Leader of the Opposition, David Granger has called on the heads of the police force and army not to allow their forces to be drawn into “unlawful actions” against law-abiding citizens.
The statement today came on the eve of a rally by APNU and the AFC set for tomorrow at the Square of the Revolution and what Granger said was signs of stepped up training by the police force in the city.
Granger’s statement follows:
Brigadier David Granger, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, has called on Brigadier Mark Phillips, the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and Seelall Persaud, Commissioner of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), not to allow members of their respective services to be drawn into any unlawful actions against law-abiding citizens.
The Opposition Leader said that A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has announced that it will launch a series of lawful and peaceful ‘Pro-democracy’ protests to raise public awareness over the President’s prorogation of Parliament on Monday 10th November. APNU has been concerned and dismayed at newspaper reports that there has been sudden, heightened training by members of the Police Force in Georgetown under the Command of Senior Superintendent, Clifton Hicken.
APNU reminds the Chief of Staff and Commissioner of Police that the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, at Article 147, protects a citizen’s right to:
“… freedom of assembly, association and freedom to demonstrate peacefully, that [is] to say, his or her right to assemble freely, to demonstrate peacefully and to associate with other persons and in particular to form or belong to political parties, trade unions or other associations for the protection of his or her interests.”
Brigadier Granger calls on officers and members of the GDF and GPF not to be swayed by perverse political directives aimed at provoking a disturbance of the peace or causing injury to innocent individuals. All members of the Defence Forces and Disciplined Services are required to behave in a professional manner in the performance of their duties. They are to ensure that the law is enforced and the Constitution is upheld.
