Dear Editor,
Reference is made to the article ‘Office of the President asks ERC to probe SN, KN on race articles’ (SN, July 2). Guyana is sinking deeper and deeper every day into anti-democratic practices and the voices for the creation of a just society must speak out. The Office of the President speaks on behalf of the Government of Guyana which manages the affairs of all the people. It is therefore dictatorial to use the state’s resources to employ this new tactic to silence its citizens and the private media from publishing information that impact on their wellbeing, which in this instance pertains to racial discrimination in the society.
The constitution of this country speaks of a commission to address the issue of discrimination. The parliament (the People’s House) saw it fit to put that commission in place which is an admission that racial and other forms of discrimination exist and must be addressed. The fact now that the Office of the President is prepared to deny this through the trumped up allegation of “forms of unacceptable journalism” speaks to an abuse by the government of the people’s resources to inflict conditions of life on them that violate a fundamental constitutional right.
The media are seen as society’s watchdog. In a democratic society this role is taken very seriously as the media not only report the news but also seek to create an inclusive and progressive environment, which among other things, includes holding government and citizens accountable for ensuring just practices such as respecting the human rights of all.
As managers of the people’s business the government is expected to respond to the people’s outcries and should instead be requesting of the Ethnic Relations Commission to pursue the complaints it reads of in the press, including those made against the government. Racial discrimination is proving to be the undoing of this society since it is a hindrance to peaceful co-existence, nationhood and development. It is the elephant in the room which the people, through their parliament, have put systems in place to address, yet the government refuses to conform to the will of the people by having this issue discussed and corrected.
In every multiracial society there are racial conflicts and a key element to resolving them is by giving expression via the media which creates the opportunities to work towards resolution through sound policies and/or laws. It must be no different in Guyana.
The January 2010 Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union’s complaint made to the ERC for a public inquiry into government discrimination against bauxite workers on the grounds of race and political geography, though yet to be investigated, has seen Dr Roger Luncheon’s swift response, via the media, that the complaint is “ludicrous.” It confirms that the government is only receptive to the media when it alone is allowed expression or dictates/influences such expression. Even as the government pretends there is no racial problem the diplomatic community has spoken out.
Instructive are the comments of outgoing British High Commissioner to Guyana, Fraser Wheeler who said the country has a “politicized racial divide” which is a “fundamental problem” and proffered that “all political and civil society players need to find some form of accommodation” (SN, 27). Questions of discrimination in Guyana were also submitted to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review by other countries. The United Nations Rapporteur on Race and its Expert on Minority Issues visited Guyana and submitted reports, including recommendations, to bring about a resolution to the problem. The man in the street speaks every day about the suffocation in the society with the racial polarization. The only one in denial is the Office of the President.
Should the ERC abrogate its mandate to the citizens and allow the government to use it to muzzle the private media and by extension prevent people from speaking out about the problem, this society will not move forward. The ERC will then be part of the problem and not part of the solution. This act may benefit some but it will never help Guyana. People must speak against this new form of tyranny.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis
