Dear Editor,
Yesterday, you kindly published a letter by me highlighting the duplicitous nature of then Opposition Leader Mr. David Granger speaking in 2014/15 in the context of a prorogued – not an expired – House. Mr. Granger had then taken the Ramotar Administration to task, several times using the words unconstitutional and impeachment.
Today we turn our attention to attorney-at-law, Nigel Hughes, whose mathematics championed the unlawful extension of the Granger Administration. Mr. Granger is no lawyer, although he seems not unwilling not only to re-interpret but even to challenge rulings by judges of senior courts. Yet, even if we make allowance for Granger, it is hard to do the same for Mr. Hughes, himself an accomplished lawyer. It is sad indeed when professionals would be willing, for no apparent reason, to suspend cherished opinion and values in the name of politics or whatever else.
Perhaps the best yardstick against which to judge Mr. Hughes’ attitude to Granger’s serial violations of the Constitution is the following speech he gave around the same time that Granger made his infamous 2014/2015 Impeachment Speech.
“The unprecedented action by the President of Guyana has plunged this country into a constitutional crisis and into deep, deep, deep unchartered waters. The joint opposition, the Alliance for Change and the A Partnership for National Unity, have resolved that there will be no extra parliamentary engagement with this President on matters which are before the National Assembly.
“We also wish to advise you and the rest of the general public, that during the period of prorogation only expenditure permitted by the constitution, during the period of dissolution will be accepted, and we will be watching them carefully to protect the treasury. We will continue to alert the international community, foreign missions and international friends and domestic businesses that any contract other than the contract for the supply for essential goods and services entered into by this present administration during the period of prorogation will be subject to review and possible rescission upon the election of a new administration. The Alliance for Change have sought the calling of the international community to come to the assistance of Guyana by engaging all parties, civil society in a formal structured dialogue on the restoration of normalcy in the governance of this country.”
No further words are necessary to describe the depravity which the contrasting conduct demonstrates.
Yours faithfully,
Christopher Ram
