ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, has once again challenged the opposition’s claims of ethnic discrimination and victimisation by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government.
During his programme, ‘Issues in the News’ on Tuesday, Nandlall called upon the opposition to provide concrete evidence to support their allegations, asserting that their claims lacked substantiation.

Nandlall said, “They have nothing. They don’t have anything, because they fabricate and concoct. I have given them a million opportunities to come forward and bring evidence of racial discrimination.”

He continued, “Put them on Facebook; those who are discriminated against in relation to how they say, put them on Facebook. Those who did not get the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant, put them on Facebook and let them speak.”

Nandlall pointed out that despite numerous opportunities, the opposition had failed to produce any tangible evidence to support their allegations of ethnic discrimination.
“[When] they’re in the parliament…they always have a phantom story of discrimination, but it can produce the people,” he said.
As such, Nandlall challenged them, again, to provide the names and stories of individuals who had purportedly faced discrimination.
The Attorney General went on to criticise the opposition’s actions, particularly their recent visit to Washington, D.C., where they met with Congressional Leaders and discussed their claims.
Nandlall noted that during the meeting, the Congressional Leaders had requested evidence of the alleged discrimination in Guyana.
The Attorney General questioned the opposition’s inability to provide such evidence and suggested that their claims were baseless.
“They (APNU) were requested to produce the evidence, any form of evidence. They say that they don’t have any, they came empty-handed. They went to complain, imagine they went to complain about the rigging of elections that the PPP/C rigged the elections; that they won and the people themselves said ‘Give us the evidence of your victory’… But you know what they asked them for the Statements of Polls and that’s the end of the matter.”

He continued: “Once they’re asked about that Statement of Polls, that Aubrey Norton says he has, that’s the end of the matter. They can’t produce and that is the same type of narrative that they inculcate, and they regurgitate, and they spin.”
Expressing his view of the opposition’s tactics, he said, “They drink the Kool-Aid, and they get invigorated and intoxicated with it. And you have to have a level of gullibility before you can drink the ‘Kool-Aid.’ When they go to the real world, they get a jolt because they can’t produce anything to support what they say.”
Led by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, a team of Members of Parliament (MPs) APNU and Alliance For Change (AFC) travelled to Washington, D.C. where they met with the Congressional Black Caucus recently.

Among the Opposition parliamentarians, there was Shadow Attorney General and PNCR Executive Committee Member Roysdale Forde, who revealed during a subsequent conference that the Congressional Leaders requested evidence of the alleged discrimination in Guyana.
According to the Opposition Leader, while Congresswoman Waters accepted some of the Opposition’s positions during the meeting, she also pointed to the fact that there are two sides to a coin.
However, the Government has categorically rejected the claims made in the petition and dubbed it as an unpatriotic attempt by the Opposition to undermine the Government’s commitment to the betterment of Guyana.

“It is evident that the document in question is engineered by the Opposition APNU+AFC and is designed to present a one-sided perspective that does not accurately represent the actions and policies of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government of Guyana,” the government said in a statement.
While the Government recognises the importance of addressing the concerns and grievances of any group of citizens, it is disheartening to witness the deliberate APNU+AFC-led smear campaign aimed at poisoning the well of public discourse both locally and internationally.
This approach does a disservice to the democratic principles that Guyana upholds, and the tireless efforts of the Government to build a united Guyana under its ‘One Guyana’ policy, which actively promotes inclusion, engagement, and consultation at all levels of our society.
Recently, the General Secretary of the PPP/C, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has raised questions about the credibility of claims made by Norton, highlighting that those accusations could be easily disproved.

During a recent press conference, Dr Jagdeo addressed the outcomes of Norton’s press engagement, where the Opposition Leader had raised concerns about ethnic discrimination and the alleged marginalisation and victimisation of a “significant portion” of the Guyanese population.
Norton, during a public meeting held at the Stabroek Market Square, had unleashed a scathing attack against the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) for summoning him to address comments he made against the First Lady, Arya Ali.

The APNU has been facing backlash over comments made by an executive member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), David Hinds, who disparaged a number of PNC/R Indo-Guyanese members for speaking out against racist and incendiary remarks made by the WPA.

Hinds had said that the PNC/R Indo-Guyanese members were only there to attract Indo-Guyanese voters.
Hinds referred to Indo-Guyanese PNC/R member Geeta Chandan-Edmond as a “slave catcher” for having condemned remarks made by WPA member Tacuma Ogunseye, who made racially charged remarks against East Indians at a public meeting at Buxton, East Coast Demerara.
Hinds had also directed comments at PNC/R Parliamentarians Ganesh Mahipaul and Natasha Singh-Lewis; Regional Chairman Daniel Seeram, and Mayor Ubraj Narine, who had issued a joint statement condemning the remarks of another WPA member, Rhonda Layne.