PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee yesterday said there has been no agreement with the APNU+AFC government to engage in national unity talks and indicated that the opposition had serious misgivings about such a course of action.
“…The APNU+AFC must be aware that the PPP is in no way desperate to engage both the APNU+AFC. This will be tantamount to a double kiss of death for the PPP; a reality it cannot ignore,” Rohee said, reading from a prepared statement at a press briefing at Freedom House.
“Cooperation within the parliamentary structure and arrangements cannot be avoided but engagement with the APNU+AFC outside of Parliament is clearly political and there is no guarantee that agreements reached will find their way in the appropriate body to make them legally binding,” he added.
Rohee sought to dispel the notion that the government and the opposition party are engaged a formal process, while accusing State Minister Joseph Harmon of suggesting otherwise.
“For Mr Harmon’s information and guidance there is no such agreement. The PPP has not received any formal communication on the matter nor are we requesting any,” he noted. He added that there is much confusion in the APNU+AFC camp on the issue and it should settle its internal differences before any attempt is made to engage the PPP.
Last Friday, Harmon, asked to respond to concerns voiced by the PPP about the prospect of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo leading negotiations for the government in unity talks with the party, had called for the PPP’s position to be put in writing.
“We will engage that party sitting face to face across the table and making decisions which are in the interest of this country,” he added, while reiterating that government will not be engaging the PPP in the press. He said if there are concerns about the delegation, then as a “responsible political party” the PPP should put it in writing or communicate it directly.
Rohee yesterday accused the government of attempting to “frame a political agenda” for the PPP. “They attempted this in respect to elections, both general and regional and now local government, the PPP/C’s re-entry into the 11th Parliament and they are currently attempting to do so by adopting a twin-track approach,” he said.
He also dismissed any suggestions that the PPP is “betraying what Jagan stood for” and he said in or out of government the PPP has consistently pursued a twin-track approach of strengthening the racial diversity of the party and working with other political parties, mass organisations and individuals to build a multi-racial alliance. He also stressed that from the inception of Guyana’s independence unity talks were framed under a policy of critical support through times of struggle.
“The PPP remains committed to these goals,” he said, while adding that the party cannot ignore all the experiences it has had with the PNC, which is the main constituent of APNU. He further said the party’s “distrust” of APNU+AFC coalition “runs much deeper” given that both Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan “are renegades who defected from the PPP.”
He accused the government of trying to mislead the public with inaccuracy that the party was intent on throwing obstacles in the path for national unity talks.
According to Rohee, the PPP has a significantly large following that has expressed confidence and support in its current leadership. He said that trust and confidence is important for the party in the same way it is important for the APNU+AFC. “The PPP, now the opposition party, has to exercise due care and attention in respect to any formal engagement with the APNU+AFC outside of Parliament,” he added.
