…US, Britain, Canada, EU condemns act
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, says that the passage of the motion to honour convicted international terrorist, Abdul Kadir, in the National Assembly is a stain on Guyana globally.
At his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo stated that the APNU/AFC Coalition government should never have allowed such an “ill conceivable, insensitive” resolution to reach the floor of the Parliament much less be passed in the National Assembly.
“We owe the world an apology and that is the only way we will remove this stain that is on Guyana internationally. Instead of the government apologising to Guyana to all victims of international terrorism the world, it has chosen to make excuses. The government says that it never intended to convey the impression that it supports terrorism so it’s our fault for having that impression,” Jagdeo stated.
According to the Opposition Leader, the family of Kadir should not have to concern themselves about being treated differently because of his misdeeds adding that persons should not suffer due to the actions of their relatives.
“However, this motion should not have made the Order Paper. It should not have been debated by the PNC and passed in the National Assembly. This is a stain on Guyana globally,” he posited.
Jagdeo added that the government needs to issue an apology for its actions in this regard since this is the only way to ensure that Guyana and by extension all Guyanese are not stained wherever they go. 
The motion, which reads “That this National Assembly records its deep regret on the death of Mr. Abdul Kadir, on 28th June, 2018, and pays tribute to his dedicated service to the Parliament of Guyana as a Member of Parliament where he served in the Eight Parliament, from 17th April, 2001 to 2nd May, 2006, and to the People of Guyana,” was brought to the floor by Junior Agriculture Minister Valerie Adams-Yearwood.
Joining the growing list of diplomatic delegations condemning the motion was the Canadian High Commission. On Wednesday, Canada said it is disappointed by the passage of the motion.
“Canada is disappointed that members of Guyana’s National Assembly have paid tribute to former MP Abdul Kadir, a convicted terrorist,” Canada said in a statement to the media today.
Canada’s criticism comes in the wake of rebukes from the United States, the United Kingdom’s envoy and the European Union. The Opposition, PPP/C also criticised the government for passing such a motion.
The motion – sympathy on the Death of Mr Abdul Kadir, former Member of Parliament – was tabled by Junior Agriculture Minister Valerie Patterson-Yearwood, who described the convicted terrorist as a “great man” and a “stalwart”.
“The people of Linden and Guyana have lost a great man, a stalwart; a bold and courageous man. So I ask this National Assembly that we direct an expression of sympathy (to) be conveyed to his sorrowing widow, children, grandchildren and relatives,” Minister Adams-Yearwood said as she tabled the motion.
The motion was brought and passed in the absence of PPP parliamentarians, who have vowed to stay away from sittings until the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) rules on all no-confidence motion related cases.
Meanwhile, in light of the overwhelming backlash regarding the honouring of the convicted terrorist, Social Protection Minister Amna Ally noted on the sidelines of the Labour Day march today, that government will have to review how sympathy motions are done.
Kadir died while serving a life sentence in a US prison after he was found guilty of plotting an attack at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York.
