Written by Nadine Sanchara
LEADER of the main opposition party, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Mr. David Granger and his party owe the nation an answer as to how their historic position on the issue of security has contributed to the stability and anti-crime efforts to protect the people of Guyana.
This sentiment was expressed by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall who, during a People’s Progressive Party (PPP) press conference yesterday,

said that it is clear that based on the thinking of the opposition, the security situation in the country can only be solved with APNU in government.
According to him, this is evident based on the position historically taken by the main opposition on the issue of crime and security since the PPP/Civic was elected to office in 1992.
“Since then, the opposition has taken a reactionary and defensive position on the issue of crime, always critical and eager to use any and every security related issue to politick rather than advance any realistic alternatives to initiatives which have been adopted by the Government,” he asserted.

APNU WITHHELD SUPPORT
However, Nandlall pointed out that this same party has not only withheld its support on important crime fighting legislation, but has also rejected all the security reforms put forward by the government, as well as the establishment of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team even before it was established and not even permitting it an opportunity to flourish.

He also alluded to the historical linkages which existed and continue to exist between major political elements in that party and criminal activities throughout the country.
He further stressed that the initiatives which have been taken and implemented by the government are crime fighting mechanisms, strategies and tactics which are employed throughout the Caribbean region and further afield.
The minister emphasised that the hollow position of the opposition is further exposed when one considers that both opposition parties have agreed on the importance of the Firearms Amendment Bill to provide security forces with support in their anti-crime efforts, but have refused to support the bill in the National Assembly solely on the basis of personal grouses with the current Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee.
In addition, he stated that not only have they said that they are supportive of the Firearms Amendment Bill, but the Alliance For Change (AFC) is on record as saying that they have rejected the bill because of their “personal and idiosyncratic grievances” with Minister Rohee and  plan to bring back that very bill to the National Assembly.
“So they have rejected a bill that we have brought forward and now they plan to bring that bill back, assuming that that is possible, and expect this government to accept their bill coming from them,” he said.
According to Nandlall, the opposition’s long list of centrally directed attacks has not only targeted Rohee, but every single Home Affairs Minister the PPP/C has appointed.
Moreover, he stressed that with regards to the opposition’s “much vaunted position of security”, particularly from its leader, former military officer under “the PNC dictatorship” Mr. David Granger, it would be instructive to look at the brand of security, he and the PNC offered the nation when they were in Government.
“It is clear that the best thing the PNC, now disguised as APNU, ever learnt when they were in Government in the area of security was how to oppress and suppress the opposition,” he remarked.
He noted that Granger is touted by some sections of the media as “a special person with a wealth of experience on security matters.” However, he stated that the PPP believes that the view that the ‘experience’ that the media refers to is to suppress the opposition and to detain and jail opposition political activists, violating the constitutional rights and freedom of the Guyanese people.
“We recall the fate of many opposition activists at the hands of the PNC Government under Burnham and then Hoyte, which Mr. Granger was a senior figure of and the party which he now leads, including Michael Forde, Arnold Rampersaud, the ballot box martyr, Father Darke, Dr. Walter Rodney, the humiliation suffered by Manzoor Nadir at the Square of the Revolution and scores of PPP and other opposition activists including Dr. Cheddi Jagan and other PPP leaders,” he stated.
The AG emphasised that what is enlightening about this is the fact that the PPP, which suffered the brunt of Granger’s brand of effective security when his party was in Government, has now created an environment of freedom in which the PNC/APNU enjoys and can fully express themselves.
“This is a basic right which Mr. Granger and his party never, ever allowed our people in this country to enjoy when they were in Government,” he said.
In addition, he also alluded to incidences when the PNC was not in government.
“The nation still vividly remembers in the year 2000 when the PNC draped the coffin of notorious criminal Linden Blackie London with the national flag at the Square of the Revolution. The nation remembers the ‘slow fiya, mo fiya’ campaigns by the PNC during this period,” he asserted.
As such, Nandlall stressed that the people of Guyana deserve an explanation from APNU on how their historic position on the issue of security has contributed to stability in the country.