GHRA calls on major parties to revive parliamentary life
Stabroek News
March 29, 2003
The Guyana Human Rights Association has unanimously approved a resolution calling for "the major political parties to urgently demonstrate a commitment to restore political normalcy and, in particular, to revive parliamentary life."
A GHRA release said the resolution argued for such steps to reduce political and racial tensions, and avert dangers inherent in the absence of formal political processes, while noting the serious damage to the economy created by political insecurity and the apparent lack of urgency in seeking a solution to the political crisis.
The resolution was part of the proceedings at the GHRA's 17th Annual General Meeting which was held at the association's centre last Saturday week.
In a second resolution, the GHRA addressed what it re-ferred to as its long-standing demand for a National Oversight Body on Crime and Security.
According to the human rights body, the recent death and wounding of young men in the shooting by police on Sheriff street, a "wide-ranging sense of public insecurity," developing a national policy on crime and security, and the "need to rid the Guyana Police Force of elements who operate beyond the law" reinforce the need for such a mechanism.
And in his report, GHRA's Executive Secretary Norris Witter noted the association's involvement in the Committee for the Reform of Criminal Justice; and the landmark publication Ambivalent About Violence: Fatal shootings by the Police 1980-2001.
Witter also highlighted efforts by GHRA to promote implementation of constitutional reforms; cooperation with the Ministry of Education in introducing human rights education into the national curriculum; activities to strengthen civil society and the body's support for the racial harmony activities of Rights of Children (ROC).
Mike McCormack and Sharon LaRose were returned as co-presidents of the association, while new members in the executive committee include Fiona Johnny, a nurse from Karasabai, Vidushi Persaud, an attorney-at-law, and Cleo Quimby, a medex based in Linden.
