– Coalition comes into spotlight; gov’t condemns intimidation

THE Government has expressed strong condemnation of the attack on the residence of Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire by four suspects, two of whom entered her yard, one armed with an air pistol and confronted two police ranks on duty on Wednesday.

The attack comes one day before Justice George-Wiltshire is set to hear the case management conference (CMC) for the hearing of the election petitions filed by the main Opposition A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), challenging the results of the March 2 polls.

“The government condemns the said attempted attack in the strongest possible terms and views this as the latest assault on democracy in our country of which the Judiciary forms one of its cornerstones. Such actions can only emanate from those who are fearful of the Constitution, the rule of law and sound rulings from the Judiciary,” the government said in a statement.
Police have already commenced their investigations into the attack and the government has already advised the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to ensure that the Chief Justice is provided with all the necessary security for the protection of her person, family and property.

Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, on Wednesday night, confirmed that the investigations will be spearheaded by the Major Crimes Investigation Unit
“We have ranks on the scene, they have already interviewed the two police ranks who were on the scene when four suspects, two of whom entered the Chief Justice’s yard and held the guard at gunpoint,” said the Crime Chief.

He added: “The guard raised an alarm and her colleague went to her assistance, during which the two suspects fled the yard and in the process, the suspect, who was armed, dropped the weapon.”

Blanhum said that the cop gave chase and two other cops who were in the area on patrol also give chase but the suspects managed to escape. Blanhum confirmed that the weapon the men showed up at the Chief justice’s home with was indeed an air pistol.

WENT TO WASHROOM

The incident occurred around 14:00 hours. At the time one of the guards, a female, had left the hut and went to the washroom where she was confronted by a man with a white jersey tied around his face and armed with what appeared to be a black handgun.

“The said male approached the rank and pointed the object at her and fired a punch at her but missed her; she then called out for the other rank who was in the garage of the building and armed with a .38 revolver,” police said earlier in a statement.

The policeman, having heard the call for help, went out to see who it was, when the intruder pointed the toy gun at him, causing the policeman to take cover.
“The intruder then dropped the object, ran in a northern direction, jumped over a fence and made good his escape. No shots were fired and no one was injured,” the police said.
Following the attack, the APNU+AFC, which lost the 2020 elections and only gave up power due to mounting pressure from the international community, said it is alarmed by the incident, blamed the PPP/C Government for it and said it expects the Election Petitions to be heard without any delay.

“This is an extremely troubling development and it appears as though the challenged PPP/C regime has upped the ante to engage in criminal conduct in their quest to thwart the Elections Petitions being heard. The PPP/C regime is the only party that is desperate for the hearing of the Elections Petitions to be delayed and thus has ample motive for executing such a vile and intimidatory act on the eve of the case management hearing,” the Coalition said in a statement.

TRAGIC BUT UNSURPRISING
The government, in response, said it is as tragic as it is unsurprising that the Opposition APNU+AFC would use such a grave matter as an attack on the Chief Justice as a platform to play their petty and devious politics by implicating the PPP/C in such a dastardly design without a scintilla or shred of evidence.
“It is only a demented mind that can produce such depraved thinking. It shows the level of desperation and low depths to which the APNU+AFC is prepared to descend. But then again, the world saw their vulgarity showcased for five long months from 2nd March, 2020, to 2nd August, 2020, as they attempted to disgracefully steal the 2020 General and Regional Elections.”
“Perhaps it is opportune that the world be reminded that violence has long been a permanent weapon in the political repertoire of the PNC from its birth. It may also be apposite to remind that the PPP/C filed a petition in 2015, which was never heard and determined without a single allegation of a sinister type ever surfacing in the public domain,” the government pointed out.

The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) said it has a long record of respecting the Constitution and resorting to litigation, as well as obeying Orders and Judgements emanating therefrom and the record of the APNU+AFC on this latter issue is notoriously well-known.

“For the record, the PPP/C Government has nothing to fear from either of the two Election Petitions filed and we have already stated that they are frivolous, vexatious and as without merit as every other legal proceedings APNU+AFC have filed in recent times,” the government said.