Call for speaker’s resignation…‘Chronicle article’ designed to cause parliamentary crisis – Opposition

Sep 28, 2014 News

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The political opposition believes that a recent article in “that thing called the Chronicle newspaper” which said that

an opposition member called for the resignation of House Speaker, Raphael Trotman pending the outcome of the sexual abuse allegations against him, is nothing but a plot designed to cause a parliamentary crisis.
They believe that it was clearly designed to be a “red herring”—information intended to mislead or distract from a most crucial matter, to wit the parliamentary debate on the no-confidence motion.
However, the House Speaker has made it clear that he has known of similar cases where persons were accused but only resigned when they were charged. He highlighted a case back in 2013 where the Deputy Speaker of the British House of Commons Parliament was accused of sexual misdemeanors. He did not resign when faced with the allegations but when he was charged he stepped down from the Constitutional Office.
Trotman said that Guyana is a signatory to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association from where he has received advice. And based on the advice he has received, he would not be stepping down based on “baseless and malicious” accusations that are being leveled against him.
Trotman, when asked whether he would resign if charges were leveled against him, said that he would speak on that matter on Tuesday at a press conference.
“I am a patriot. I love my country. I love the fact that I can serve Guyana as Speaker but I will do nothing to injure the reputation of the National Assembly and/or to interfere or impede the business of the House including a no confidence motion.”
He said that he would not do anything that would divert from the smooth running of the business of the House. He added, “Rest assured that I will do what is right and in the interest of Guyana.”
The Attorney at Law said, “I have never in my life committed any act of a sexual nature that is illegal. I have never molested any child, male or female, and I have never, as a matter of fact, even as Counsel, represented a person charged with a similar offence because of my abhorrence of matters of this nature.”
AFC General Secretary, David Patterson, said that the intention behind “this outrageous attack” against Trotman is to derail the no confidence motion.
Vice Chairman of the AFC, Moses Nagamootoo, said that this is clearly being done to create “a parliamentary crisis.”
“If you don’t have a Speaker then you have uncertainty to have a motion discussed. Trotman has made a ruling on the admissibility of the motion and it would come on the order paper when Parliament resumes and I can assure that I will be there to move that motion unless something untoward happens,” Nagamootoo expressed.
The AFC made it clear that based on its inquires, no opposition member has called for the resignation of the House Speaker in any regard and as such urged the Chronicle Newspaper “to up their stories.”

Nagamootoo had stated that he is deeply concerned over the admission by Attorney-at-Law Jaya Manickchand that she had initiated an enterprise which could have resulted in the perversion of the course of justice.
Johnny Antony Welshman Jnr., the young man who recently accused House Speaker, Raphael Trotman, of sexually molesting him when he was younger, had said that he had retained the services of the lawyer.  But Manickchand vehemently refuted the allegations.
The AFC however, uncovered and disseminated text messages from Manickchand’s cell phone number which indicates that she apparently tried to settle the matter discreetly with Trotman, despite stressing mere days before that she was not looking out for Welshman’s interest.
The political party has concluded that “the troubled young man” may be part of a scheme to entrap the House Speaker and tarnish the AFC.
The Attorney at-Law subsequently posted on her Facebook page, a detailed statement in defense of her actions.
Nonetheless, Nagamootoo told media operatives yesterday that Manickchand, in her letter to the press admitted to contacting Trotman. The Vice Chairman said that the result of her actions, were Mr. Trotman to have fallen for Manickchand’s entreaties, would have enmeshed the House Speaker in criminal activity.
He said that the clear intention of Manickchand’s scheme was to “entrap Mr. Trotman into paying hush money to suppress his alleged involvement in a most heinous crime, thereby securing from him an admission of his participation in the horrible crime and confirming that he had something to hide by the payment of the “hush money”.

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