Two weeks after President Donald Ramotar suspended Parliament, the opposition parties APNU and AFC continue their efforts to draw international attention to the matter but they differ on their expectations of the role of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in the matter.
Leader of APNU David Granger told Stabroek News yesterday that tomorrow, letters will be dispatched to Caricom, the Organisation of American States (OAS), and Union of South American States (UNASUR), among other bodies. He noted that APNU had previously met with the American, British, Canadian and European envoys but also plan to formally write to them as well.
He said that their aim is to notify and put pressure on the Government of Guyana to comply with the Constitution in terms of local government election and to reconvene Parlia-ment so that the “voices of the majority could be heard.” The AFC had expressed hope that Caricom could play a role in mediating the crisis but Granger said that he does not see a role for the regional grouping.
“Mr Ramotar is aware of all the demands of APNU and he knows what to do,” he asserted. He said that a mediator will only tell the President what he already knows. “We only hope that he can do what is constitutionally necessary in terms of local government elections and in terms of Parliament,” Granger said.
Meantime, AFC parliamentarian Cathy Hughes told Stabroek News that the party has engaged Caricom and dispatched a letter to the Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow which was copied to other heads as well as the Secretary-General of the grouping. “I am sure that they will take action,” she said noting that Caricom has always had an interest in Guyana. She recalled the Herdmanston Accord brokered by the grouping following major protests following the elections of 1997. “I see Caricom probably offering to mediate a solution,” Hughes said.
She said they have not received a response to their letter as yet but expect one this week. She noted that they have also contacted other organisations and countries and outlined the history of the AFC and the events that led up to the current situation. She noted that Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman who is one of the founders of the AFC has contacted the Commonwealth Parlia-mentary Association on the matter.
Hughes could not say what the AFC would do next. “Every day the situation changes,” she said.
Previously, both the president and APNU had signalled a preference for a local resolution of the situation while the AFC had called for international help to mediate public dialogue for a return to normalcy.
On November 10, Ramotar suspended Parlia-ment triggering the country’s worst political crisis since the 2011 general elections. His government has not been able to mobilise support for its move. The AFC, whose motion of no-confidence against the government was thwarted by the prorogation, and APNU have both insisted that there will be no talks with the Ramotar administration unless Parliament is recalled.
On Tuesday, Ramotar invited Granger to talks on a post-prorogation agenda for Parliament but APNU is holding to its position that there will be no dialogue unless Parliament is reconvened. In a letter dated November 18 to Granger, Ramotar said he had repeatedly stressed that the parliamentary sitting for November 10 which his prorogation order forestalled, would have ended the life of Parliament and left many important issues unaddressed. He said his decision to prorogue delayed this eventuality, thereby providing an opportunity for talks.
However, Granger told Stabroek News that he will not meet with Ramotar while the Parliament remains prorogued. He said that while a meeting was held with APNU’s executive council on Wednesday, he would not be making any decision to formally write to the President until he has consulted with his shadow cabinet.
A stream of statements from civil society expressed concern at the prorogation of Parliament and some have called for new elections to settle the crisis.
UK High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre on Monday called for President Ramotar to reconvene the National Assembly as soon as possible stating that Parliament is the “central pillar of democracy.”
