Dear Editor,
President Ramotar needs to rethink his approach to governance for the good of this nation and the peaceful co-existence of the people. As president, though elected on partisan/party ticket, having taken the Oath of Office, he is bound by the Constitution to govern in the interest of all. And this is premised on the fact that he is paid by all the people and the nation’s resources belong to all the people. Thus it is unfortunate that in his address to the nation, relating to the 11th October protest on the East Bank Demerara, he missed the opportunity to offer legitimate assurance and resolution. In fact, his approach as Chief Public Servant is tantamount to an abrogation of his responsibility to the people’s welfare, who deserve sobriety on a matter discomforting to both the affected and aggrieved.
The workers and families affected during the incident and the aggrieved who saw the road blockage as a means to bring attention to their grievances bear testimony of our intertwined relations, wherein what affects one affects all. And behind this backdrop what has become the political fare of `buse out’, taunts, condemnation of effects and ignoring causes, ascribing responsibility to another to extricate self, and obscuring issues to diminish their significance or fronting the refusal to resolve them, will not work. The society must no longer accept these behaviours since they do not achieve solutions, disrupt peaceful co-existence, and the aggrieved will not be silent or disappear. Clearly, with more standing up and fighting for their rights, evidently not deterred by insults, police assaults, pellets, live bullets, teargas, tear smoke and deaths, the president needs to understand this manifestation of human nature. For no one accepts marginalisation or oppression forever. The historical development of the nation bears testimony.
So, the resort to call citizens “thugs” for actions the president himself championed and engaged in when he was in the opposition is unhelpful, equally as conflating the issues and engaging in blame game when ultimately the responsibility is his to ensure the people’s rights are respected, grievances are timely addressed, there is equal treatment across the board, and the rule of law prevails for all. As such the nation expects his universal condemnation of violence, not only by person on person but also by government on the people. For consistent with the World Health Organisation, violence is “The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.” And too many can highlight evidence of government’s violence.
Further, to the president’s position that many of the protestors were criminals, it would be to this nation’s well-being that he does not have different treatment for different folks. Lest it be forgotten the society has been calling on him to weed out the corrupt in his midst and place them before the courts. He is still to act accordingly. Criminality has adverse impact on the economy since it denies workers the benefits of their tax dollars, depletes standard of living, creates unemployment, deprives of livable wage/salary and threatens security. As such the intolerance for street crimes must be equally matched for the intolerance of white collar crimes and those who rob the citizens their inalienable rights by flouting the laws.
Let it be clear the 18th July Commission of Inquiry (COI) has no mandate to determine whether the Minister of Home Affairs should demit office. Such call was made by the people, independent of the COI, and cemented with the vote of the parliamentary majority. So for the president to inform the society that they have to await the results of the COI is misleading and stands the risk of pitting the people against the commissioners. The commissioners have a specific mandate and they must be allowed to execute same without being ensnared in the vengeful petty politicking. The president is also reminded that former home affairs minister Ronald Gajraj demitted office after similar outcries against his stewardship and prior to the establishment of a COI along similar lines of the present.
And to those involved in public expressions and assembly in efforts to secure justice, do strive to ensure the cause is not hijacked/infiltrated by engaging in self policing, group identity and turning perpetrators over to law enforcement. Equally the police have a responsibility to guarantee the protection of demonstrators and non-demonstrators. For clearly some see opportunity in these events to carry out their dastardly deeds to deny others what’s rightly theirs. Rights are non-negotiable and they must not be held hostage to agent provocateurs, criminals, government, group or individual.
Ultimately, the buck stops at the president to ensure the fundamentals of the society are intact as enshrined in the Constitution, universal declarations and laws and international conventions. To this end he needs to take cognizance of the facts that the cold war is behind us; polarisation has no place in modern politics; and democracy in today’s global environment is measured by accountability, adherence to the rule of law and social justice. Further, whereas the PPP has secured the plurality of votes and was given the privilege to form the executive, such grant them no authority/power to trample the citizens’ rights, plunder their resources and ignore their representatives.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis
