Saying Guyana is “under threat” as a result of the opposition’s parliamentary control, the Donald Ramotar administration has appealed to regional and international bodies for support.
“…The developments in the National Assembly and the wider society in Guyana are subverting parliamentary democracy and posing a serious and real threat to political stability,” the government declared in a document that it says has been circulated to international and regional bodies.
“The Guyana Government calls on your organisation to monitor and to consider what statements and postures it may wish to make in support of the protection of parliamentary democracy and the legitimacy of a democratically elected government,” it adds.
The document, titled “Guyana’s parliamentary democracy being subverted: The Opposition’s ‘dictatorship of one,’” which was released last evening by the Government Information Agency (GINA), reiterates an earlier warning made to the Organisation of American States (OAS) that the situation in Guyana is precarious and warrants close attention.
GINA said the document was circulated to international and regional bodies although it did not identify any organisation.
It was also not stated what was responsible for the timing of the release, however, it came hours after main opposition APNU’s release of a dossier compiled by Opposition Leader David Granger, titled “The Executive War on the Legislative Branch” and based on selected reports by GINA.
The 133-page dossier cites 90 reports, between January 11, 2012 and November 30, 2012 and APNU in a statement said it was concerned about the content and character of the reports, “which contain language and express opinions which have the potential to impair collaboration between the executive and legislative branches and impede the work of the National Assembly.”
APNU condemned the PPP/C administration for “relentless attacks” on Granger, Speaker Raphael Trotman and opposition members of the National Assembly.
The release by the government is its most recent appeal after repeated failures to hammer out and implement a substantive cooperation agenda with the combined opposition since the November 28, 2011 elections, where the incumbent PPP/C won the presidency while opposition parties APNU and AFC gained control of the National Assembly by one-seat. As a result of the elections, the minority government led by Ramotar needs opposition approval to fulfil its legislative agenda.
However, in its document, the government charged that since the convening of the 10th Parliament on January 12, 2012, the constitution, parliamentary norms and conventions and the Standing Orders of the National Assembly have been “under constant threat” by opposition action taken as a result of its one-seat majority.
It cited the election of opposition members to the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, the composition of the parliamentary committees weighted in favour of the opposition, the delay of government’s legislative agenda, the withholding of approval for supplementary spending and cuts to the budget, the little successes seen by the Inter-Parliamentary Parties Dialogue, attempts to advance legislative changes through parliamentary motions and the motion of no confidence passed against Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee. It said the Rohee no-confidence motion has led the government to the conclusion that parliamentary democracy has been subverted.
In addition, the government noted that it has also been challenged with politically-driven disturbances organized and led by “extreme and fringe elements” of APNU and the AFC and other bodies “to create political instability and reverse the gains that Guyana has made.”
It pointed to the Linden protest, which began as a demonstration against a hike in electricity tariffs and escalated into more than a month of unrest after three protesters were shot and killed when police opened fire near the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge; the Agricola unrest in October; and what it said is the use of social media to incite ethnic violence and attacks on defenders of the government.
“These developments in the Guyana National Assembly over the last 11 months are at their least disturbing and worrying, however, they become more sinister when taken holistically with the consistent undermining and subversion of parliamentary democracy based on “the dictatorship of one” and repeated declarations of the “new dispensation” by the two opposition parties that their supporters are the majority and they must have their day,” it said.
“Examined together with the Linden disturbances (July 18-August 22, 2012), the Agricola protests ( October 11, 15 and 16, 2012), and continuous attempts to have similar such road blockages in other areas (which in contrast have had little success thus far), threats of more protests, the targeting of ethnic groups and threats against individuals in government and anyone who publicly defends the government in the social media, the Government of Guyana by way of this document is convinced that Guyana is under threat,” it added.
In response to the government’s appeal to the OAS Permanent Council in August, at the request of the permanent mission of Guyana, OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza had said that dialogue is the best way to deal with the problem.
