‘No Talks without Reconvening’
IN a special meeting of Opposition Parliamentarians and Parliamentary Officers including House Speaker Raphael Trotman in the Public Buildings yesterday, Alliance For Change (AFC) Parliamentarians Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo took to the floor of the House outraged by the decision of President Donald Ramotar to prorogue the 10th Parliament. The decision taken by the President is a constitutional one but came in light of the Government’s intention to have further discussion with the combined Alliance For Change, A Partnership for National Unity political Opposition to deter a motion of No Confidence, also constitutional, against the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government.
The MPs collectively declared that they will not bow to the will of the Government. Ramjattan, as Leader of the AFC, called for the creation on all fronts of an “anti-dictatorial unity” as he called the move by the Government, which was absent in the House, an attempt at “elongating their status in office.”
Speaking on what he perceived to be the Government’s ‘fear’ of the pending No Confidence Motion, which will see the Government dissolved with general elections in 90 days, Ramjattan said: “They now have done this to dislodge a constitutional process moved by the Alliance For Change… we must realise that it is an extraordinarily responsible act in the context of so much illegalities and criminalities by those who yesterday were pro-democracy but today are ‘pro-rogues’.”
AFC Parliamentarian Moses Nagamootoo, for his part, also expressed a view that the Government might be dodging the no-confidence motion. “We have confidence and faith in our people and we have no doubt that should we return to the poll… they would affirm our decision here that the PPP does not enjoy the confidence of this National Assembly.”
“That is what this is all about,” Nagamootoo urged, adding: “They [PPP] saw the No Confidence Motion as a potent people’s weapon to be able to set the things right… to be able to bring to account a recalcitrant and renegade government.”
He lamented that it is the responsibility of the National Assembly to be critical of the Government to ensure “scrutiny” of public spending but with the decision of President Donald Ramotar to prorogue with a request for dialogue from the Opposition, Nagamootoo was adamant that the President should not have used “prorogation as a dagger at our throat and ask us to negotiate what is a threat to democracy.”
Nagamootoo said his party would not “submit to this kind of bullyism and state terrorism upon the National Assembly.” The AFC’s position has been made clear to the Government that unless the Parliament is reconvened then there is no hope for dialogue.
Nagamootoo in his closing remarks gave all assurance that the Opposition will not stop in its pursuit to have the motion debated whenever the President reconvenes Parliament.
“[This] will not deter us from coming back again to bring this motion. When the Parliament reconvenes and to make sure that justice is done… we could go back to the polls and we could review our mandate to the people.”
(Derwayne Wills)
