….Opposition tells His Highness, Sheikh Al Maktoum
Thousands of Guyanese have been dismissed, shot at, tear gassed, flooded, politically prosecuted, and had their rights violated at the hands of the Irfaan Ali Regime, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) said in an open letter to His Highness, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Juma Al Maktoum, of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On Thursday, His Highness, Sheikh Al Maktoum led a high-level team from the UAE to Guyana for a three-day visit, which wraps up today.
“Since August 2, 2020, hundreds of thousands of people in Guyana have been under unrelenting attack and political persecution at the hands of the state under the Irfaan Ali regime. Guyanese seeking land to build their homes on have been shot at, tear gassed and flooded out. Children, mothers and thousands of poor people are in a perpetual state of oppression under the Irfaan Ali regime,” the APNU+AFC reported.
It further reported that: “Women who are unconnected to politics have been fired en masse from their jobs with no reason or basis provided. Hundreds of them are single mothers and the sole breadwinners of their families. The unconscionable and heartless actions of the Irfaan Ali PPP regime has put thousands of persons on the breadline, with no place to live as they are unable to pay their rents. There has been mass ethnic cleansing of the public service, with almost 1000 Afro-Guyanese terminated.”
Crime, according to the coalition, has increased exponentially, and public safety is at an all-time low.
APNU+AFC told His Highness, Sheikh Al Maktoum that the actions of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) go against the teachings of Islam, which mandates equality for all mankind.
“Islam preaches and fosters brotherhood and respect. Islam admonishes us to enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong. The teachings of Islam is of no consequence to the Irfaan Ali regime,” the coalition posited.
To further compound the situation in Guyana, the APNU+AFC said the Irfaan Ali regime has refused to meet with officials of the Opposition to chart the way forward for a united Guyana.
“The Irfaan Ali regime has refused to appoint members of the main Opposition on state boards as has been the custom. This jeopardizes transparency and accountability,” the coalition said.
The Elections Petition cases, currently before the Court, were also brought to the attention of His Highness, Sheikh Al Maktoum. The APNU+AFC is challenging the legitimacy of the Irfaan Ali Administration on the basis that the Elections were compromised. “The March 2nd, 2020 elections have been shrouded in fraud, a compromised voters list and immense irregularities, discrepancies and anomalies. Polling documents cannot be accounted for, dozens of ballot boxes were compromised and we expect that the court will vitiate the elections and Guyana will return to fresh elections within a short period of time,” the coalition pointed out.
During his weekly virtual press conference on Friday, the Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon said it was important to highlight the plight facing the Guyanese people. “Women and children with nowhere else to live who were forced to squat due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have had the land around them deliberately flooded, forcing them out of the only homes they know, with no alternative housing provided by this regime,” he iterated. He noted that the majority of the close to 1000 public servants fired are Afro-Guyanese. “There is unwarranted harassment and detention by police of members of the previous government at the instruction of the Ali administration,” he added, while noted that Guyanese have endure more than 100 days of oppression.
