Members of the Rastafari-an community yesterday continued to protest for the suspension of jail sentences for the possession of small amounts of cannabis along with its use being respected as a religious right.
As they did on Friday, they staged a protest outside the Chambers of the Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who came out to listen to their concerns. Nandlall told the group that the government has already tabled a bill to reform the law in the National Assembly and has so far been the only government that has addressed the issue in that manner. “We took a bill in the Parliament but unfortunately we did not have an agreement on the quantum that is to carry non-custodial sentences. We do not believe in a process that is unilateral, we believe that in every aspect of public decision-making… we must act consensually and we must act after consulting the stakeholders,” the Attorney General said.
Against this background, Nandlall said that government cannot impose a law without input from the people. He noted that a Special Select Committee that is due to review the bill was expected to elect a chairperson yesterday. He added, “That Select Com-mittee will invite you to make submissions and representations to it in its deliberation.”
Meanwhile, one representative of the protestors asked the minister why the current laws cannot be suspended for possession of a certain amount given that the United Nations and other international organisations have reclassified cannabis. (Last December, the United Nations Com-mission on Narcotic Drugs, the drug policy making body of the UN, re-classified cannabis and cannabis resin under an international listing that recognizes its medical value.)
“This is not a drug anymore… Marijuana is the healing plant of the nation. This is the spiritual, our indigenous and our cultural belief and liberty and it has been oppressed for over 34 years in this country,” one protestor said to Nandlall.
Additionally, General Secretary of the Guyana Rastafari Council Ras Khafra stated that the government has been procrastinating and noted that the group will continue to protest to have their demands addressed. He noted, “Everything that they’re talking about is about sentencing policy and that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the recognition of the rights of the Rastafari community.”
He went on to say that they will apply pressure on the Select Committee and will ask for some form of reparatory justice to be meted out to the Rastafari community.
“We are asking somewhere in the sum of 200 million for five years in order to help bring the Rastafari community up to par economically and socially,” Ras Khafra said.
The protests were prompted by the recent arrest of a former Council President Ras Leon Saul for the possession of a small amount of cannabis.
Nandlall told the group that when they are able to make representations to the Committee, those will be taken into account and will be reflected in the final product produced by it.
Nandlall went on to say that Guyana’s legal system does not operate in a way that would allow for the suspension of the law. He said another law has to be passed to amend or repeal the law completely. “We have decided the process of an amendment but until that amendment is passed the current law will be enforced. That is how the law is,” he said.
