PNCR leader Robert Corbin yesterday accused AFC leader Raphael Trotman of downplaying continuous engagement between the two parties on mutual areas of concern, in pursuit of a narrow political agenda.
Corbin told a news conference that the AFC has been misleading the nation, and he blamed it for hampering the efforts of the joint opposition, warning that the party’s actions could help the PPP/C administration remain in office.
He was at the time responding to a charge by AFC leader Raphael Trotman that the main opposition has been engaged in secret talks on shared governance with the ruling PPP. On Tuesday Trotman, citing reliable sources within the PNCR, claimed that “secret talks” were ongoing between the two parties and that the PPP was making demands for the main opposition to compromise itself and its membership in return for Cabinet postings-a charge strongly denied by PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar.
Corbin reiterated yesterday that there have been no “secret” meetings or any other engagements between either the PNCR and the PPP or himself and the PPP leaders since 2006, on any matter. The consultations required under the constitution between the Leader of the Opposition and the President, he added, have all been well publicised, while there has been necessary engagements among all parties on agenda items at the parliamentary level. He emphasised that the PNCR is an independent party that has no reason to keep secret meetings with any other group. “We have always met and will continue to meet with anyone or group that we consider necessary, in the interest of the people of Guyana and the development of the country,” he said, noting that the party has, by practice, publicised such engagements.
Corbin further stated that the PNCR had previously ignored public statements from the AFC which were critical, in keeping with a policy of not criticising fellow opposition parties. He explained that the policy is informed by the view that there should be the widest possible cooperation among opposition parties to effectively confront the “dictatorial” Bharrat Jagdeo administration. Corbin added that the policy was formulated even before the AFC existed, while noting that the party has been consistently consulted on matters of common interest. “While the PNCR has held no discussions or meetings with the PPP, the party held several meetings, discussions and consultations with the AFC over the past three years. Mr. Trotman should, therefore, explain to the public whether he considers those meetings between the AFC and the PNCR a secret,” he said. “The PNCR does not classify its meetings with the AFC, or any other political party or stakeholder, as secret. We consider these to be normal political practices of mature parties. We are unaware of the internal practices of the AFC but the executive and members of the PNCR are fully informed of its discussions and consultations with the AFC,” said Corbin.
He said the PNCR’s practice of collaboration with all parties was recently manifested in the initiative with the WPA, the GAP, the AFC, and others to produce a dossier on human rights abuses in Guyana and agreement on a common programme to sensitise the citizenry on the atrocities committed by the PPP administration. “In that context, the AFC should critically examine its own participation, when speaking of toned down activism,” he said, referring to Trotman’s assertion that based on demands of the PPP, there has been a relaxation of the level of the opposition expected from the PNC. According to Corbin, while the work of the joint opposition to expose human rights abuses of the Jagdeo administration was given wide publicity, the initiative has been stymied. “Trotman may better have spent his time explaining the absence of the AFC at the planned activities of the [joint opposition political parties],” he noted. In this vein, he questioned the absence of the AFC leaders during demonstrations organised in recent years against the cost of living, the value added tax and extra judicial killings. “It appears that the AFC is of the opinion that paper and media propaganda are substitutes for ground organisation,” Corbin said.
He also accused the AFC of giving the erroneous impression that it was excluded on matters of local government reform, although since the 2006 general elections leaders of the parties have had engagements to address issues related to local government elections and vacancies on the election commission and subsequently the appointment of scrutineers to monitor the 2008 house to house registration, the distribution of national ID cards and the claims and objections process.
Additionally, he said leaders of the parties have also had discussions focused on strategy on matters concerning the business of the National Assembly, a petition to Caricom Heads concerning the lack of good governance in Guyana and following up issues raised during the first national stakeholders’ consultation on crime. He noted that joint action followed in several of these areas, although the AFC later made public statements that conveyed the impression that it was excluded and subsequently pursued independent representation without the knowledge of the PNCR. “The PNCR never complained, since we considered that the AFC as a separate party was free to take any action considered in its best interest,” Corbin noted, adding that the facts illustrate that statements by the AFC have been deliberately self-serving and intended to deceive the people. He added “The PNCR, will not be diverted from its present programme of discussing with all interested parties and stakeholders the issue of shared governance, but we will no longer permit the AFC to hoodwink the Guyanese public with deceitful distortions.”