Duncan must apologise, resign or be censured for deeming Caricom leaders gangsters

For calling Caricom Leaders “hustlers, gangsters and hypocrites”, MP Sherrod Duncan must apologise. Short of an apology, two things become necessary. First, David Granger, acting with Joe Harmon, should remove Duncan from Parliament. Since I suspect that Duncan was merely reflecting the posture of APNU/AFC when he called Caricom Leaders, including Prime Ministers presently serving, “hustlers. gangsters and hypocrites”, we should hold our breath waiting for Granger to do so.
Short of either of these two things, I believe Parliament should hold Duncan accountable for a statement that is clearly an insult, at the very least, to our Caricom partners.
I know that some will point their fingers back at me. After all, everyone would remember, about a month or so ago, I disagreed vehemently with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago, and said so publicly, in my private capacity. I thought and said publicly that Prime Minister Rowley has a right to boast about his management of COVID-19 in his country, and to comment on Guyana’s management, but was wrong in his assessment of Guyana’s vaccination programme. I thought, and still hold the view, that the Prime Minister was out of place in questioning Guyana’s choice of vaccine.
Of all persons in this country at this time, therefore, I would be the least person that can fault anyone for disagreeing with Caricom Leaders. I think that Caricom Leaders are wrong for not having unanimous support for the implementation of “front of the package” labelling for salt, sugar and fats. I think we should be more supportive of countries like India and South Africa for the suspension of intellectual property rights to allow all countries with vaccine production capacity to produce vaccines. I think that Caricom as a whole should decriminalise same-sex relationships. We have many good reasons to disagree with each other, and we all have a right to express our opinions.
But when we resort to being disagreeable, and when we resort to deeming Caricom Leaders “hustlers and gangsters”, it is unacceptable; unless, of course, if we have evidence. Last week, an MP from APNU/AFC went on TV and proclaimed in the vilest way that Caricom leaders are a “bunch of hustlers and gangsters”. He provided no evidence, and apparently he deemed them “hustlers and gangsters” only because a number of Caricom Leaders stood up and spoke out against the attempted rigging of the March 2020 elections in Guyana.
When current leaders like Prime Ministers Mia Mottley (Barbados), Ralph Gonsalves (St Vincent and the Grenadines), Keith Rowley (Trinidad and Tobago) and past Prime Ministers like Bruce Golding (Jamaica) who headed the OAS Electoral Observer Mission and the late Owen Arthur (Barbados) who headed the Commonwealth Observation team during the March 2020 elections in Guyana resisted the blatant and shameless attempt to rig the elections in plain sight of the world, it infuriated the leadership of APNU/AFC.
In fact, in the middle of the attempt to rig the elections, David Granger, at the time still President of Guyana, rebuffed the Caricom Leaders, the same ones he also deemed the only legitimate interlocutor, for telling the world the truth and being blunt that the then Guyana Government was in a conspiracy with rogue elements in GECOM to steal the elections. APNU/AFC is still reeling from the fact that Caricom finally stood up for democracy in Guyana, that Caricom refused to be used for the purpose of legitimising an electoral theft, especially since the theft was playing out for the Guyanese and global public to see on TV.
That APNU/AFC is still shocked that Caricom stood for democracy and not with APNU/AFC is evident from the continuing public litigation of the March 2020 elections and APNU/AFC’s stance that President Irfaan Ali and the PPP Government are installed and not elected. It is also evident from regular outbursts from APNU/AFC leaders. The latest outburst is from an MP named Sherrod Duncan. His outburst is perhaps the nastiest outburst attacking Caricom Leaders. I have waited to see if David Granger, as the leader of APNU/AFC Coalition, or Joe Harmon, as the Opposition Leader, would distance themselves from MP Duncan. Neither of them has done so. Neither Granger nor Harmon has seen the need to address an issue of significance in terms of our relationship with Caricom. Is it that Duncan is so non-relevant that what he says is of no consequence, or is it that what he said is what Granger and Harmon think? If what Duncan said is not the position of APNU/AFC, the leaders must speak out. If what he said is not reflective of the posture of APNU/AFC, then what is Granger or Harmon prepared to do?
Clearly, the very least Duncan must do is apologise. Not doing so should mean his party must remove him from Parliament. But, as day follows night, I am certain that Granger would be silent, and that Harmon would say it is none of our business. It is for this reason that I urge the Parliament to censure this MP.