Leader of Guyana’s main Parliamentary Opposition, Aubrey Norton has informed the nation that while unity is key in staving off threats to the country’s territorial integrity, the government has failed to follow up on another meeting with the opposition.
Addressing the National Assembly today, Norton lamented President, Dr. Irfaan Ali’s sloth in calling for another meeting.
Norton said that when he agreed to meet with the president, it was based on a mutual understanding that both sides would shed their political cloaks and stand united on the matter. At that time, Venezuelan troops were amassing at the border and citizens were cast into a state of uncertainty and fear.
“One can say to this National Assembly that there has only been that one meeting between the president and us, and since then, there has been none,” he told the House.
He continued, “How could you at the time of the Guyana/Venezuela territorial controversy, when you will need to be meeting to crystallize ideas, how can you have one meeting and not call another?”
Norton then went to the offensive, saying that utterances by the government about democracy and unity are merely crafted to produce a “facade”, adding that “democracy is deeper than a facade.”
Norton also warned about the consequences of disunity, noting that Venezuela could exploit these apparent divisions for its own gain.
“They will look for the cracks between the government and the opposition and I warn the government not to show cracks and some of the actions are showing a crack in that unity,” he noted.
