…as Hamilton Green advises Granger
Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall on Saturday lashed out at former Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green for urging caretaker President David Granger to set aside Guyana’s Constitution and the rule of law and take matters into his own hands in order to remain in government.
Green, a former Prime Minister under the People’s National Congress (PNC) regime, during an interview on local radio programme ‘Straight Up Live’, said in a public message to Granger to “…do what is necessary. Put aside the Constitution [and] put aside the laws. You are, at this moment, and will be for a long time, Commander-in-Chief. Take action so that your people, our people and the people of Guyana, will honour you, no matter what it costs.”
However, in his weekly opinion piece, The Unruly Horse, Nandlall posited that by calling upon Granger to toss aside the Constitution and the laws, and to remain in office, Green is not cognisant of the consequences of his reckless follies.
“He is urging Granger to govern by tyranny, and not through the will of the people; to commit a coup and rule by executive edict, not by law and the Constitution. Such rule will necessarily see a suspension of the Constitution, including the fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizenry, and a highjack of the rule of law. In a word, there will be anarchy in this land,” the former Attorney General contended.
He noted that there is a bunch of extremists within the fringes of the PNC – the leading party within the APNU faction of the Coalition — who are exploiting a vulnerable Granger and are pushing him in a dangerous direction.
Nandlall, an Executive member of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), reminded that, in the past, both former PNC leaders Desmond Hoyte and Robert Corbin had successfully managed to neutralise such “wild men” within the party, some of whom were even expelled, while others were disciplined and sidelined. This group, he noted, is at again.
“A part of the strategy of this group is to stoke Mr. Granger’s fragile ego. In so doing, they build up in his head that the path which they are encouraging him to traverse will achieve for him not only self-greatness, but will also ‘deliver his people to the promised land’. The sanctimonious persona that he is, Granger is imbibing the Kool-Aid, hence his current intransigence,” Nandlall posited.
The PPP/C Executive stressed that what the caretaker Head of State needs to understand is that it is he who is on national and international trial, not these “wild men” within the PNC, of which he is the leader.
In fact, Nandlall has brought to Granger’s attention the impact his actions would have on his legacy, which would be left for future generations.
“History may not even footnote the existence of these radical elements, let alone record their diabolical schemes. As a historian, Mr. Granger should understand that his legacy will be the only footprint by which he will be judged by future generations…But the human being is a cruel species. (Humans) will simply forget those few public statements and will judge based upon their own sufferings,” he asserted.
Already, the United States, on July 15, imposed sanctions on a number of Government and electoral officials who were found to be undermining Guyana’s democracy. The United Kingdom subsequently announced that it has already started the process of putting “consequences in place” against individuals in Guyana; while Canada is likely to follow suit.
Against this backdrop, Nandlall posited, “What I know Mr. Granger may personally endure would be the ignominy of international alienation and the punitive regime of sanctions which he will attract for his family and his people. Those very ones who are encouraging him now will avoid him like a plague then, as they will not wish what he will have to suffer upon their worst enemy.”
He went on to point out that these radical acolytes are being driven by self-interest more than by anything else, these specific individuals within the party and caretaker administration.
Nandlall contend that President Granger is precariously poised at the juncture of two roads; one that can lead to possible personal redemption and a future for this country, and another that can lead to complete perdition.
“Whichever one he chooses, he must be assured that the world will know that he made that choice with eyes wide open,” Nandlall has asserted.
