Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Ms. Gail Teixeira made their case during the opening of the traditional budget debate, which was boycotted by PNC/R parliamentarians.

In criticising the behaviour of a number of PNC/R parliamentarians on March 28, both Teixeira and Ramsammy called on Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Ralph Ramkarran to refer the matter to a Parliamentary Committee of Privileges for recommendations and actions.

The Speaker agreed to refer the matter to the Committee of Privileges, noting that he, himself, found the behaviour of PNC/R members Mr. Jerome Khan and Mr. Abdul Kadir "to be in contempt of the National Assembly".

"I expect that they will, as soon as possible, purge that contempt in the appropriate way," Mr. Ramkarran told the National Assembly.

Both ministers condemned the attempts by the PNC/R MPs on March 28 to block the access to the National Assembly (which is being held at the Ocean View Convention Centre), and in the process trying to prevent them from discharging their constitutional and other obligations.

"I stand regrettably to raise an issue that not only all Guyana observed, but was displayed for people internationally to observe. I refer to the actions of a small group of people on March 28th that led to you (the Speaker) having to adjourn Parliament and then for the adjournment to become protracted due to the invasion of the halls of Parliament by Members of Parliament from the People's National Congress Reform," Ramsammy told the National Assembly.

He noted that the National Assembly, the Government of Guyana and the Constitution uphold the rights of all citizens to peacefully picket, but pointed out that the picketing exercise which was led by PNC/R parliamentarians on March 28 "was not a peaceful one".

"PNC Members of Parliament were seen not only as part of the small group of protesters, but giving encouragement to others to block vehicles and impeding the entry of other Members of Parliament," he said.

In this regard, Ramsammy said his colleague Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Ronald Gajraj had to abandon his vehicle and walk through the threatening protesters in order to get to the Parliament and discharge his duty as an elected member

"These same members encouraged the small crowd to break down Police barriers to invade the precincts of Parliament, ignoring Police instructions (and) this behaviour in no way constitutes peaceful picketing," the Health Minister said.

According to him, the small crowd, including women and children came with sticks and threatened to break the windows of the building as they beat on the floor and walls of the building. He said they also threatened the Police and others.

Ramsammy said the commotion, noise and threatening sounds coming from just outside of the building and within the precinct of Parliament forced the Parliament to recess and the Finance Minister to stop his presentation.

"This House functions within a democracy. All the Members of this House were elected in free and fair elections.

"While it is a privilege, it is also a serious obligation. We were elected to serve the people of Guyana. While we disagree on many things, our mandate is to serve in this House to protect and promote the people's interest," Ramsammy stated.

He also indicated that nothing is gained by staying out of Parliament.

"Certainly nothing can be gained by Members who indulge in hooliganism and in criminal activities. We have been privileged to be elected and we are paid for the privilege of serving people in this House," he asserted.

He said, "while there is a constituency that may have elected each one of us, we all serve all the people of Guyana".

"Our history is one in which for more than two decades after independence we lived in a dictatorial environment. Our history is that we had to fight against the most sordid attempts at destroying all democratic institutions in this country, including the symbol of a democracy - Parliament."

According to Ramsammy, that era spawned the worst examples of dictatorial behaviour and practices since the most brutal actions were taken to deal with those who dared to stand up against the dictatorship.

"At a time when we talk about inclusive and shared governance, we need to appreciate what these hallowed terms mean. Shared governance obligates each one of us in this House to perform certain duties.

"The work of this House is not about any one of us having our own way. It is about debating the issues and participating in the work of the committees," he argued.

PNC/R Member of Parliament, Mr. Raphael Trotman, in a letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly in which he, while not denying that he took part in the protest, sought to distance himself from the invasion of the Assembly, said he took "strong objection to any assertion, which seeks to impute improper or illegal conduct on (his) part".

In this regard, he asked the Speaker to do whatever is possible to ensure that this slander is not perpetuated against him (Trotman).

Mr. Ramkarran, in a response, said he agreed that Trotman has every right of legitimate protest but that "it seems rather peculiar that a Member of the National Assembly would protest against the same Assembly of which he or she is a member and willingly remain as part of that protest when it becomes so disorderly that proceedings in the National Assembly have to be suspended".