The AFC on Thursday urged government to heed the warnings by British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre that the country is on a “dangerous path” and could be referred to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) over the suspension of Parliament.
Speaking at AFC’s first press conference for the year, parliamentarian Trevor Williams stated that the party was grateful for the comments by Ayre, who had indicated that there had been discussions in London on countries of concern in the Common-wealth, including Guyana.
In response to Ayre’s comments, which were made at a news conference on Monday, the Foreign Affairs Ministry has said it has established with the Commonwealth Secretary General that there has been no discussion about the situation in Guyana. In addition, during the PPP weekly press conference earlier this week, General Secre-tary of the party Clement Rohee had shoved off Ayre’s statements and maintained that Guyana is an independent nation and 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,” Rohee asserted.
Though Williams conceded that Guyana is indeed a sovereign state, he emphasised that the country was part of an international Commonwealth community and is obligated to practice democratic principles enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.
Further, he said, it had been current president Donald Ramotar who signed the 2013 Heads of Government declaration in Sri Lanka, which spoke to the importance of democracy.
“Instead of crucifying the messenger, the PPP government should pay attention to the intent of the High Commissioner’s statement,” Williams said. He went on, “It is clear that Guyana has found itself at a point where whatever gains we would have made over the past decades at building a democratic state are in danger of being erased.”
On November 10 last year, President Ramotar suspended the National Assembly to avoid a motion of no-confidence against his government. The motion would have triggered new general elections.
Ramotar has since signaled plans for polls but has not yet indicated a date. Ayre on Monday also urged the administration to “resume Parliament without further delay or lay out a timeline for the resumption of parliamentary democracy.
Ayre engaged the press just days after Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood emphasised the importance of parliament to democracy and called for the Ramotar administration to lift its suspension. Both the main opposition APNU and the AFC had indicated their support of Ellwood’s statements.
