Cuffy 250 Committee defers forum to August 28

Aug 22, 2022 News

– The Cuffy 250 Committee has deferred its planned forum titled: ‘Resisting the Emerging Apartheid State”.

Kaieteur News – In a statement, the committee said a letter to the editor from the Office of the Attorney General has raised a serious question which the organisation has never had to deal with since its first forum in 2013 on the state of African Guyanese. The basic question is simply this: “Is it now unconstitutional and illegal to hold a virtual forum on the state of African Guyanese titled Resisting the Emerging Apartheid State?”

Cuffy250 Committee said it is fully aware of views about the title that follow parallel but widely separate tracks. “One track, for a host of reasons, holds the view that the title is TOO HARSH and totally inappropriate. The other track sees the title as TOO WEAK and unfocused. It could have been, for a different set of reasons, “Resisting the Existing Apartheid Conditions.”

According to the committee, the forum since 2013 has had panelists fully discuss the state (condition) of African Guyanese without censure. “The unexpected threat implied by the Office of the AG signals that something has emerged that was never there before 2022. In light of the AG’s threat, Cuffy250 is consulting its lawyers on whether the AG’s letter jeopardizes the right to free speech. Given this development, Cuffy 250 announces that the conference is postponed until August 28, 2022 to clarify this basic question,” the statement added.