AFC protests CARICOM over prorogation of Parliament in Guyana

AFC protests CARICOM over prorogation of Parliament in Guyana

Members and supporters of the Alliance For Change on Tuesday picketed outside the CARICOM Secretariat at Liliendaal on the East Coast of Demerara over what they believe was the weak response of the regional body to the ongoing suspension of the Parliament in Guyana.

Last week, the CARICOM Council of Ministers after being briefed by Guyana’s Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, issued a statement indicating that they “were satisfied that 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 CARICOM position has received widespread condemnation from the political opposition in the country and has now forced the Alliance For Change to take its protest over the ongoing prorogation to the front gate of the CARICOM Headquarters. unnamed (1)

AFC Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo said “once again we have gone around the full circle and CARICOM has not changed its position bout the violation of democracy in Guyana. Regimes change but it appears that the behavior of CARICOM remains the same.”

Nagamootoo said CARICOM has been too silent on major political issues in Guyana and he pointed to the absence of local government elections since 1994. He said while CARICOM may now want to say there was no breach of the constitution with regard to the prorogation of parliament, it has said nothing about the absence of local government elections in the past 20 years which is “a clear breach of the constitution”.

“Our position is that CARICOM as a bloc, ought to express the wishes and the aspirations of the Caribbean people and those wishes and aspirations is that we should all live in a democratic society”, Nagamootoo noted.

He said the President’s decision to prorogue the parliament in wake of a no confidence motion against the minority government is a clear attempt to silence the voice of the majority in the National Assembly and the issue cannot be treated casually by CARICOM.

The group of protesters marched in front of the CARICOM secretariat expressing their frustration in chants over the prorogation of parliament.

While CARICOM appears to have no issue with the prorogation, the British and American governments have both expressed their concerns and have called for the President to announce an elections date at the earliest possible time since the absence of a parliamentary democracy indicates that democracy has been put on hold in Guyana. The British Government has already said it will not forward any developmental aid to Guyana as long as the parliament remains prorogued.

President Ramotar has indicated that he will name a date “soon” for elections.

Filed: 20th January, 2015

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