Dear Editor,

I LEARNT of the rowdy behaviour in the hallowed Chambers of our Parliament that took place last Monday.

The centre piece of this unacceptable behaviour was MP Bishop Juan Edghill who refused to accept the ruling of the Speaker. This itself being a violation.

In the first place, this kind of behaviour is unheard of in Parliaments. Life, like civilization, is anchored on the acceptance by all and sundry of the rules of the ‘game.’

When we are playing cricket and the Umpire puts his hand up, even if the Batsman thinks it’s an unfair decision, tradition demands that he walks; and that goes for every activity in a civilized society.

Bishop Edghill is no ordinary man and as a Christian Leader, he is duty bound to set a good example.

Juan Edghill came into the political arena as one of my Lieutenants in 1992-93, when we marched hand in hand, from the Square of the Revolution to the National Park with hundreds of others, including my wife, taking her to protest the PPPs attempt to downgrade, if not dismiss our Mashramani Republic celebrations.

Our efforts were fruitful since it knocked some sense into the heads of the PPP that Mashramani and Republic celebrations were above and beyond Party partisan politics.

Edghill emerged at the time when we were advocating a moral and spiritual revival as the gateway to a better Guyana.

With his professed religious beliefs, one will assume that he will be a useful protagonist to uphold moral and spiritual values.

We talked about the Family Unit being the cornerstone of Society and that the integrity of husband and wife is vital and, more importantly, that we must do all things possible to convey to our young people the importance of family and marriage.

What lured Edghill to the PPP, only he can say; was it ideology, the lure of the filthy lucre or some other magnetic attraction?

Whatever, when Dr. Bharat Jagdeo had participated in a fake marriage, I spoke to Edghill about it and suggested that as a Minister of Religion, he should say something in order not to allow young minds to feel that that sort of behaviour is acceptable and that our young men in particular can follow suit.

With a straight face the goodly Bishop [SIC] said it was a private matter.

But the rowdiness in Parliament on Monday must be seen as a Party that has not learnt or does not care for protocol, the rule of law and the sacred nature of certain Institutions, such as our Parliament.

And, I again remind readers that it appears as though the PPP is the classic case of the Leopard that cannot change its spots.

Be reminded again of the tandrums which saw Dr. Jagan, in Parliament, removing the mace and hiding it in his Office, and later throwing the Law Books to the floor of the Parliament Chambers.

And how could we forget that at the 40th sitting of the Legislative Assembly held on 28th May, 1963, (the PPP was in Government) the Speaker gave a ruling during the Debate dealing with the extension of the State of emergency. The PPP Members, who had earlier nominated Mr. Rahman B. Gajraj as Speaker, were clearly upset by his ruling and some members accosted the Speaker in a manner previously unheard of.

One PPP member in a vulgar gesture, holding his hands on the front of his trousers, demonstrated his displeasure. The four members involved in this shameful and disgraceful behaviour were asked to apologise. They refused and so the Speaker named the four persons, barring them from attending future sessions of the Legislative.

The four (4) Members suspended were
a) Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Premiere, Minister of Development and Planning,
b) Derick Jagan (Dr. Jagan’s younger brother),
c) Victor Downer and
d) Mohamed Shaffie.

As happened on Monday, there were a lot of noise and rowdiness.

You see Editor, when all is said and done, (the)PPP hierarchy seem unable or unwilling to learn good behaviour and to respect those sacred Institutions which, if not cultivated and secured, could lead to anarchy, disregard for values, and the breakdown of Law and Order.

A serious, sad and sorry situation engineered by the leadership (of) the PPP.

Yours sincerely,
Hamilton Green