Analysis by Rickey Singh

TODAY completes the first week of the prorogation (suspension) of Guyana’s Parliament by Head of State, Donald Ramotar, while the combined APNU/AFC Opposition continue to flex their political muscles against engaging in invited dialogue with him on the way forward to resolve outstanding differences on governance.

In addition to informed commentators on multi-party democracy and constitutional democracy, both the Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza and Speaker of Guyana’s National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, have separately concurred that the authorised prorogation by the President was based on his constitutional powers.
The maximum period for such a suspension of Parliament could be for some six months. However, with varying emerging political signals, the current impasse may well be over after the coming Christmas holidays and quite possibly before February next year.

Much depends on both the Government and Opposition agreeing to the modalities and agenda for the desired dialogue in the national interest and the expected roles to be played by private sector and leading civil society representatives.
A significant difference that emerged last week was that while OAS Secretary General Insulza opted to encourage a soon return to the normal functioning of Parliament, Speaker Trotman had dashed off a letter to Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, urging him to send a delegation to Guyana to intercede in the dispute between the Government and Opposition. This did not happen.
Speaker Trotman was to subsequently tell the local media that President Ramotar should have “dissolved”—end the life of the current 10th Parliament—instead of opting for prorogation, blended

with an open invitation to the Opposition for dialogue, as the basis for resumption to deal with outstanding political issues.
For their part the accredited diplomatic representatives to Guyana from the USA, Britain and Canada, having been approached by an Opposition delegation for involvement in the controversy, shied away from any public condemnatory statement and, like the OAS Secretary General, expressed instead their hope for an early resumption of Parliament.

Those acquainted with the norms of a functioning parliamentary democracy in Guyana—as has been the case since the restoration of internationally supervised national elections since October 1992-would have had good reasons for questioning the threatening statements and general political posturing by the leadership of APNU and AFC in relation to claims about the Government moving towards a “dictatorship.”

Square of Revolution rally
It was in that militant anti-dialogue, anti-government mood that the leadership of APNU and AFC went about organising last Friday’s political rally at the Square of the Revolution in Georgetown to

mobilise popular support against the suspension of Parliament.
In contrast to the defiant rhetoric from the main speakers, headed by APNU’s David Granger, President Ramotar chose to reaffirm his commitment for dialogue with the Opposition to determine the future of the currently suspended Parliament. He is now in the process of identifying a proposed negotiating team for the proposed dialogue.
One of the quite surprising developments at the Square of the Revolution rally was the passionate call for boycott of state-owned print and electronic media by Dr. Rupert Roopnarine of the Working Peoples Alliance, speaking as deputy to APNU’s chairman, Mr. David Granger, (leader of the main Opposition (PNCR).
As reported by the local media, Roopnarine identified for boycott not just state-owned media, like the Guyana Chronicle, but also the independent privately-owned ‘Guyana Times.’
Ironically, the “boycott” call to punish the media enterprises disliked by the articulate WPA’s leading representative came Friday evening from a political platform that was created to expose what participating parties claim to be a drift towards “dictatorship” under President Ramotar’s governing PPP/C.
That was one of the more surprising and disappointing developments of the joint PNCR, AFC WPA anti- government, anti-dictatorial rally at the Square of the Revolution. Another would have been the failure by either of the two leading figures of the AFC—Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo to speak, as expected, at the meeting.
The surprise was more intriguing since prior to the event, mounted as an  “anti-dictatorship” initiative, spokespersons for APNU and AFC had pointed to moves being pursued for a “coalition” and that such a development was “on the table.”
Little wonder that by yesterday, amid all the militant anti-dictatorship rhetoric flowing from significant elements of both APNU and AFC, the guessing game about a likely “coalition” of the two continued with increasing doubts and cynicism.

(Rickey Singh is a noted Caribbean journalist, based in Barbados).