Is it a precursor of authoritarianism?

Dear Editor,
Thanks to the media for keeping us abreast of developments (ruckus) inside the hollowed chamber of the Parliament, where issues affecting our lives are supposed to be debated.
The current debate is on the budget, in which the political opposition has an absolute right to question the Government on proposed spending over the next year. However, based on reports making the rounds in the media, it seems that an effort is being made to silence the Opposition.
It places the Government in bad light. Guyanese I spoke with are disappointed in, and have condemned, this action.
Public attention is directed towards the ruling of the Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland, against Opposition Member Juan Edghill and others. Guyanese I spoke with in New York condemn the high-handed action by the Government side. Guyanese Americans say that instead of taking measures to suppress the political Opposition and intimidate critics when they question “the budget” and the secretive Exxon bonus, the Government should fess up to the truth. They feel the Government should honestly and fully answer questions from the public, the media and the Opposition.
The Government is not doing itself any good by bullying parliamentary members of the Opposition or calling in the Police or the Sergeant of Arms to intimidate and silence them. The action taken besmirches the reputation of the Speaker and management of the Parliament. It shames our Parliament.
Many people within and outside of Guyana feel there has been a culture of bias against the Opposition ever since a change in Government. This latest act worsens that perception.
People put their faith and trust in the Speaker, who controls the Parliament chamber. The imperative of neutrality and the perception of neutrality by the Speaker are indispensable to the public and to the Opposition. In the public’s eyes, that has been missing. Any public official who carries the mantle of being Parliament’s chief officer must act responsibly, and don’t favour any side. Neutrality has been seriously compromised.
The Opposition has a right to ask questions – that is the essence of a functioning parliament, especially when the budget is being debated. There is no issue more important that the budget. The public interest is at stake to know where their money is going. And there is no higher interest to be served than the public interest. The Speaker must act neutrally and allow the Opposition to do its job by querying the line ministers about their allocation. So far, that has been missing on December 11, after a week of very good debates, some of which I personally witnessed.
The Speaker must address the complaint with fairness. That, the public and the Opposition say, seems to have avoided his stewardship. And the public and the media need to be worried at what took place in Parliament on December 11 by voicing their concerns locally and internationally. Democracy-loving people must condemn the abusive action taken in Parliament.
The action should worry all of us. Is it a precursor of authoritarianism?

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram