Opposition MPs Walk Out Of Parliament In Protest At Government’s Community Care Letter Motion
Opposition MPs walked out of Parliament this afternoon in protest at the Government’s motion calling on the Community Care Action Group to withdraw the letter it delivered to the Governor. GSD MPs and Together Gibraltar’s Marlene Hassan Nahon have issued the following two separate statements:
The GSD said that the Motion calling on the Community Care Action Group to withdraw a letter to the Governor “raises serious issues of the abuse of Parliament by the Government and basic democracy.”
The GSD statement continued:
“Parliament is a law-making and debating chamber. On important questions the Parliament can express its view by Motion. Parliament is also somewhere where the Government is supposed to be held to account. It is not a place to be used by the Government so that it can bully citizens even if it considers that they have written letters that are inaccurate.
“The GSD cannot legitimise a process with serious implications for the quality of our democracy. Are the Government going to audit and check all letters written to the Governor or anybody else from now on? Is there no longer going to be freedom of expression? The Government needs to exercise the power it has with restraint. To force a debate on a motion with a degree of urgency when its purpose is to target individual citizens or lobby groups is a serious misuse of what the Parliament as a democratic institution should be.
“This is not about Community Care. It is about basic liberties.
“If this was a Motion that simply stated [as has traditionally been the position adopted by successive Governments] that Community Care is a registered charity run by Trustees and has a legal status and existence that is separate and distinct to the Government we would have no difficulty supporting such a Motion. But this seeks to challenge basic liberties and the freedom of people to write letters or to voice opinions however right or wrong they may be. It is not the role of Parliament to come down like a hammer on lobby groups made up of ordinary citizens. Parliament needs to understand the power it has and that this will hamstrung democratic debate unnecessarily.
“It is for these reasons that having explained our position in Parliament we have walked out of the debate on this Motion in protest at what we consider to be a serious assault on democracy. This is not what Parliament should be used for. We are dismayed at the attitude of the Government.”
Together Gibraltar said: “Yesterday, the 29th of July, Parliament was given notice of a motion that the Chief Minster intends to move at today’s Parliamentary session, categorising it as urgent in order to bypass the procedural five-day wait for a motion to be heard.
“The motion pushes for the Community Care Action group, signalling out the chairman of said group, Mr. Joseph Capurro, to withdraw their letter sent to his Excellency the Governor of Gibraltar, “at least insofar as the blatant inaccuracies therein contained.”
“It also intends to use this parliamentary tool to single-handedly and forcefully settle a chapter of our history, as per the “cogent and clear explanations” provided by Sir Joe Bossano, and the “statements made by the Chief Minister” in his budget address replies from last Monday.
“Together Gibraltar believes that this motion is undemocratic, and goes a step too far with regards stifling the right to free speech. It also represents an intolerable attack on organised civil society, and is an attempt at imposing a single, indisputable, GSLP-tainted narrative of this chapter of our history.
“The party believes that, as long as they do not breach the law, the people of Gibraltar have the right to send any letter they want to any authority.”
TG leader, Marlene Hassan-Nahon said: “That the CCAG’s letter includes errors and inaccuracies is unfortunate, and will surely have an impact on the effectiveness of their campaign in the long run. However, I will never condone the repression of civil society on this basis. People have a right to make demands, accurate or not, just as authorities have the responsibility to respond to those demands on their merits. What we cannot do is use parliamentary action to steamroll the voice of our people, however wrong it may sound to those in power.”
“Concerned by the gravity of this undemocratic move by Government, the opposition in its entirety felt it had no other recourse than to walk out from today’s parliamentary session while this motion was heard.
“Parliament is not a platform for government to grandstand while vilifying and bullying ordinary citizens.”
