Show evidence of alleged Corbin/criminal contact
-PNCR demands
Stabroek News
April 24, 2004
The PNCR is calling on Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj to publish all the evidence showing that its leader, Robert Corbin's telephone number was in the possession of a criminal.
The party on Thursday reacted to an allegation made by Gajraj last week at the end of his budget debate presentation.
During the outburst, Gajraj accused the local media and the PNCR of peddling rumours against him while denying that he ever had anything to do with a death squad formed to kill criminals.
The party said Gajraj must provide the name of the criminal, the offence that the criminal committed, the date the criminal was arrested with the phone number and the date and time the person was convicted for the alleged offence.
"The PNCR has no secret numbers and the PNCR's numbers are all listed in the GT&T telephone directory for the benefit of the general public. But even if the telephone numbers of the PNCR leader, which are listed in the GT&T directory, were to be found in the possession of anyone, what does that prove?" the party asked. The PNCR also asked whether Gajraj wanted to equate that situation with the official telephone records which revealed that he was speaking regularly with "known felons".
Speaking at the party press briefing on Thursday, PNCR member Cheryl Sampson said that leader Robert Corbin dared Gajraj to repeat his statements outside the walls of Parliament. Statements made in Parliament cannot be grounds for slander.
The party reiterated its call for the removal of the minister, saying that his presence as part of the "body politic" of Guyana is cancerous and offensive to the nation.
The PNCR added that if Corbin and the party ever return to Parliament the first task would be to have the statements that Gajraj made struck from the records "which the Honourable Speaker allowed to be entered uncensored."
The party decried the fact that the minister was allowed to use Parliament to refute allegations in relation to the death squad while the PNCR was not allowed to bring up the issue, being denied on two occasions.