The Working People's Alliance (WPA) has found the four anti-crime bills "alien to our local jurisprudence" and "in contravention of the Guyana Constitution," and is urging that the National Assembly not proceed with their second readings tomorrow as scheduled.
The bills, which were presented in Parliament last week, were originally to have their second readings on Monday. However, the opposition parliamentarians present in court - Shirley Melville and Sheila Holder (GAP-WPA) and Ravi Dev (ROAR) - had strenuously objected to this. They had sought and obtained a postponement to tomorrow, to allow them time to peruse them. The bills in question are: the Criminal Law (Offences) (Amendment) Bill No 9 of 2002; the Prevention of Crimes (Amendment) Bill No 10 of 2002; the Racial Hostility (Amendment) Bill No 11 of 2002 and the Evidence (Amendment) Bill No 12 of 2002.
The WPA said in a press release issued yesterday that having concluded its preliminary assessment of the bills, it was opposed to their enactment tomorrow. The release said that sections of the bills, "provided opportunity for political abuse, discriminatory and unfair treatment of citizens, breached a basic principle of law through the introduction of retroactive punishment and reduces the level of proof among other distressing elements."
As a result, and given government's control of the National Assembly and the draconian nature of some of the bills, the WPA said that it was calling on the government to give serious consideration to all of the concerns raised. The PNC/R in a press release issued on Monday and the Guyana Bar Association at a press conference yesterday, have also raised concerns about the bills.
The WPA said it was crucial that a consensus approach be reached to effectively deal with the scourge of banditry and violence confronting the society without "introducing opportunities to erode citizens' fundamental rights." The party noted that since it became evident that there was a breakdown in law and order in Guyana, it had been advocating for a national response to deal with the situation in a holistic manner. It said this approach was in sync with recent amendments to the Constitution, which aim for inclusive democracy through the involvement of citizens in the decision-making process.