PNC, AFC, APNU protest US ICE arrest of Melly Mel …yet deny opposing Pres Trump’s immigration policy

…“be honest” – former PNC member to Opposition on misleading narrative

Despite participating in a vigil during which calls were made for the release of controversial social media personality Melissa Ann Atwell, popularly known as “Melly Mel,” who has been arrested by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week, the Peoples National Congress / A Partnership for National Unity (PNCR/APNU) has denied that it has an issue with the policies of the Donald Trump administration.

Tuesday evening’s poorly attended vigil at the Square of the Revolution in Georgetown was attended by party leaders, including Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and Opposition Member of Parliament Coretta McDonald. Additionally, other Opposition Members of the parliamentary opposition – particularly, from the Alliance For Change (AFC) faction – such as Sherod Duncan and Cathy Hughes – were also at the vigil.
They were criticising Atwell’s arrest on Thursday last by the US authorities, chanting, among other things, “Free Melly Mel!”
However, despite this, in a statement on Wednesday, the PNCR-led APNU denied that it was protesting the Trump Administration’s immigration policy.
“At no time during their presentations did Opposition Leader Aubrey C. Norton or any other PNCR/APNU speaker even mention, let alone criticize, the US President or his administration,” the Opposition has stated.
In fact, it went on to say in the missive that the focus during the vigil was on the “likely role” the PPP Government played in Atwell’s arrest – something which the Opposition Leader had echoed during his address to the small gathering at the vigil.
“We will stand in support and solidarity with Melissa,” Norton declared, while adding, “Those who will say that what happened to Melissa isn’t political, don’t worry with them. It is political power that was used to put her where she is.”

US a sovereign state
However, the Guyana Government has since refuted this assertion, highlighting that the US is a sovereign state and cannot be influenced by the Guyana Government.
Speaking on the matter during his weekly programme of Issues In The News, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, S.C., explained that since Atwell is in the custody of ICE, it means her arrest is immigration-related and not politically-motivated.
“The Government of Guyana did not arrest Melissa Atwell…[and] is not detaining Melissa Atwell… It cannot be that they are protesting the Government of Guyana, they have to be protesting the Government of the United States of America,” Nandlall posited.
In fact, the Attorney General reminded that President Donald Trump had campaigned widely on his immigration policy, and since his inauguration in January, there has been an enforcement of immigration laws that target persons who are in US in violation of these laws.
“Hundreds, if not thousands, have already been deported [from the US and] the Government of Guyana plays no part in this process…I don’t know on what rational basis [the Opposition] are protesting the Government of Guyana, and they are marketing it and projecting it as some freedom of expression issue…This lady was allowed to express her opinion freely for years…No one, during that period, attempted to interfere with her right to express herself,” he posited.
AG Nandlall is among several persons who have filed lawsuits in Guyana against Atwell over allegations she made on her Facebook page. But according to Nandlall, the legal proceedings were never intended to interfere with her right to free speech. He went on to note that there are also several complaints of fraud filed against Atwell in the US.
Reports are that ranks from the Department of Homeland Security went to Atwell’s apartment in Brooklyn, New York early on Thursday morning and detained her. She was reportedly subsequently handed over to ICE, and is currently said to be in a detention facility in Louisiana.
“So, those persons who are protesting out there must understand that they are protesting the actions of a sovereign government enforcing its laws within the territory of that sovereign country, as that sovereign government has a legal duty to do.
“So, Norton and [AFC Leader] Nigel Hughes must know that is what they’re protesting against – the American Government and the American law enforcement agencies enforcing their laws against a person whom they believe (has) violated the law. It has nothing to do with the Government of Guyana,” the Attorney General contended.

“Dangerous rhetoric”
Meanwhile, the Opposition has also been called out for its blatant deflection of the fact that Atwell is currently in custody because of the immigration policies of the US Government.
Former PNCR executive James Bond commented in a social post that “…if ICE has you in custody, it has something to do with IMMIGRATION or CUSTOMS, not free speech, not corruption, and definitely not PPP, IRFAAN OR BHARRAT. Hold the vigil [and] speak, but be honest to the people who are uninformed and don’t know better. BE HONEST.”
Bond, a lawyer by profession, implored persons not to be led astray by the “dangerous rhetoric” the Opposition is peddling.

Political grandstanding
Moreover, Public Affairs Minister Kwame McCoy has also spoken out about the issue, saying that the Opposition’s so-called rally for justice over Atwell’s detention is a blatant political grandstanding and a desperate attempt to mislead the public by fabricating a link between her arrest and the Guyana Government.
“Melly Mell’s detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has no connection to the Government of Guyana. The case is being handled by Judge Richard C. Jacobs, an official appointed specifically for immigration matters. There is no evidence to support the opposition’s claims, yet they continue to push a false narrative for political mileage. Rather than addressing real issues, the opposition jumps from one fabricated crisis to another in a desperate bid for relevance,” McCoy stated.