TIME TO RE-FOCUS

Sep 07, 2008 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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By Raphael Trotman

Now that the hype and revelry of Carifesta and the Beijing Olympics are over, we need to re-focus our attention to the numerous problems and issues which continue to beset our nation.
Carifesta provided a much needed refrain and distraction from the stress and hopelessness that accompanies day-to-day life in Guyana. Undoubtedly, Carifesta was a fantastic and profoundly significant event and the Guyanese people must be commended for their unprecedented support for the numerous activities which ensued, and for playing such gracious hosts to our Caribbean brothers and sisters and those from further afield.
I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the efforts of the legion of organizers and coordinators, led by Dr. Paloma Mohamed, who made us feel proud.
The AFC had taken the obvious decision not to call for a boycott of Carifesta because it accepted that the impact of this event was beyond the geographical parameters of Guyana, and moreover that Carifesta, was not just about music, dance, and drama, but just as importantly, about the advancement of the diverse and evolving concept that we call “Caribbean Culture”. The majority of the people of Guyana recognised this. Ultimately, the art of politics is about the ability to read the mood of the people; about seeing the direction in which they are headed; and about keeping apace with them. We chose to go with the people.
Despite recent successes, the national security situation remains tenuous and the AFC is particularly concerned about the government’s preoccupation with the operational side of security management; which preoccupation is being done at the expense of addressing the fundamental weaknesses, flaws, fissures remaining in our society.
It is these, and the prolonged failure to confront them, that spawn cycles and waves of violent crime every few years. In this regard, the thesis put forward by Tacuma Ogunseye, and others, about the fight of freedom fighters involved in a political struggle cannot be ignored, even if a few dead bodies are stacked up every now and then. These are the so called “root causes” that have to be identified as a priority and tackled nationally by all stakeholders.
It was disappointing to say the least that after the encouraging commencement made at the Stakeholders Consultation at the Office of the President earlier in the year that the PPP reverted to its old ways by castigating the opposition parties, the media, and other members of civil society, as being supportive of criminality in Guyana. This in itself is laughable, when we recall what Roger Khan has been saying about what he did for them, but when viewed seriously, and in the context of what has been happening within the past few months, show a clear and definite plan to turn Guyana into a police state. These statements and actions which seek to demonise and ignore those who voice opposition are deliberately intended to reinforce the pall of fear, and to prevent the healing and reconciliation which the people of our country so desperately need.
In the past months we have seen a lot of refusal to address the issue of the Lindo Creek massacre, the refusal to publish the report on allegations of torture by the security forces, the deaths of prisoners in the state’s custody – Edwin Niles and Nolan Noble, the introduction of autocratic laws which will give the state the right of appeal in criminal matters (thus breaking the sacred and sacrosanct function of trial by a jury of one’s peers), and the ability to nefariously eavesdrop on private conversations of citizens, the refusal to respect a decision of the Chief Magistrate (ag) in granting Oliver Hinckson bail, the attempts to decimate the free press, and most recently, the staunch refusal to address the unhealthy issue of the functioning of the substantive Chief Magistrate Mrs. Juliet Holder-Allen.
When viewed individually, or cumulatively, the intent to re-write democratic norms and principles is evident, and I daresay frightening.
There are those in power who are not interested in settling the real issues of Guyana. Their real interest lies in dominance at every level of society – a dominance which is established by driving fear into people’s hearts and minds. The Guyanese must be weary of gimmicks and fluff which is meant to create the impression that all is well and we are all one happy people.
Today, as I write, the issue of the Economic Partnership Agreement is being ventilated at the Convention Centre. Consultations are good, but at this rate, represent an almost futile attempt to bolt the stable door after the horse has fled. My bet is that despite the noise being made, the President will sign the agreement. It is not that he has many other options, but there is an element of doubt being created to suggest that Guyana will not be a signatory to the agreement. Again, we are engaged in another distracting exercise.
In an email sent to me recently, the following truism was expressed: “If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be “meetings”.
When all the consultations are over with, the real issues still have to be confronted. That tens of millions were spent on Carifesta preparations and events, and yet little Tanesha De Souza from Santa Rosa could fall into a pit latrine and die on her first day of school tells us that what we are being told is good and effective governance is really a sham that has to be exposed for what it is.
The government should be ashamed that the commencement of the Amerindian Heritage celebrations were heralded by a series of deaths; firstly of this child, and then by the fiery and horrible deaths, at Waramadong, of three students who were housed in a dormitory without electricity. Government propaganda tells us that every Amerindian community is well taken care of and all modern facilities are provided; better than ever before in history. Prove that you are upholding the heritage of our indigenous brothers and sisters by protecting the little ones from fire, from pit latrines, and from unscrupulous persons who rob them of their innocence every day.
Lastly, I have observed the rhetoric growing over Local Government elections. The government is again trying to create another distraction to take our minds away from the madness that Guyana has become by pretending that we are moving into a state of readiness. The AFC maintains its position that we reserve the right to challenge and impugn the List of Electors for any future elections because we were deliberately shut out by the machinations of those who now fight over misspent money and improper processes. The more things change in Guyana the more they remain the same.
We cannot proceed to have local government and national elections in the future, unless we have fundamental and far-reaching reforms of our electoral and political systems. The manner in which we organize and manage the State of Guyana has to be transformed from the bottom up. We cannot demand and expect executive power-sharing at Cabinet level if the local government system is broken and still allows a Minister of Government, and not the village elders, to determine whether a bridge is to be built over a village canal. The power of choice and decision making has to be restored to the people, at their level.
Proceeding to hold these elections with no reforms is a recipe for disaster and catastrophe. Similarly, if we proceed to pass a few laws and take no time to have the people understand what they really mean, we will end up just as we did after the Constitution Reform process ended, with a raft of enacted reforms which are observed by no one; and the people who were to have benefited, are left holding the nasty end of the stick once again.
The other parties have refused to have the AFC and GAP-ROAR participate in the Local Government Reform Committee and we warn the Guyanese people that whatever is hatched behind closed doors does not have to be accepted by them. We are demanding accountability, transparency, and inclusivity. After all, Article 13 of the Constitution says that it must be so.

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