Refusing to take part in what they have dubbed a ‘Jim Crow’ court, three opposition members of Parliament (MPs) are distancing themselves from the parliamentary Committee of Privileges that is currently considering a complaint made by government members against MP Debra Backer.
“It is a travesty!” PNCR-1G MPs Cheryl Sampson, Dave Danny and Dr John Austin declared in a joint statement issued yesterday, adding, “We the members of the PNCR-1G would have no part of it and wish to dissociate ourselves from this Committee, at this time.” Backer was reported to the Committee for a comment about the army that she made during a debate last month. Government MPs have called on members of the House to find Backer in contempt of the Assembly “for her offensive statements” and Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran found that a prima facie case was made out against Backer and referred the matter to the Committee of Privileges, which he chairs.
During a debate on a motion for the deployment of soldiers overseas, Backer had said: “Because it is soldiers who we are worried about going to torture people.” According to the three MPs, her words were uttered in the face of the Assembly and heard by all present there. They further noted that there was “no immediate reprimand” by the Speaker and “no immediate call for an apology,” and argued that this was because there was general recognition that there was no breach of the privileges of freedom of speech. “The words expressed by the Honourable member fall miserably below the standard of a breach of privilege,” the PNCR-1G MPs said.
They also pointed to Standing Order 32 (5), which stipulates that “If during the sitting of the Assembly a matter suddenly arises which appears to involve the privileges of the Assembly and which calls for the immediate intervention of the Assembly, the proceedings may be interrupted, save during the progress of a division, by a motion based on such matter.” Additionally, they cited Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice (22nd Edition), which states that “a complaint on such a matter is entertained by the House as soon as it is raised.” As a result, the trio charged that the procedure used to activate the Committee of Privileges is “erroneous” and that it relates to “privileges occurring outside of the Assembly but which impacts on the Assembly.”
The MPs added that Backer’s sentiments were premised on serious and repeated allegations of torture by the army that have never been addressed by the administration. They reminded too that an inquiry and a report were promised to the National Assembly but none was forthcoming, while also accusing the administration of being selective in its observance and adherence to its UN treaty obligations. As a result, they maintained that Backer was justified in admonishing the government to be careful that our soldiers when representing the country abroad do not indulge in similar practices. Moreover, they contended that the revelation since of the torture of a teenage teen boy at the hands of the police, occurring under the watch of the administration, vindicated her views. “This complaint of a matter made before the full Assembly and not denounced there and then, comes as an afterthought–a shameless conspiracy hatched by members of the ruling party to denigrate this opposition member by seeking to elevate the words expressed to the level of what constitutes a breach of the privilege of freedom of speech,” they emphasised, noting too that the PNCR-1G fully supported the motion that was up for debate. They added: “The government would do well to address the myriad problems that beset our country instead of seeking to create diversions. What is happening here is political expediency at work and is tantamount to the convening of a ‘Jim Crow’ court.” Jim Crow generally refers to US discrimination laws against Black Americans.
Although the MPs also claimed that the case is the first occasion that the Committee has been activated in the history of the Parliament, Stabroek News was told by Clerk of the Assembly Sherlock Isaacs that a complaint by PPP/C MP Gail Teixeira against several PNCR MPs had been referred to the committee in 2003. The MPs noted that the throwing down of the mace, the pelting of a drinking glass at the Speaker, the shoving down of law books, the scattering of flour on the floor as well as scandalous remarks about the character of opposition members including the Leader of the Opposition by members of the government benches during sittings of the National Assembly had never been deemed sufficient to warrant the invoking of the Committee.
