ATTORNEY General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, yesterday observed that while the political opposition is busy voicing deep concern over the recent upsurge in gun-related crimes, they were the ones who recently teamed up against the Government to reject the Firearms Bill in the National Assembly.

Speaking at a People’s Progressive Party / Civic (PPP/C) press briefing at Freedom House in Georgetown, and in the presence of Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, party executive secretary, Zulficar Mustapha, and party coordinator, Romel Roopnarine, Minister Nandlall said the PPP/C is rejecting from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) statements that the blame for a recent spike in crimes – especially gun-related ones — lies with the Government.
“The PPP calls on the joint opposition to explain to victims of gun crimes why and how they teamed up against the PPP/C in the National Assembly and used their combined one-seat majority to vote down the Firearms Bill on March 13.”
Nandlall said that piece of legislation was specifically designed to bridge a gap in Guyana’s legislation that deals specifically with persons accused of dealing in firearms and ammunition in huge quantities, and in creating new offenses with heavier penalties for these crimes. 
Under the guise of a motion expressing no confidence in the Home Affairs Minister, they rejected this “vital piece of legislation” that has been passed in every country in the Caribbean, Nandlall observed.
“The APNU and AFC have emboldened criminals with their non-support of this initiative. Their support for criminals further manifests itself in the fact that it was under the watch of former Commissioner of Police, Winston Felix, now an APNU MP, that some of the worst atrocities in our modern history occurred, including the Lusignan, Bartica, Agricola and Lindo Creek massacres,” Minister Nandlall charged.
He said the PPP/C views with grave concern the recent rise in violent crimes across the country. “The PPP has long held the view that many of these criminal atrocities are centrally directed, and the intellectual authors have deep political connections. Whenever there is a political impasse between the opposition and Government, there is a corresponding increase in criminal activities in this country,” the minister observed.
He also noted that several organisations in Guyana which profess to be championing human rights causes are in effect supporting criminals. Damning allegations were made against Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Mr. Nigel Hughes, he said, and those allegations ought to have elicited a response from those human rights organisations; but none was forthcoming from them, he lamented.
Nandlall cited such organisations as the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA); Amnesty International (AI); Transparency International (TI); Red Thread; Help and Shelter; the Guyana Bar Association (GBA); the Guyana Women Lawyers Association (GWLA); the Berbice Bar Association (BBA), and the Alliance For Change itself.
“Not a single utterance (was forthcoming) from any of these organisations in respect of these damaging allegations made against Hughes,” the minister said. “So we view that deafening silence as apparent tacit support for criminals,” he concluded.