Ramotar never called Opposition MPs terrorists – Dr. Luncheon

Jul 25, 2013 News

President Donald Ramotar never compared Opposition Members of Parliament to terrorists for shutting down two Bills related to the Amaila Falls Hydropower project in the National Assembly, last Thursday. As such, there is no reason for the President to apologize, said Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon during his post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday.

Dr. Roger Luncheon

He was responding to a query about the need for the President to apologize for his “act of terrorism” comment.
The Government Information Agency and Guyana Chronicle of Friday July 19, 2013 edition proclaimed that President Ramotar made such a comment. The comment was subsequently repeated by members of the ruling party at a press conference.
According to Dr. Luncheon, several members of the Opposition, including A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Joe Harmon, have been informed by Ramotar that he did not make that comment.
“I don’t believe that he has withheld that comment that he never said that…He announced it that he never said that. I know he has told Joe Harmon and Members of the Opposition that. Whether they believe that is another thing,” the Cabinet Secretary said.
GINA, which is the information mouthpiece of Government, particularly the President who is the Minister of Information issued the press statement containing “act of terrorism”. That statement did not represent the President’s address to the nation.
In a press statement yesterday APNU said, “APNU Members of Parliament will not be attending meetings of the Special Select Committee on the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism Bill until President Donald Ramotar withdraws his statement referring to the actions of the Opposition as an ‘act of terrorism’, with reference to the Government Bill on the Hydro Electric Act.”
According to the AFC leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, Ramotar had called the Opposition Parliamentarians who last Thursday voted down the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Amendment Bill and the motion to up the guarantee to public corporations to $150B, “terrorists”.
“This I found most offensive and insulting. I have since written a piece explaining that it was out of prudence that the AFC voted as it did,” the AFC leader said.

President Donald Ramotar

On Monday, Opposition members walked out from a key Parliamentary Select Committee on anti-money laundering legislation. The Parliamentarians have threatened not to participate in future committee meetings unless the President withdraws the statement.
At stake is Guyana meeting its August 26 deadline to submit critical documentation on what changes the country has made to its anti-money laundering measures. The Opposition had voted to send the legislation to the select committee. Failure by Guyana to submit the documents by August 26 and be reviewed in a positive manner in November by an international panel could attract financial and other penalties.
However, this is not the first time that the Opposition walked out of discussions in the Special Select Committee on this very legislation.
In May, days before Guyana was required to defend its efforts to stem financial crimes when the Plenary Meeting of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) met in Managua, Nicaragua from May 27 to May 30, the Opposition abandoned discussions.
In fact, the issue which forced the pull out of APNU from the committee was a letter sent to Ramotar by the CFATF on April 10, last.
APNU believed that Ramotar should have shared the letter earlier with Leader of Opposition David Granger.
According to Dr. Luncheon, CFATF had written the President and had recommended that Ramotar share the content of the letter with the leader of the Opposition and other stakeholders.
The letter was not shown in a “timely manner” and the President was assailed by the Opposition. They walked out of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee and the President acted appropriately by offering his apology for not providing a copy of the letter within that one week.

Leader of the Opposition David Granger

“We made the point that in consideration of the importance of the Anti-money Laundering Combating the Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill that the resort to the walk out because the President did not honour a recommendation (was unfortunate).
“I can’t see CFATF instructing our President to do anything. A recommendation was actually the height of ridiculousness but the President still in the greatness of magnanimity offered Mr. Granger an apology and if that was the height of magnanimity I don’t know to what extent we want the President to go now,” he said.
According to Dr. Luncheon, “I cannot believe that in this day of fine instrument that clutter our offices and our desktops that the President’s address and the content of his address to the nation could be so misunderstood, misread that the notion that he called the leaders and members of the Opposition terrorists remains on the table top, remains on the front burner.”
“President Ramotar has insisted that he never did and he said get the records, get the correspondence, get the transcripts of what I actually said. Now, I don’t believe that the President could be as confused as the Opposition as to what he actually said. And therefore my answer to you is that there is no need for an apology,” he said.
In response to further queries as to why some top ranking officials of the PPP/C subsequently echoed the “terrorists” comment Dr. Luncheon said, “Are you saying that these individuals having completed their birth certificate, primary school, secondary school, university, graduate school are waiting on the President to inform them of what to say. I think you need to get the records of what the President said.”