By Peter Richards
Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett
TOKYO, Japan, CMC – Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett Friday defended the decision of President Donald Ramotar to prorogue the National Assembly saying it represents “the final push” by the government to hold talks with the opposition on the socio-economic development of the country.
“I think if that offer is taken up by the opposition we can see Guyana moving to another level all together,” Mrs Rodrigues-Birkett told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
The main opposition grouping, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has already announced plans to stage a rally in the capital on Friday, as it continues to oppose the decision by President Ramotar to prorogue parliament and run the country for the next six months.
Ramotar has justified the decision saying he had earlier indicated a desire for the National Assembly, in its post-recess sittings, to deliberate and give priority to important matters relating to the development of the country.
But the APNU, which has said that the government prorogued Parliament in a bid to prevent a motion of no confidence against it, claimed that “President Donald Ramotar and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) minority have never accepted the will of the majority.
“They used every means in and out of the National Assembly to obstruct good governance,” the APNU, which includes the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), said in a statement.
Mrs Rodrigues-Birkett, who is here along with other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Foreign Ministers for the talks on Saturday with their Japanese counterpart, told CMC that the no confidence motion “would have abruptly ended parliament, so too the dissolution if the President had chosen that route.
“But he chose prorogation which allows for a period of dialogue. Of course he also said that if the opposition does not accept that offer he will call general elections.
“So I don’t see the need for President (Barack) Obama to have a major say on this. He has so many other things he will have to deal with,” she said in reference to a call by a US-based Guyana group for President Obama to make an intervention in the situation in Guyana.
The APNU and the minority opposition, Alliance for Change (AFC) hold a slender one seat majority in the 65-member National Assembly and have vowed to debate the motion of no confidence that political observers say would force Ramotar to name a date for general elections.
The Foreign Minister told CMC that the opposition had long detailed their position on the motion, adding “this is not unexpected but I think Guyana, we have been able to handle our problems and I am sure we will overcome”.
See related article: http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2014/11/2014-11-12-bw-guyanacrisis-cl_2014_11.html
