A few days ago as I watched Burma’s (Myanmar‘s) opposition leader, former political prisoner and Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi boarding a plane to neighbouring Thailand, I rejoiced in the triumph of her principled tenacity. After 24 years in solitary confinement and house arrest, this tenacious woman had triumphed over the tyranny and brutality of a ruthless regime in Burma. During her 24 years as a political prisoner, Suu Kyi did not travel out of the country because she was concerned that the regime would not let her back in. Although it was a short flight, only 591 miles, it nonetheless, marked a milestone in the Burmese people’s struggle for freedom and human rights.
I must confess that I hope Suu Kyi’s two decades of struggle would be an inspiration to Guyanese, particularly those in the political opposition. The PPP has been in office for 20 years and they have lived down a number of scandals. The PPP regime seems to have a simple technique: when scandals break and it seems as though the public would become angry, they would deny everything loudly. As the people’s anger persists, the PPP in a calculated effort would remain quiet and lie low for a couple of weeks until the anger subsides. Within two weeks, the furor dies down and the machinery goes into full operation again. Check it out, over the years nothing has been able to stick. This time, however, some writers from both the AFC and APNU have been hammering away at the of NICIL‘s funds. Of course, the regime would use propaganda in an effort to get the public to move on. If and when this happens, the PPP/C will simply conduct business as usual. This must not be allowed to happen this time. The law must be made to function, and the funds in NICIL’s accounts must be handled expeditiously and professionally.
Either the directors of NICIL are vindicated or if they are found to have acted illegally, there should be consequences. Rather than standing firm with the people and demanding answers, I am aware that some members of the opposition will tell the populace that it is time to move on. This would be woeful on their part, but I suspect that it would be their way of saying that they lack the stamina and dogged determination to produce any political victory.
These same opposition politicians who would tell the public to move on from the NICIL fiasco would not tell the PPP to stop demonizing Forbes Burnham, end corruption and develop an economic plan aimed at providing jobs for the youths. For 20 years the PPP/C has been reminding Guyanese of the 21 years of Burnham’s rule as a means to justify illegalities which have occurred during their period of office.
It is time they provided answers on the more than 200 persons lost as a consequence of extra-judicial killings; the assassination of the Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh on April 22, 2006 and journalist Ronald Waddell on January 30, 2006; the mishandling of the Amaila Falls project; and NICIL.
We may not get what we want in a day or even a decade. Nevertheless, we, like Aung San Suu Kyi and Mandela, cannot succeed unless we are determined and patient.
Yours faithfully,
Aubrey Retemyer
