Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall has debunked claims by the political opposition that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is responsible for disruptive protest actions on Monday night.
During his live programme on Tuesday evening – “Issues in the News” – Nandlall noted that the allegation made by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton is an “old, hackneyed argument used for decades” by his party.
“This is what this gentleman is saying, that the People’s Progressive Party is using persons that it is paying to destabilise the country against the PPP Government to burn the roads, burn bridges, block the roadways so as to cause mayhem and confusion and pandemonium under the governance of the PPP. So the PPP is causing protest action against itself,” he highlighted the absurdity.
Norton, in a video statement on Monday, claimed the PPP is using “criminal elements and 10-day workers” to infiltrate protests and create mayhem.
The Attorney General on Tuesday evening questioned who the Opposition is trying to persuade with such a “highly ridiculous” narrative given that the approximately 15,000 ten-day workers and their families will not be convinced neither would the supporters of the government.
“That is the thoughtlessness of these Opposition politicians and then they expect people to take them seriously,” he contended.
The protest actions for justice for 11-year-old Adriana Younge were hijacked for criminal purposes, with persons taking to the streets to loot, destroy public and private property, and cause mayhem.
The violence started following the revelation by three international pathologists that Younge died from drowning. The body of the child was discovered in the pool at the Double Day Hotel located at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), the day after she was reported missing from the establishment.
Among other things, individuals were seen burning infrastructure, blocking roadways, robbing businesses and attacking people.
The Attorney General has condemned the destruction caused.
“How long can we continue to countenance this conduct in this country?” he questioned, noting that the actions perpetrated are disrespectful to the Younge family.
“They have used [the occasion] as a platform to commit some of the most disgraceful social acts and highly charged criminal conduct and this did not come from the relatives of the deceased, this behaviour largely emanates from those who saw an opportunity to destroy, to burn, to loot, to steal, to rob…,” he noted.
Adding that there is no justification for those who saw an opportunity to perpetrate violence, the Attorney General added that “you can never get justice through injustice.”
He also condemned opposition members who supported the destruction.
Nandlall noted that while the leaders were in support of the family, they should also “try to calm the storm.” He added that the opposition members can be critical of the way the investigation into the child’s disappearance was handled “but they did not have to stand there and encourage the criminal conduct.”
Over 100 persons have been arrested for various offences in relation in relation to the violence on Monday.
On Tuesday, businesses across the country kept their doors shut. Additionally, a curfew of 12:30am to 5pm has been announced, though persons are being encouraged to get off the roads by 10pm.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday afternoon reported that the national situation has been returning to normalcy.
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