AFC supporters yesterday staged a protest outside the Caribbean Community (Caricom) headquarters at Liliendaal over the recent statement by the Caricom Council of Ministers, which said it was satisfied that the suspension of Guyana’s Parliament does not breach the country’s constitution or the Commonwealth Charter.
Fourteen persons participated in the protest, with some holding placards that read: “Democracy crumbles while Caricom stays Dumb,” “Caricom supporting PPP/C dictatorship,” and “Caricom your silence on PPP/C abuse is deafening.”
The Caricom Secretariat said in a statement last Friday that Ministers were satisfied the prorogation of Parliament was in keeping with the provisions of the Guyana Constitution and did not constitute a breach of the Commonwealth Charter. The statement, which also emphasised the need for the respect of diplomatic proprieties and for adherence to the principles of non-interference in the domestic affairs of Caricom member states, came in wake of international calls for parliament to be reconvened or for an elections date to be named.
Last evening President Donald Ramotar announc-ed that general elections will be held on May 11th, 2015 which means that the Parliament will be dissolved.
At the protest, AFC member Moses Nagamootoo said the prorogation of parliament has denied the wishes of the Guyanese people and this should concern Caricom because they are a major stakeholder. “But instead they have chosen to support PPP/C and that is not right,” Nagamootoo said.
Nagamootoo suggested that Caricom is guilty of double standards because it had called on the United States to end its embargo on Cuba and has now supported the PPP/C’s decision to prorogue parliament.
The protest follows another that was held last Friday by AFC supporters outside of the United States’ Embassy in a bid to have the visas of all government ministers revoked until elections are called.
Nagamootoo yesterday said he is hoping that the protests will raise more awareness about the situation, while noting that protests will be sporadic and strategically planned.
He said external help is seriously needed in Guyana because the government cannot help the people.
Leonard Craig, another AFC member, said Cari-com, as the regional organisation in the Caribbean, has an obligation to deal with injustice in Guyana.
“Today Guyana is bleeding, our democracy is bleeding,” Craig said. “The majority of Guyana’s population is unrepresented, and we need to get our house in order,” he added.
Columnist Freddie Kissoon, who was among the protestors yesterday, said a lot of persons would not know about Caricom’s statement if a protest did not bring it to the public’s attention. Kissoon said Caricom has adopted a strange, colonial and subservient behaviour. He lambasted it, while noting that the body was established to serve the people of the Caribbean and it has failed to do so.
Kissoon said recently Caricom has had a group of lobbying elitists at its helm and he accused them of looking out for their friends and not for the interests of Guyanese people. “For Caricom to support the prorogation of parliament shows they are a foolish organisation,” he further stated.
The Donald Ramotar administration has faced significant criticism since suspending Parliament on November 10, last year, in an attempt to avoid a no-confidence motion by the AFC, as well as calls for a promised election date.
British High Commis-sioner Andrew Ayre last week voiced concerns about the prorogation, while warning that the country is on a “dangerous path” and aid from London could be affected if the suspension of Parliament by President Donald Ramotar is not lifted.
Ayre was met with a stinging retort from Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon, who had called him a “pariah.”
Nagamootoo yesterday criticised Luncheon’s attack as unwarranted and unreasonable, while lamenting that such behaviour is becoming the norm for the PPP/C administration. He noted that anyone who criticises the government is an enemy of the state.
Organisations that have criticised the government’s decision to prorogue parliament include the Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Blue CAPS, the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church, the Guyana Bar Association, the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers, Help and Shelter and Women Across Differences.
(Rae Wiltshire)
