The opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) today in a strongly worded statement condemned the removal of Vincent Henry, Member of Parliament and Leader of the Guyana Action Party (GAP), from the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference on Tuesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. The incident, the party said, occurred when Mr. Henry was reportedly escorted out by police, allegedly on the orders of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government.
Mr. Henry has since affirmed that the Minister of Natural Resources halted his presentation due to Henry’s presence at the event. APNU has dismissed the explanation that the conference is exclusively for Toshaos, citing Article 43(3)(b) of the Amerindian Act, which states that “Amerindians are allowed to attend its meetings.”
APNU has characterised the government’s actions as a “blatant violation” of Mr. Henry’s rights, criticising what they describe as the PPP’s continued pattern of “bad mindedness and control freakism.” The party further noted that such incidents contribute to the erosion of the PPP’s support among Indigenous Guyanese across all regions.
