Home Letters Is Parliament about to descend into a street-side rum shop?
Dear Editor,
Is Parliament about to descend into chaos, or is it about to descend into the realm of a street-side rum shop where all you can hear is a din of loud babble with no constructive discussion coming out of it? Well, I am afraid, this is the state of affairs of the Guyana Parliament or should I say this is the National Assembly that The PNC-led Coalition is carving out for us. Then it behoves me to call on Speaker Manzoor Nadir to take note of this and put the corrective measures in place immediately.
No form of mediocrity or State of lawlessness should be tolerated in the hallowed House of Parliament. We want a house that is free of wanton politicking, simply put, we want a House where the people’s business is paramount, therefore all parliamentarians that come within its ambit must conduct themselves in an orderly and dignified manner.
On the same note, Parliament should not be used as a political football, that is, for campaign purposes or a forum to get one’s own narrow myopic views across; no not at all! It is a forum for healthy debates on matters of national importance and nothing else. So, my message to Mr Harmon and company you are charting a course which would not have good graces in the speaker’s book and my advice to him is to desist from that course of action.
But if we should delve back into the recent past of their own PNC Speaker, one gets the picture of a House where the then PPP/C Opposition had to endure the pressures of the day, we had to tow the hard line of being put down at every turn, while the Government side could have done virtually anything. The Speaker then ensured that the noble principles – at least on paper- were adhered to, so there is no need for Harmon to speak out against them now.
A case in point was the censoring of the Honorable Bishop for not taking his seat when called upon to do so, the end result of that was a calling in of the Police and a further disbarment of him from participating on matters in the House. So, Mr Harmon should be very mindful of this and stop acting stupid.
Now, the matter they are demanding that the Speaker address has to do with the Henry boys’ murder, something which the Speaker denied. Mr Nadir denied it from the sole standpoint that the Executive has no jurisdiction on a matter engaging the attention of the courts, he could not allow this matter to be heard in Parliament and prejudice the case. However, the PNC wanted a political showdown to exploit these boys’ deaths for their own political purposes, but the Speaker would have none of it. This angered the Opposition thus opening the floodgates of their depravity.
But if we should dwell just a little longer on this topic one will see the twisted and diabolical schemes of the PNC in full display. They love to exploit morbid matters making them into political messages or opportunities to spur up racial hate. I make mention of the Bartica massacre, the Lindo Creek and Lusignan massacres and the killing of 23 policemen, in all of these incidents the sick sadistic hand of that party is manifested.
Further, and most significantly, these matters would not have occurred if the political interference that is so evident of that party was kept out of it. In fact, there would have been closure in these matters if that party stayed clear of it.
In like manner, the Henry boys’ case is not a political one and politics have to be kept completely out of it. This matter is in the hands of the courts which is the place where it belongs. So, the PNC and their cohorts must realise that Parliament is not a place for political posturing or political histrionics, it is a place for serious business and not a court to try cases. This party and its followers have to be respectful of the standing orders of the House and this we are going to uphold come what may.
Respectfully,
Neil Adams