PPP rejects APNU’s call for COI into shooting of protestors
–Says matter should go to Parliamentary Oversight Committee
THE ruling party, yesterday, rejected A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) motion, which was passed by the National Assembly last Thursday and called for a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the shooting of the party’s protestors on December 6, 2011.The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), in a statement, stated that the matter should have gone to the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the security sector and called for the “speedy establishment” of the Committee.
“Our Party takes this opportunity to reiterate its call for the speedy establishment of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Security Sector and for the Speaker of the National Assembly to convene soonest a meeting of Parliamentary Parties for this purpose. The PPP stands willing to provide any support that may be deemed necessary,” the statement said.
AVOIDING COMMITTEE
The PPP added that the motion is “another deliberate and calculated attempt by the Opposition” to avoid having security related matters come under the purview of the Parliament, in which a motion was passed for the establishment of a Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Security Sector that “we believe would provide the best mechanism for the resolution of security related issues,” the party said.
The ruling party also highlighted the frequent Opposition’s utterances on the importance of Parliamentary Committees to deal with issues which impact our society, yet exhibits reluctance for the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Security Sector to deal with subject issues.
The PPP statement said, “The PPP believes that partisan self-interest is the bedrock of the APNU’s unwillingness to activate the oversight committee.
“The Opposition is fully aware that if such a committee were to be established, they would not have a free reign to launch their continuous attacks on the PPP/C Government and the Minister of Home Affairs. Such wanton attacks, which have become a characteristic of the Opposition, seem to provide optimal gratification for their daily diet of verbal bombardment aimed at the Government. It would therefore be challenging for the Opposition to delink their engrained proclivity from acting in a professional manner.
“More importantly, our Party strongly believes that the main reason for the Opposition’s reluctance to have this oversight body in place is because this committee must be headed by the Government minister. This obviously is not to the liking of the Opposition since their propensity is to dominate positions within the National Assembly as in the case of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the majority they have taken in Parliamentary Committees. Yet this is the same Opposition, which has the temerity to accuse the Government of not engaging in inclusiveness.”
DECEPTIVE POLITICS
The party also decried what it termed “deceptive politics” under the guise of claiming to have the Guyanese people’s interests at heart.
“It is clear indication of their unwillingness to have a resolution to security related matters institutionalised within the Parliamentary framework,” the PPP said.
The ruling party also highlighted the fact that the Disciplined Service Commission Report, of which the Leader of the Opposition, Brigadier (Rt) David Granger was part of, had called for the establishment of a Security Commission.
The statement said, “It is clear that Mr. Granger and the Opposition, therefore, have no excuse for delaying the establishment of this Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Security Sector or the Security Committee. In this context, Mr. Granger must immediately let the public know which of these two he wishes to be associated with.”
Additionally, the National Assembly is expected to address another APNU motion calling for the appointment of a CoI to investigate the incidence of criminal violence from 2004 to 2010 in Guyana. The motion was first tabled in December, 2012.
excerpts from the Guyana Chronicle