Dear Editor,
While I am not in the anti-vaccination camp, I am in the anti-repression camp opposed to the methods used by the government to get compliance with its mandatory vaccination policy. The police action against protestors moving from the Square of the Revolution to the Ministry of Education, a few blocks away on Brickdam, marks a “new low” in the PPPC government’s repressive tactics to force persons to be vaccinated.
The arrest of Mr. Kidackie Amsterdam, owner and host of the KEMS TV and other protestors, must be condemned as repression. Demerara Waves, in an article, quoted the police as saying, “…eight persons were arrested as they march west on Brickdam from the Square of the Revolution.” Images of the police arresting and forcing the protestors into the police bus were on social media for the world to see. The government and the police seem to have no regard for “optics” and are prepared to prove that the PPPC is ruthless and don’t care about how it is perceived in or out of Guyana. This contradicts their efforts abroad to neutralize the negative effects on the regime from the Brooklyn Anti- Racism Rally. The regime is willing to dispense political capital and financial resources to defend itself against the accusation of racism but is prepared to dig its foot in the sand when it comes to citizens exercising their rights to protest even in small numbers.
How could a government and the police justify calling the movement of eight persons a procession? The police force is following the political instructions of the rulers seeking to make a political statement in violation of the constitutional role of the police. This kind of action only serves to harden the view among those who are reluctant to take the vaccine that the authorities have something to hide. A government that is confident of the correctness of its policy and acting in the best interest of the public should not have a problem with eight citizens attempting to protest outside the Ministry of Education. Are they setting the stage for the wiping out of protestors in the streets by the police? I end with this observation – it will be interesting to see how our courts deal with the trampling of citizens’ rights. The pro-democracy voices are now dead and buried.
Sincerely,
Tacuma Ogunseye
