Opposition bullyism knows no bounds

THE threat the joint opposition poses to the peace and stability of Guyana is ever-present; that is, if they do not get their own way. And one remembers when, following Parliamentary Standing Orders, AFC co-founder and Speaker, Raphael Trotman was constrained by the Constitution to threaten to eject his associates in the Opposition because of their non-compliance with his instructions, Carl Greenidge had made threats of his own that showed once again that the Opposition will stop at nothing to overthrow the PPP/C Government.He warned at the time: “The expulsion of the Opposition from the House… would have predictable consequences… of extra-parliamentary, if not unconstitutional, action.” “Extra-parliamentary” and “unconstitutional” action, of course, given this country’s history, meant that if the Speaker followed Standing Order Number 47 and expelled the Opposition, when, as promised, they prevented a minister from speaking, they will incite violence in the streets. That is, if the Speaker dared follow the Rule of Law, mayhem and worse will be unleashed once again on innocent Guyanese! The Speaker knew this fully well, based on events on the last occasion the rule was broken; but, rather than adhere to the Standing Orders, he chose instead to suspend the entire sitting, and stop the work of the Government. He asked whether the Government thought he was a “political neophyte”; but the Government and all Guyanese know, conversely, that he was a top leader of the PNC, and is fully au fait with their strategies where the “Dogs of War” play an integral role. He was, in effect, admitting by his actions that if he followed the rules, the PNC/AFC/APNU configuration would have incited riot in the streets. The nation knew that this was succumbing to blackmail of the worst kind: Blackmail where, as happened in Linden, the lives of the men, women and children of Guyana will be held to ransom. Today, the nation has once more been held to ransom by the combined Opposition; but this time, the consequences to Guyana and Guyanese would be of such a dire nature that our development would freefall with no safety net to absorb our crash to the bottom of growth indices, individually and nationally. This perennial bullyism should not be allowed to prevail, because bullies and blackmailers will never stop, once you’ve given in to their demands; they will never be satisfied. And one needs to recall a mere few instances amid a plethora of intimidatory tactics to force this nation to its knees over the decades of its existence; that is, the PNC unleashing violence in the streets of Georgetown after the December 1997 elections, forcing a truncation of the Government of the day’s term in office, which also led to the Constitution being changed to accommodate the demands of the PNC. As a result, the PNC (and now the AFC also) were given great powers in the sectoral committees of Parliament; but this wasn’t enough. Nothing will ever be enough. But although their demands were met, and they received such great powers and benefits, they continually shirk the responsibilies demanded of them; because the additional power and benefits are adjunctive to hard work, which they continually abscond from, making Parliament a playground for schoolboy skirmishes. And their fun comes from anti-developmental stances on every issue they foresee would aid national socio-economic development under a PPP/C administration: The sectoral committees demand work, but the Opposition hardly attend meetings; and when they do, they play games, with the Guyanese people being their pawns. They are hungry for executive power, and unless and until they get it, they will continue to hold this nation to ransom, their latest being non-support of the vital moneylaundering and anti-terrorism Bill. If Government once again submits to their blackmail and bullyism, it would be failing the nation. Guyanese are saying that if the opposition collective does not support the Bill, then Government should let the chips lay where they fall. The PPP/C Administration has achieved miracles in saving this nation from the depredations of the PNC once before. It certainly has the ability to circumnavigate the fallout from this new Opposition avatar of PNC/AFC/APNU’s current attempts to bully and blackmail the Government by holding the nation to ransom in their power craze, and to satisfy the interests of the underworld