– says PPP General-Secretary

THERE is no basis for the Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Anil Nandlall to step down following allegations, which were levelled against him last week, according to General-Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Mr. Clement Rohee.“On this issue there are many who had their say, there are many who had their take on this. I’ve been following the debates and the interventions very closely. Many have pronounced either by way of letters, press statements, press conferences, comments, interviews, the whole gamut; but there is one thing I must say about all that has been said so far, and that is that all that has been said so far is biased and negative and aimed at lynching Mr. Nandlall,” Rohee told reporters yesterday at the party’s weekly press conference, held at ‘Freedom House’ on Robb Street.

“Many have pronounced either by way of letters, press statements, press conferences, comments, interviews, the whole gamut…all that has been said so far is biased and negative and aimed at lynching Mr. Nandlall…If any damage was done (to the PPP), I’m sure we will recover; we have weathered storms worse than this before” – PPP General-Secretary, Clement Rohee

His comments follow the release of a 19-minute recording of the private conversation on October 25, between the Attorney-General and a senior Kaieteur News reporter, Mr. Leonard Gildharie.
The release was made by publisher of the Kaieteur News, Mohan Lall, also known as Glenn Lall. He subsequently made a report to the Deputy Police Commissioner, Mr. Balram Persaud, premised on the contention that the contents of the recording indicate that his life, the lives of his family and staff members are under threat.

QUESTION OF DISCIPLINE
Questioned by reporters as to what extent Nandlall should be disciplined at the party level, in terms of him stepping down, the General-Secretary explained that if the basis for his resignation lies with the perception emanating from sections of the media, then he (Rohee) should have stepped down a while ago when the same section of the media developed a basis for him to step down.
Rohee was referring to the 2012 no-confidence motion passed against him in the National Assembly, which prevented him from speaking in the House and bringing Bills in his name as Minister of Home Affairs. The No-

Confidence Motion was brought against Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee after the death of three protestors in the mining town of Linden on July 18, 2012.
Rohee further explained that since he has been following the debates and interventions that have been made so far as it relates to the phone conversation and the accusations against the Minister, it has been “biased, negative and aimed at lynching Nandlall.”

“I maintain that the conversation that is causing much furor was a private conversation between me and an acquaintance for many years standing, which was illegally recorded, manipulated, distorted and taken out of context to reflect a different dialogue. The matter is in the court and I wish to leave it there. I have filed legal proceedings in respect of the matter. I will say nothing more at this stage” – AG Anil Nandlall

To date, he stressed, the only statement on the matter that has appeared balanced and fair has been that of the Government, where they condemned the despicable act of Kaieteur News to “distort and manipulate” a private conversation of a Government Minister.
This, Rohee contended, is the only balanced statement made thus far on the issue surrounding the AG’s phone call.
Meanwhile, Nandlall, in an invited comment, told the Guyana Chronicle that his position on the matter, as previously expressed, remains the same.
“I maintain that the conversation that is causing much furor was a private conversation between me and an acquaintance for many years standing, which was illegally recorded, manipulated, distorted and taken out of context to reflect a different dialogue. The matter is in the court and I wish to leave it there. I have filed legal proceedings in respect of the matter. I will say nothing more at this stage,” Nandlall commented.

TWELVE POINTS
Also, the PPP General-Secretary further expounded on the issue, pinpointing twelve points made by the AG in his conversation, which were completely ignored and disregarded by sections of the media that sought to push, through the issue, their own political agendas.
Rohee pointed out, firstly, that the Attorney-General was making a plea for the newspaper “not to be used to drag innocent people into the gutter” – a constant complaint from many persons in different sections of society.
The Kaieteur News, known for its sensational spin on news happenings, has been slapped with countless lawsuits and injunctions for libel.
Secondly, the PPP General-Secretary pointed out that the AG repeated in the controversial question that “no man is above the law.”
These two significant points, of the twelve, Rohee emphasised, were completely ignored by sections of the media that developed a “school of thought” to which he will not subscribe.
As such, he told reporters that he will develop a new school of thought where the issue should be examined in its entirety and not just on a one-sided basis.
“This issue should be taken from all the angles. There should be objective and balanced reporting when dealing with issues such as these,” Rohee admonished, while urging reporters to examine the issue logically.
“I am not prepared to lay myself at the altar that has been painted over and over again at the expense of not looking at the other side of the coin,” Rohee posited..
“I won’t focus on those issues. I’m not going to allow myself to go into that arena that has had a field-day already to such an extent that some people believe that it’s believable. I am not going there. In the same way as those who had a field day in that area, and chose not to go where I want to go, I will choose to go the other way.”

POLICE INVESTIGATION
The General Secretary also stated that the issue is currently before the Guyana Police Force (GPF), which will conduct independent investigations.
“There is a police investigation and I think certain matters are also before the Court and the government has issued a statement and we want the government to hold firmly to its position,” Rohee said, adding that he would be “disappointed” if the government accedes to what he described as “blackmailing tactics.”
As it relates to the impact of the issue on the party, Rohee questioned what was there for the party to recover from. “If any damage was done, I’m sure we will recover…we have weathered storms worse than this before,” he assured.
Additionally, questions are still being asked on how Glenn Lall came into possession of the recording and if the reporter did not hand over the recording, then this constitutes a legal infraction. Questions are also being asked under what circumstances the telephone conversation was recorded, if it was recorded by Gildharie or if it was a result of wiretapping activities – the latter representing another legal infraction.
Also, in some sections of society, concerned Guyanese are calling on the Government of Guyana to take this issue to the United Nations (UN), based on the stipulations included in international law and Guyana’s treaty obligations, which address Privacy as a human right. The relevant UN policies include the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN General Assembly’s December 2013 resolution, ‘The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age’.