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Ruling party blasts GHRA…

May 13, 2012 News

…says watchdog body is politically bent

The ruling party has questioned the independence of the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA). It is insisting that recent budget cuts endanger hundreds and perhaps thousands of jobs of people of all ethnicity and political persuasion.
The statement by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) would come one day after GHRA, a watchdog body, accused Government of being in denial of the November 28 elections results.
According to GHRA, the fact that a ruling party was unable to “rubber stamp” its budget through the Parliament for the first time since 1968, is in itself a welcome sign of democratic evolution.
“Unfortunately, the present ruling party, rather than take credit for democratic progress, appears to remain in denial of the November election results.
“Excessive language describing the opposition as ‘dictatorial’; pressuring public sector workers to demonstrate in front of Parliament;  holding candlelight vigils at the state-owned NCN TV station; using state media to sustain distorted panel discussions; and the on-going disinformation campaign in interior areas, all indicate resistance to  political negotiation as created  by the recent elections.”
However, Government which lost the Parliamentary majority on November 28 and suffered a National Budget cut of $21B recently, struck back yesterday saying that GHRA has adopted an anti-workers position.
“The GHRA must recognize that even the opposition politicians know that their budget cuts are indefensible which is why their justifications have been constantly shifting and as such rather than attempting to defend the opposition it ought to have taken a position which advocates human rights rather than its current position which deprecates human rights.
“The time has come for the opposition-aligned GHRA to drop its pretention of being an independent and objective body and the Guyanese public will not be duped by its political charade.”
The PPP/C also said that it is appalled by the GHRA statement in relation to the public anger and outcry at the APNU/AFC budget cuts of more than $18 billion.
“Rather than empathising with the Guyanese public anger at the cuts, the GHRA in a major cover up on behalf of APNU/AFC has sought to justify such actions and has attacked those who have highlighted and commented on these most draconian actions of the opposition.”
The ruling party said that it would have expected that the human rights organization of any country or an organization that has a human rights orientation, would adopt a position publicly and privately that ensures that it canvasses for positions that are supportive for human rights and the welfare of people.
“The statement issued by the GHRA seems to have moved away from that role of being an advocate for human rights issues and has now further descended into the opposition partisan political realm.”
The PPP/C said that it has no apology for representing the interest and welfare of all Guyanese, especially Amerindians, women, children and young people who have in all regions been affected by these unjustified and unwarranted budget cuts that have led to the slowing or cessation of Government goods and services.
The projects being affected by the budget cuts are One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project; the operations of the Ethnic Relations Commission budget to $1 and the Guyana Power and Light Inc.
“Another example of a gross violation of human rights is the slashing of the Guyana Power and Light company subsidy by $1B as the entire$6B was supposed to be injected into GPL to ensure it does not raise its rates and tariffs because the PPP/C Government of Guyana recognized that the price of fuel internationally has been on the rise and the utility service needs fuel to run its operations.”
Also being affected is the Hinterland Electrification programme for mainly Amerindians.
“So the GHRA apparently does not have a problem with the joint opposition denying the people in these communities the right to a basic utility service available to human beings all over the world in today’s civilization.”

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