Dear Editor,
Is there anything in the training at Felix Austin or otherwise that suggests any group of Afrikans in the streets is a bunch of criminals?
The Agricola shooting is more than a criminal act. It is an assault on decency and one which indicates a profound socio-political crisis in Guyana. As such it should be one which draws the ire of the political directorate whom we support as “our political leaders.“ The ease with which our young men are being killed, and used to kill extra-judicially requires a social and political response.
The Agricola shooting comes in the wake of the Linden shooting which has generated widespread condemnation and a Commission of Enquiry with international jurists. But it is as though the message being sent, is that, we don’t care. It comes in the wake also of the young Afrikans killed extra-judicially, the destruction of farmlands in Buxton and the numbing revelations in the Jagdeo versus Kissoon case.
In situations such as these the thinking, will, honesty and direction of the leadership is essential for the success of attempts to correct the wrongs. In this context I compare the thinking and actions of the Regional Chairmen of Regions 10 and 4.
Mr Solomon’s answer to the killing of three Region 10 residents was, “We must organise to respond to this act of aggression perpetrated against the people of Linden.” It was essential to Linden’s success in its demand for justice. He demonstrated a more than sufficient quantity of the characteristics mentioned in the previous paragraph. He was the man for the job he never wavered and he never backed down.
However, on the occasion to commemorate the death anniversary of Brother Ronald Waddell this year, himself cold-bloodedy murdered, I advised that the Ramotar administration could not be expected to be different from previous PPP/C administrations and that we were naïve to believe same. To my utter amazement the moderator of the evening’s proceedings, the Chairman of the Region 4 RDC dismissed my observation as emotional and added that we cannot telegraph our responses but wait for the right time.
After all that has been revealed in Freddie’s case and these two shootings on the backs of the many other who were killed, is it not time? Such is the political dishonesty that has contributed greatly to where we are today. When a people’s hope is dimmed by a mother’s fear for the safety of her son’s life, representatives who utter such nonsense have lost their usefulness and are a part of our socio-political problem.
If in the wake of the condemnation of the action in Linden, and an impending Commission of Enquiry, the police are not wary about killing young black men, and our political representatives are either too cowardly or lack the creativity to organize an effective political response, then they are of little political relevance. We have got to let them know that we do not feel good about their abandonment of their role in creating a better life for us. We cannot allow them to get away with that abandonment. If need be we must demonstrate publicly our dissatisfaction with their representation and be willing to facilitate the necessary changes. Our representatives are not sacred bulls and cows, they must serve us. We cannot be their burden bearers and lose our children at the same time.
The social and political dynamic requires leadership from the PNCR led APNU of a kind demonstrated by Mr Sharma Solomon. It requires the total involvement of our people. The people have always been ready; the time has come for us to demand and ensure we are led by men and women of courage, with the will to be politically honest and the morality to work for that black housewife, that black female security guard that black garbage collector’s upliftment without bartering that cause for their own personal benefit. Afrikans in Guyana deserve the kind of leadership demonstrated by Mr Soloman.
I call for this change in our and our political representatives’ actions and thinking.
Yours faithfully,
Jonathan Adams
