Ministers of government walk in protest of “Vulgarians”
DPI, Georgetown, Guyana, Friday, December 8, 2017
The absence of the Government’s Member of Parliament (MP) in the National Assembly today during the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo’s presentation, was an act of protest, against the disrepute brought upon the House on Thursday, November 2, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo during his presentation on the 2018 budget.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
Prime Minister Nagamootoo, whose presentation followed that of the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly today noted, “When the Honourable Leader of the opposition stood up sir to make his presentation you may have observed your honour, that I made a gracious exit from this honourable House. I believe my other colleagues have done similarly. They had walked as he was about to speak. How can we forget November 2nd 2017, the day of infamy in this House. How can we ever forget if we are honourable members of this honourable House? The disrespect shown to this august Assembly and the disobedience demonstrated towards the Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly.”
In addition, the Prime Minister said the vulgar conduct of the opposition MPs during President David Granger’s address to the 72nd sitting of the 11th Parliament was an act of disrespect for the various arms of government.
“If we say we respect the separation of power and we respect the judiciary and the legislature as we respect the executive. Then you cannot under any pretext come to this house and show an outrageous contempt for the tradition of parliamentary democracy and good behaviour and in the presence of the executive of the land who we pray for every time we stand here; for his good health and happiness. How can we flagrantly disregard our own prayers, our own commitments to good behaviour and how could we in a cowardly display of a petty act of domestic terrorism hide behind a placard and behave bad, making noise, wailing, bawling, crying, hollering, … how could we justify that behaviour? Which your honour has condemned in no uncertain manner as contempt for the tradition of this House?” the Prime Minister asked
Further, Prime Minister Nagamootoo likening the actions of the opposition as terrorism, called on all parliamentarians to condemn such actions as inappropriate.
“So, we walked out sir, because we believe it is a revolutionary act if one were to refuse to reward and recognise disrespect and hooliganism. It is for me, a serious act, a revolutionary act, and in walking out I felt that we were sending a signal that as the President himself had remarked that we would not give respect to vulgarians. For all the years that I have been in this House, I have not seen anything more outrageous than has happened on the 2nd November and even if it is later in the day every member of this House should condemn this act of local terrorism,” Nagamootoo told the National Assembly.
When President Granger addressed the 72nd. Sitting of Parliament on Thursday, November 2, he was greeted by placard-bearing, noisy opposition MPs led by Leader Bharrat Jagdeo who sought to prevent him from delivering his charge to the National Assembly.
By: Kidackie Amsterdam
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