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Backer in Contempt of Court

Feb 17, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
This in regards to the deputy Speaker’s decision to bar Minister Clement Rohee from speaking in parliament. The Speaker allowed Rohee to speak as a result of a High Court ruling stating that he cannot be barred from speaking in parliament.
Lo and behold, the Speaker was absent and the Deputy Speaker, the PNC M.P, was in charge of the proceedings. The deputy Speaker acted on the incorrect position that parliament passed a motion barring Rohee from speaking.
There was not such action from parliament  but a motion of no confidence which is not the same as a motion to bar the M.P from speaking.
The parliament can indeed pass a motion to bar any M.P from speaking but it can only do so after the Privilege Committee recommends such an action.  And a M.P can only be sent to a PC if a prima facie case is made out against a M.P.
Even if there were  legislation barring the M.P from speaking, the High Court vitiated such a measure by stating unequivocally that as an elected member of parliament, the Minister cannot be denied his right to speak.
The Minister, as a Member of Parliament, was sent to the Privileges Committee to be disciplined. Parliamentary rules requires require that before a M.P is sent to the PC, the Speaker has to first rule that a prima facie case exists against the M.P for violating its rules of debate or because of his public demeanour.
No such case was made or alleged against the M.P. A no confidence motion is not the same. The public is still to be informed of what rule the M.P was charged of violating.
Clearly, the deputy Speaker has a violated a rule of law – contempt of court by not allowing the M.P to speak.  She should therefore be sent to the PC for investigation and sanctions. So far on the Rohee matter, the minority PPP is playing by the rules of law.  But the opposition is ignoring the law and rulings of the court.
The issue for the PPP now is to decide how long it will willing to play by the rules of law.  The party played by the rules of law for 28 years resulting in the establishment of an ethnic dictatorship and mass starvation.  What we have in Guyana is a kangaroo parliament bringing back memories of the judicial system under the ethnic dictatorship.
Vishnu Bisram

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