People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader, Aubrey Norton says overseas-based Guyanese calling for “militancy” do not live in Guyana and will not face the consequences of “breaking up the country” in defiance of the government’s alleged anti-black policies.
Norton said that in 1997 when his party staged widespread protests, opposition supporters were labelled as “thugs” and “young Turks”. He said that those very people who were advocating for ‘militancy’ are now behind these fresh calls.
During the recent ousting of several families from lands reserved for a new road at Mocha, East Bank Demerara, last week, Norton admitted that tensions flared and persons felt that ‘militancy’ was the better option. The Opposition Leader said he was adamant that cooler heads must prevail, noting that in this “era”, issues will not be resolved by resorting to such extremes.
“[F]or a lot of the commentators, we have to look at who is at home and who is abroad because a lot of people abroad will say: be militant, break up the country, etcetera, but we have got to work with our people in Mocha and decide what is best for them,” Norton said.
He added that while he is willing to be militant (protests), he does not wish to create a confrontational situation where lives are lost. “We are prepared to protest and what we have to do, but we are not prepared to just put peoples’ lives at risk,” he noted.
The Opposition Leader’s comments come days after a motion was tabled by an overseas PNCR faction calling for his resignation. Norton’s alleged inability to unite the party; a senior functionary’s allegations of racism in the party; and the business community cutting ties with the PNCR and starving it of financial support were some of the reasons cited in the no-confidence motion tabled by the Florida Chapter.
