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National Assembly defends “sympathy” motion on late MP, Abdul Kadir-Canada joins condemnation
The National Assembly has defended a motion on the late Member of Parliament, Abdul Kadir, which it said is a practice of sympathy that is normal.
The statement yesterday by Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, would come even as the Canadian government joined in condemning the motion that was passed as the Opposition stayed away, last Friday.
Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs
According to Isaacs, he wrote to provide some clarity.
“Local parliamentary practice dictates that whenever a former or sitting Member of Parliament is deceased, the Clerk of the National Assembly is to draft a motion of sympathy which must be sent to the party of the deceased for their assent. Notice is then given by the party for the motion to be an item on the Order Paper.”
Isaacs made it clear that this is what occurred in the case of the passing of Kadir.
He said that the motion reads, “That this National Assembly records its deep regret on the death of Mr. Abdul Kadir, on 28th June, 2018, and pays tribute to his dedicated service to the Parliament of Guyana as a Member of Parliament where he served in the Eight Parliament, from 17th April, 2001 to 2nd May, 2006, and to the People of Guyana.”
The National Assembly also further resolved that an expression of its sympathy be conveyed to his sorrowing widow, children and relatives.
The late Abdul Kadir
Government has come in for backlash from the US, the European Union, and just yesterday from Canada, for the motion.
However, according to a Government statement earlier this week, it is clear that the motion in the National Assembly was misinterpreted.
“It is well known that there is a time-honoured convention of the National Assembly to observe, in a standard and solemn form, the work of former members who are deceased. The observance of this tradition has never been selective, and has included, over the decades, persons of all political parties and persuasions who served in the National Assembly.”
Government said that it regrets the interpretation given to the motion passed in the National Assembly on April 26 on the death of Kadir.
“The Government of Guyana asserts that it had no intention of conveying the impression that the motion was designed to honour a former MP convicted of terrorism in another jurisdiction. The motion recognises the member’s service as a parliamentarian.”
The statement also stressed that the Government of Guyana continues to condemn terrorism in the strongest possible way.
Yesterday, the Canadian High Commission, in a one-line statement, said that:
“Canada is disappointed that members of Guyana’s National Assembly have paid tribute to former MP Abdul Kadir, a convicted terrorist.”
On Monday, the EU Delegation said that it “notes with surprise the honouring of former MP Abdul Kadir in the National Assembly of Guyana and believes that eulogizing a person convicted of terrorist acts is inappropriate”.
In its own scathing statement on Monday, the US Embassy said that the resolution was insensitive and thoughtless, and would leave a stain on the legacy of the country’s law-makers.
Kadir, who was 66 when he died in a US prison last year, was sentenced to life by a court after being found guilty of plotting a 2007 terrorist attack at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
“Members of the National Assembly, therefore, chose to honor a man who conspired to kill innocent people from across the United States and around the world. This resolution is an insensitive and thoughtless act, which demonstrates the National Assembly’s disregard for the gravity of Kadir’s actions,” the US Embassy said.
The Embassy pointed out that while speaking at an International Peace Conference recently, U.S. Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch held up Guyana as “a model to the world on religious tolerance and understanding.”
The National Assembly’s resolution of April 26 would draw into question that reputation, the embassy said.
“It also comes on the heels of Guyana’s historic cooperation with the United States on the extradition of an alleged murderer. Members of Parliament have placed this resolution in direct contradiction to the efforts of security cooperation between our two countries.”
According to the embassy, with this resolution, honouring a convicted terrorist, members of Guyana’s National Assembly have left a stain on their legacy as representatives of the Guyanese people and on their commitment to the rule of law.
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