Opposition to petition Caricom on governance issues

Opposition to petition Caricom on governance issues
Stabroek News news item. Friday May 23, 2008
By Miranda La Rose
http://www.stabroeknews.com/?p=14780

The three parliamentary opposition parties have signed a petition seeking Caricom intervention on a raft of governance issues including the Channel Six suspension and thousands of signatures are to be sought before the submission of the document next month prior to a heads of government confab.
Taking their campaign to a new level, the PNCR-1G, AFC and GAP-ROAR launched the petition - for which they are seeking countrywide support – at a press briefing held at City Hall yesterday. The PNCR also made it clear at the briefing that it will continue with its protests which were started several weeks ago.
Among those present at the launching were PNCR-1G Leader Robert Corbin, AFC Leader Raphael Trotman and GAP Leader Paul Hardy. The three had previously agreed to and signed the joint petition on Wednesday last.
Asked for a response to the opposition move, Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira told Stabroek News last evening that there was no immediate comment except that the parties had raised a lot of old issues. She said she assumed that there would be an official response at the appropriate time.
Reading from a prepared statement, Corbin said the petition would call on the Heads of Government of Caricom to consider the matters outlined in view of Caricom objectives and to make recommendations to President Bharrat Jagdeo and his administration to address the issues meaningfully.
The petition highlighted the four-month suspension of CNS Channel Six, the sedition charge against Oliver Hinckson, the radio monopoly and equitable access by parliamentary parties to the state-owned media. It also homed in on the reconstitution of the Integrity Commission in accordance with the Integrity Commission Act No. 20 of 1997, the need for an immediate end to the denial of fundamental rights of the citizens of Guyana; and the immediate enactment of Freedom of Information legislation.
The petition, according to Corbin, would also call on the Heads to use Caricom’s collective influence to facilitate the creation of an environment of peace and social stability, particularly as it relates to the advancement of the issue of inclusive/shared governance, a prerequisite for progress, development and the security of Guyana and its citizens.
Corbin said the petition would be circulated in the administrative regions and it is expected that the signing would be completed by mid-June for submission to the heads ahead of the Caricom annual heads of government summit to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in early July.
Corbin along with Trotman and Hardy also said that they might take some form of protest action to the Caricom summit and they did not rule out the idea of also engaging the support of the Guyanese diaspora in the USA for the upcoming Conference of the Caribbean to be held in New York next month.
Unilateral
On the issue of the four-month suspension of the Channel 6 television station licence, the petition pointed to the unilateral and arbitrary decision by the President, in his capacity as minister responsible for administering the Wireless and Telegraphy Act, as being inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the law. The suspension of the licence for four months, the petition said, was “manifestly unfair and contrary to natural justice.”
It said the suspension was but one example of the Jagdeo administration’s “continual contumelious and contumacious behaviour, since 2001”.
Over that period, it added, there have been threats to, and closure of, HBTV Channel 9; threats to, and the undermining of the economic interests of VCT Channel 28 by forcing the removal of a lottery broadcast contract from the station to the state-owned Channel 11. Later, it said, there was the cancellation of the TBN religious broadcasts in Guyana, which were managed by VCT Channel 28. It also referred to the government’s removal of advertisements from the privately owned Stabroek News, for more than 17 months. The ads were restored last month.
The actions against Channel Six, the petition stated, were made more objectionable by the disregard for the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Jagdeo signed as President, with late PNCR leader Desmond Hoyte, which paved the way for the establishment of an Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB). The main purpose of the MOU was to ensure that the minister responsible would act only in accordance with its advice and that the ACB would be independent and autonomous. There was no advice, tendered by the ACB, recommending the suspension of CNS TV Channel 6.
The petition said there was inaction or outright refusal to enact broadcast legislation and establish an independent national broadcasting authority, based on the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Radio Monopoly, Non-Partisan Boards and Broadcasting Legislation. The recommendations adopted by Jagdeo and Hoyte in December 2001, were to ensure that political control over the media in Guyana was completely removed.
The effect of the inaction, the petition said, was compounded further by the breach of a renewed commitment, in the May 6, 2003 communiqué signed by Jagdeo and Corbin, committing the government to introducing broadcasting legislation within four months of that date.
With regard to the Integrity Commission, the petition noted the unlawful appointment of commissioners by the President in breach of Section 3 of the Integrity Commission Act No. 20 of 1997. Attempts to have this matter determined by the courts, over the last four years, have proved futile.
The petition also noted that the extension of the life of an improperly constituted Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), in 2006 by the President was in violation of Article 212 B of the Guyana Constitution.
The opposition said the petition illustrated the administration’s contempt for the fundamental rights of citizens, noting the arrest and detention of, and the subsequent laying of charges of sedition against Hinckson.
Hinckson has been refused bail and his case has been repeatedly adjourned at the behest of lawyers for the prosecution.
Pretexts
The petition also highlighted the arbitrary arrest and detention of citizens on various pretexts – the common practice being to detain persons late on Friday so that they remain in custody for the weekend and are released on Monday without charge. It pointed to the use of brutal torture by the security forces, against citizens, including Victor Jones, Patrick Sumner and David Zammett, in contravention of the Convention Against Torture, which the government has ratified.
The unlawful destruction of property by the security forces, particularly at Buxton where the sanctity of homes has been violated with impunity, personal property destroyed and farms irreparably damaged were also referred to.
The unlawful killings of citizens by the security forces and the disappearance of others without a trace with the most recent being the killings of Tyrone Pollard and Donna Herod of Buxton were also mentioned.
The petition also noted the reluctance of the government to commit to the enactment of Freedom of Information legislation; the domination of the state-owned television and the monopoly radio station by the ruling party, excluding all others, as well as the refusal of the government to issue licences for the establishment of private radio stations.
It also noted the failure of the government to provide any concrete measures for genuine relief to Guyanese workers who are experiencing severe hardship, caused by the spiralling cost of living, with an inflation rate of 34% in 2007 and the increase in wages of only 9%, while the administration expends limited financial resources for social extravaganza of lesser import.
The parliamentary opposition also believes that the Value Added Tax (VAT) could be significantly reduced as a short-term relief measure.
The petition referred to government’s refusal to proceed with consultations on inclusive governance in keeping with the May 6, 2003 communiqué and government’s acceptance of the National Development Strategy (NDS) of 2000, which emphasized good governance as a prerequisite for national development. It highlighted, too, government’s reluctance to pursue the implementation of the Guyana Security Reform Plan in a holistic manner which includes, linking police reform with actions in other areas; strong linkages with the ongoing programmes in justice reform and citizen security; and a need to address the root causes of criminal and political violence, poverty and unemployment.
The parliamentary parties have repeatedly said that the government has made no effort to move on these issues and that when Parliament deliberates on them there is no mature compromise by the ruling party.
The parties had also pointed out last year that the promise of dialogue by President Jagdeo with the opposition parties had fallen by the wayside.
In December, 2007 the PNCR, AFC and GAP-ROAR had expressed dissatisfaction with the level of dialogue with the government after they were led to believe that the post-2006 elections period signalled an improved political climate and a maturing of the political process in Guyana.
This belief, Trotman, Corbin and GAP-ROAR MP Everall Franklin had said was conveyed by the President himself who had invited the joint opposition to dialogue within an enhanced framework he outlined at the opening of the Ninth Parliament in 2006.
The dialogue with the joint opposition was limited to a single meeting in November 2006.