The Ministry of the Presidency yesterday denounced the behaviour of opposition party leaders and their supporters during a protest on Thursday as “hooliganism and thuggery” that would not be tolerated, even as they maintained that they were acting within their legal rights.
“The lawlessness exhibited…was a display of gross disrespect for the President, his Office, the Government and the occasion that was being held at the time,” the Ministry said in a statement.
It was referring to a protest by members of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), which saw a little more than 100 persons attempt to block his entrance to the Pegasus Hotel where he delivered the feature address at a luncheon hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA). The protests follow the failure to hold elections in keeping with the constitutional provisions attendant to the passage of a no-confidence motion against the government since last December.
Noting that peaceful and civilised protest action is common in any democracy, the Ministry argued that it, however, becomes a sign of worry when a Presidential Candidate and a former President, who is a constitutional office holder, seek to incite violence against the sitting Head of State and Ministers of the Government, during the execution of their official duties.
“Holding the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings hostage in her vehicle for over half an hour and blocking the smooth ingress of Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, all while hurling threatening and foul remarks, are entirely unacceptable and should also be condemned by all right-thinking Guyanese,” the statement indicated before assuring that every lawful measure will be taken to guarantee the safety of ministers of government and to prevent a breakdown of law and order in the country.
“The opposition’s undemocratic behaviour and its continuous threats to peace and stability, has no place in this society and will not be tolerated,” it concluded.
Additionally, several political parties which make up the governing coalition also condemned the opposition’s action yesterday.
The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) said while it respected the right to protest, it must be conducted within the confines of the law. The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) at its weekly press conference declared that the GMSA must accept some blame for the “act of treachery” which the President was subjected to.
Executive Member of the People’s National Congress Reform, retired army Chief of Staff Gary Best declared that the luncheon was clearly orchestrated to embarrass the president and to create a platform to further embarrass government.
“The party’s position is that the President was invited to a GMSA event. At the outcome of the event and the antics by the People’s Progressive Party suggest to us in the clearest of terms that this was something orchestrated by the GMSA to embarrass the President,” Best said, before adding that the protestors put in danger a sitting minister of government.
Apology
The Executive Board of the GMSA yesterday formally issued an apology to the president for what it called the “distressing public display of bad manners exhibited” at the event.
“Our Association prides itself as a responsible member of the Private Sector with a mandate to interact with the Government of the day, irrespective of Party allegiance, in enhancing a necessary partnership towards the process of social and economic development. We fully accept the concept of public protest within a democratic context, but cannot condone protestors using the confines of private property to voice their concerns in such a boisterous and unruly manner,” it said in a letter to President Granger that was also released to the media.
The letter noted that the opposition was informed that it would be invited to air its views at the next GMSA luncheon, which is due shortly, and as a result it viewed the behaviour of its members on Thursday as an outright affront to our belief in fairness, impartiality and openness to all opinions in our society. “Excellency, we wish to thank you for remaining steadfast in your intention to speak to the Business Community on relevant Policies and Strategies of your Government, actual and proposed, and to assure you that your speech was well received by our audience,” it concluded.
But at a press conference yesterday, PPP executives and supporters demanded an apology of their own for their “peaceful protestors” being dubbed “hooligans.”
Referring to the statement from the Ministry of the Presidency, party executive Gail Teixeira called it a threat to the rights of the people to assemble and protest.
Juan Edghill added that no citizen should be intimidated by any of the government ministers or police officers when peacefully protesting. “It is a fundamental right enshrined in our Constitution… Protest is a right and it says ‘For the protection of his or her own interest’ and what is our interest in this matter—that Guyana returns to a constitutional democracy and dictatorship does not take over this country,” Edghill emphasised.
While speaking on the protest actions that executives of the party took inside the Pegasus Hotel which disrupted the president’s speech, Edghill called the president “petty” and reminded that they were guests who had paid for their tickets as the PPP has always fielded a delegation at the GMSA luncheon as it supports the activities of the private sector.
“But when the president refers to peaceful protestors carrying out their constitutional right as hooligans, as a representative of people in this country, we cannot sit down and allow the head of state to refer to protestors as hooligans,” he said, while calling for the president to apologise to the protestors.
Teixeira added that the police behaved in a professional manner and she said if they felt that the protestors were threatening the life of a minister, then they would have acted. Teixeira added that no one was arrested, charged or removed from the picket lines as a result of what happened.
Unacceptable behaviour
Meanwhile, Alliance for Change (AFC) General Secretary David Patterson, who was one of the ministers accosted by protestors, told reporters that while they were threatening he did not feel threatened. Patterson noted that since the Pegasus is a less than five minute walk away from his office, he chose to walk the distance. When he arrived, he was directed to the eastern gate by a Guyana Police Force Rank but that gate was locked.
It was when he turned to use another gate that the supporters of the PPP/C decided to confront him. “I made no formal complaint but I saw who did it [sent the crowd in his direction] including a female MP. I knew they were trying to get a reaction so I gave them none. Their actions were threatening but I didn’t feel threatened. I’m made of stronger mettle than that. I knew they wanted a reaction for their propaganda piece. One particular infamous person was quite vociferous but I didn’t take them on,” he noted, before adding that while the right to protest exists persons exercising that right must refrain from provocation.
Patterson’s colleague, Cathy Hughes, Minister of Public Telecommunication was less sanguine about what occurred. “David Patterson might not have felt threatened but there certainly were two female ministers who felt very threatened… Yes you can protest but banging on people’s car doors, on the windshield, grabbing somebody walking by is unacceptable behaviour and we may think that at a certain level you don’t intend harm to come from it but you are setting an example to many other people who may then assume that this is acceptable behaviour,” she stressed.
Both Patterson and Hughes expressed sympathy for the GMSA and indicated that they do not believe that the association was involved in the planning of what occurred.
