‘Dissent being stifled by Govt’- civil society group

Mar 21, 2022 News

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Kaieteur News – Civil Society group, Policy Forum Guyana has again called out the Irfaan Ali-led government for what it says is the administration’s role in shrinking public voices by not involving them in important policy making bodies and decision-making.
The body cited what it said is a deliberate act by the government to weaken the role of civil organisations and individuals by media attacks. The local group said in a public missive that civil space in Guyana is shrinking and one way that is happening is with the, “Exclusion of civil society from policy-making bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Natural Resource Fund (NRF), Statutory Commissions and Boards.”
The group said that while, “Independent civil society nominees can bring valuable societal insights…,” it recognises that well-established and respected organisations such as the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), Red Thread and the Transparency Institute (TIGI), along with other named religious and community-based organisations, have been targeted for attack by the ruling party for identifying themselves with a civic statement critical of decision-making in the extractive sector.”
Policy Forum Guyana highlighted that in keeping civil society at bay, there seems to be an, “acceleration of the state-owned media agencies from information outlets into organs of party-directed public relations that are mobilised against civil society.” The group said that a formidable mobilisation of intimidation involving Government Ministers, State institutions and the Government-controlled press, to daunt and dissuade criticism from civil society, is taking place, while there seems to be a highly-controlled consultant mechanism, or lack thereof with civil society, on major national decision-making processes such as climate policy, the Amaila Falls Hydro project and Natural Resource Fund among others. “This level of intolerance for criticism is against the spirit of a democratic polity, which requires an active civil society, even when it disagrees with Government policies or actions.”
In relation to a recent press release co-signed by other civil groups, the body said, “concerted efforts to suppress criticism broke new ground with the deployment of Department of Public Information (DPI) personnel masquerading as ‘free-lance’ journalists, who pressurized and panicked elderly citizens into disassociating themselves from their original statements.”
The body said, “Both Ministers and newcomers in Parliament found Facebook fortitude to troll what they described as ‘unknowns’ in civil society, emboldening assorted self-styled ‘news’ outlets and self-styled ‘journalists’ to reproduce the Facebook slander.”
“Slanted newspaper columnists and ‘wanna be’ elder statesmen joined the chorus, risking to be taken seriously neither by their friends nor their adversaries. Everything, moral or material, it seems, is to be pawned in the anxiety for ‘notice’ from party grandees.”
Policy Forum Guyana opined that the challenge Guyana faces is one of character. They said, “Ministers derided civic bodies as few in number and small in size, while simultaneously mobilizing whatever was available to frighten and repress people from seeking to express their views. All of which makes politics loathsome to those who want to create a better society, particularly the young.”
“This race to the bottom in terms of shrinking civil society space should be a matter of concern for all. “Policy Forum Guyana said that, “Freeing civic space from constraints on truth and decency is of benefit to everyone and requires more people finding their voices more routinely on issues in the public domain.” They added that, given the economic and political good fortune the Government enjoys, its leadership would do well to adopt a more gracious, less strident and frenzied approach to governing.”
Numerous civil society groups have accused the government of failing to provide clarity in the management of the country. They have accused the administration of overseeing media attacks on persons and groups who speak up.
Many of the questions raised by the civil groups involve transparency in various areas such as the oil and gas sector with the renegotiating of deals that puts Guyana on the losing end at the top of the list. The National Resource Fund is also a huge area of contention since the government is accused of formulating policies that will not ensure proper oversight of oil funds. Other areas of contention not having civil society on state boards and commissions that would oversee specific areas of operation in the country.
President Ali had said in a Facebook post that his government believes strongly that civil society has an important role to play in any democratic society. “But in civil society, a role cannot be convenient. And we cannot confuse civil society with individual organizations, that is, organizations that are run by individuals or are not open to the wider membership of our country. These organizations cannot be the conscience of truth or the conscience of society when they are convenient in the way they address issues”.
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, SC, had also stated that, “There is in existence, a mysterious group of critics of the PPP/C Government, constantly spewing their venomous attacks under the disguise of various fronts masquerading as civil society organizations – some known, some unknown and some simply fabricated.”
Among the bodies that have had to call out the government are Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR); East Coast Development Committees (ECD7); Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA); Guyana Organization of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP); Guyana Society for the Blind (GSB); Guyana Workers Union (GWU); National Toshaos’ Council (NTC); Policy Forum Guyana Inc (PFG); Red Thread; Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI) and Ursuline Sisters in Guyana.

 

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