See full statement issued by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton:
The Opposition APNU+AFC, including the People’s National Congress Reform have always, and continue to promote national unity and oppose anything that will undermine national unity, including the divisive approach of the People’s Progressive Party. This has been manifest as we promoted social cohesion in government and continue to do so at present.
As Party Leader, I was invited to speak at the WPA Public Meeting held on Thursday, 9th March at Buxton Line Top. The PPP seems bent on being dictatorial. The Opposition believes that Mr. Tacuma Ogunseye’s right to free speech must be respected even though we believe that his language could have been better chosen. The choice of his language is his preserve.
Any attempt to use the law against Mr. Ogunseye will further erode the guardrails of democracy. It will add to the continued violation of the rule of law by the PPP regime. It is apposite to note here that at present there are a number of trumped-up charges against many innocent Guyanese, including those trumped-up terrorism charges. The PPP will do well to promote democracy and stop the slide into dictatorship.
Mr. Ogunseye accurately described the situation in Guyana and probably out of frustration he went a little too far. The government seems hell bent on using the opportunity to increase their repression rather than to recognise the problems in the society and seek to solve them.
We believe that good sense should prevail and the government should grasp the opportunity to address the problems raised by Mr. Ogunseye. The government buries its head in the sand to its own detriment. Attacking Mr. Ogunseye and the Opposition will not solve the problem.
The PPP’s call for civil society to condemn Mr. Ogunseye is hypocritical, since it was the same PPP through its Second Vice President that condemned civil society contending that they were not voted for and therefore have no right to petition the government. We reaffirm our commitment to and support for civil society.
