting did lead to some progress on the issue but suggested that there still remained some concerns which the Government will continue to address.
PNCR-1G MP Ernest Elliot indicated the main Opposition Party’s support of the bill. He emphasised that the issue was a serious one. He urged the government to use its diplomatic skill to have dialogue with the authorities to address this critical issue.
Trotman, in wrapping up the debate on the motion, saluted the efforts of several Caribbean Heads of State, as well as diplomats, who have expressed similar concerns especially as it related to the treatment of Guyanese. He urged Caricom to do its best to address these issues adequately.
The bill was eventually passed unanimously with the amendments that had been proposed by the Foreign Affairs Minister.
