SILENCE from the camp of the political Opposition on the chaos that erupted at Warlock, East Ruimveldt last Wednesday, was put under the spotlight by the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

The community was transformed into a most unfortunate scene when a PPP/C public meeting was interrupted by a band of the political Opposition’s supporters. PPP/C flags were burned, supporters of the Alliance of A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) involved children in the mayhem they incited and missiles were hurled at speakers, including party stalwart, Dr Roger Luncheon.

“The recourse to thuggery and hooliganism reflects great intolerance and a blatant disregard for the democratic process.Of great concern is APNU’s silence on the issue,” the PPP/C said in a statement yesterday, also denouncing the attack.
The party, detailing the incident, added that: “The People’s Progressive Party/Civic wishes to denounce in the strongest possible terms the attacks on its campaign team on Wednesday 29th April by sections of the crowd gathered at a public meeting in Warlock. Dr. Roger Luncheon, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, and platform speaker (at the time) was stoned by members of the crowd purporting to be APNU supporters. Stones were also pelted at the PPP/C team, while one woman burnt a PPP/C flag and proceeded to urinate on it in full view of a most hostile and rabid crowd.”
According to the ruling party, the incident has left a “stain” on all of Guyana.
“This is not the first instance of violence and hooliganism displayed by APNU supporters with not a word of condemnation coming from their leaders,” the PPP/C said.
Consequently, the ruling party called on the APNU+AFC leadership to publicly condemn the attacks.
The PPP/C said, “We as a party would expect that the APNU leadership would have condemned these attacks in the strongest terms and at the very least express a commitment to the preservation of law and order and respect for our democratic institutions.
“In the absence of this, the PPP/C wishes to place on record its strong objection to the continuing acts of violence and makes further appeals to the authorities to discourage and prevent such occurrences.”
The PPP/C also committed to continuing to advance good governance in the interest of the Guyanese people.
Additionally, the move is being widely criticised, given that it occurred on the same day that political parties inked a Code of Conduct, which is aimed at guiding the manner in which campaigning is conducted.