The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) says it is paying keen interest to the Linden/Region Ten struggles and will hold the government accountable to the timeline set out in the agreement for its delivery.
The GTUC is also calling on CARICOM, the international community and the countries identified in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ release that offered “assurances of their support to resolve the difficulties which had arisen,” to ensure the cries for rights and justice are not in vain, a statement from GTUC General Secretary Lincoln Lewis said.
Moreover, he noted, the people of Guyana would be counting on their support to ensure the government upholds its end of the social contract.
According to Lewis, the people here are not in violation of the social contract, it is the government.
“As such we must welcome the attention of the Organization of American States (OAS) but ensure we present them an account of this government’s stewardship and demand they uphold their mandate without fear, favour or ill will.”
And consistent with the OAS’ declaration, “its statement is more an indictment on President Ramotar’s stewardship, than an admonishment to the citizenry the government is hoping it can convey.”
The citizenry must not be fooled, Lewis declared, and therefore the report last week to the OAS Permanent Council by Ambassador Bayney Karran of a “precarious political situation in the country which has arisen since the November 2011 elections and stated that it warrants close attention by OAS member states,” is a case of the government “making a fool/nuisance of itself.”
Lewis also condemned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over its August 24 release alluding to prepared support from the OAS to the Government of Guyana in its bid to maintain peace and strengthen human rights in the aftermath of the Linden unrest which claimed three lives, charging that it “reeks of (a) propaganda machinery gone awry.”
The OAS is a member of the international family whose existence/relevance is premised on adherence to its declarations, he pointed out, adding that as such the GTUC views their statement through the said premise and will hold them accountable to the stated standards.
“In fact,” Lewis noted, “the actions being carried out by Lindeners are not only enshrined in the Guyana Constitution but equally guaranteed in the OAS Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man in Articles I, II, XVII, XX, XX1, XXII.”
“There is no violation of government’s human rights or the disturbance of the peace by the people when they are forced to utilise other constitutional measures to ensure the upholding of their rights,” the GTUC General Secretary contended.
“Neither are the people culpable of engaging in acts that threaten democracy or the state’s security in the engagement of said rights,” he added.
According to Lewis, the threats and violations to person and state are noted in the government’s refusal to adhere to the citizens demanding their right to be involved in decision-making that impact their lives, as stated in Article 13 of the Guyana Constitution.
Modern society
It is the government’s initial rejection of this right, the GTUC General Secretary argued, that led persons to utilise their right to freedom of expression, association and assembly to secure same. And the situation was made worse when the state on July 18 “in attempts to suppress the named rights responded by turning the guns on peaceful protestors, killing three and injuring at least 20.”
The foundation for government in modern society, Lewis observed, is based on the social contract wherein people pay their taxes and obey just laws in return for government’s protection and advancement of their well-being in a secured environment where peace is premised on rights and justice, and a role of international organizations is to ensure this balance is maintained.
Meanwhile, Lewis charged that there have been numerous violations which threaten security, peace, democracy and rights by Ramotar’s nine-month-old administration.
The GTUC General Secretary then listed some of these as: “the refusal to accept the expressed will of the people on November 28; the December 6, 2011 police shooting of peaceful protesters in Georgetown; the July 18, 2012 police shooting of peaceful protestors and killing of three; the assaults on the political opposition in the execution of their parliamentary duties; the attacks on independent journalists for their coverage of the Linden struggles, the abuse of the state-owned Guyana Chronicle, an instance being the July 2, 2012 editorial demonising and criminalising African youths in an attempt to pit races against each other; the abuse of state-owned NCN to label African leaders outside of the PPP’s clutches; the silence on the continuous attacks on Freddie Kissoon’s person; the corruption scandals; the dilly-dallying of the Attorney General’s Chambers to effect the High Court order to bring resolution to the BCGI/GB&GWU dispute; NICIL’s management; and contempt for the National Assembly (the nation’s highest decision making forum).”
In the meantime, Lewis asserted that “the government is reminded that oppression does not last forever; neither will the people allow continuous rapacious management of their (nation’s) resources.”
On November 28, 2011, he posited, the people said ‘enough is enough,’ and have since signaled that “this was not a spontaneous act but a burning desire to end the atrocities.”
“The fact that more are standing up and fighting, evidently not deterred by assaults, live bullets, teargas, tear smoke and deaths,” it is to the administration’s best interest to “read the signs and deviate from their destructive path.”
And it is to the OAS’s interest that they read the signs and ensure the change, Lewis added.
However, he noted that the GTUC is encouraged by Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza’s pledge of full support to the Government of Guyana “for the country’s requirements in order to maintain peace and security and strengthen human rights and democracy following the recent unrest in Linden.”
To this end, Lewis maintained, the OAS will be held accountable to ensure the country’s requirements “include the government upholding the tenets of good governance/ human relations adumbrated in its Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, and the fruition of the Government of Guyana/Region Ten agreement.”
