PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee yesterday shoved off statements made by the British High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre about his country’s stance on the prorogation of Parliament and the possible implications, saying that Guyana is an independent nation and as such does not have to listen to Britain.
“This country has gotten its independence from Britain since 1966. We don’t have to listen to what Britain says in respect to such pronouncements. We are our own independent country… Twist it or turn it however you want to put it, the fact of the matter is that Guyana is an independent country. We have our own constitution,” Rohee asserted.
Ambassador Ayre is the second British official to publicly lash out at the president and his administration for this move and while noting that this could result in a critical review by the Commonwealth, he hinted that this could affect his country’s aid to Guyana in the future. The Ambassador spoke on the issue during a press conference held earlier yesterday. UK Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood on January 8 expressed concern at the continuing suspension of Parliament and called for it to be lifted.
Rohee, when asked subsequently to respond to concerns expressed by the diplomatic community and more particularly Ayre’s indications that the move could have repercussions for the funding of programmes, criticized the diplomatic corps for involving itself in Guyana’s internal affairs.
“Well as I see it, it looks to me that some members of the diplomatic corps are becoming more and more involved in our internal affairs especially when it comes to the holding of elections…,” he said. He added that it was normal for members of the diplomatic community to make these statements. But once statements are made it is up to the government to determine if they warrant any responses.
“At the moment as far as the PPP is concerned… it might be going a little bit beyond the pale insofar as diplomatic practice is concerned and speaking as a former foreign minister I can understand the levels to which accredited diplomats should go in a jurisdiction where they have been accredited,” he said.
Asked for a reason for the continued prorogation and the delay in calling elections, Rohee said that those were questions best suited for the president.
“I can’t answer for the president but I am saying that all of us must know that prorogation was done or executed on the basis of what the constitution permits. The British High Commissioner must focus on whether this is a constitutional matter….”
He said that one ought to remember that the prorogation can last for a particular period of time as stated in Guyana’s constitution.
He stated that at the moment the president is abroad and once allowed to settle down, he will make the announcement. “The president is overseas at the moment and I don’t think that he can announce it overseas. We have to wait for him to return to this jurisdiction… I don’t think we can expect him to announce it midair,” Rohee stated.
Asked if the PPP was at all concerned that it might be going against the constitution, he responded, “Not really. This constitution is a Guyana constitution. There were a lot of consultations and discussions…” He said whatever was subsequently taken to the National Assembly “was adopted by the Guyanese people.”
The General Secretary stated that the problem surrounding this matter is that the prorogation “hurt the opposition and some people are seeing this prorogation as an impediment to their political agenda.”
He said he was unsure to what extent Ambassador Ayre took consideration of what was publicly said by the president and the Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon on the issue.
“I look forward to reading what he had said with great anticipation in order to see how balanced what he said was in relation to the government’s position verses the opposition’s position.
This is not only an opposition matter,” he stressed.
Rohee told the media that the prorogation was not a decision taken lightly by government.
Asked if the PPP was concerned that with no sitting of the National Assembly an atmosphere of uncertainty has been created in Guyana and as such is affecting investments and confidence in country’s economy, Rohee posited that it wasn’t an issue that ought to be dwelled upon as it is probably the result of the looming elections.
“If anything like that is happening, it has to be… the fact that elections is in the air. This is not unusual….every time elections are about to be held in any country, you have these kinds of concerns expressed. This is not something exceptional or peculiar to Guyana …so I wouldn’t give much weight to that issue,” he said.
