Talk to these three men immediately!

Nov 02, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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There can hardly be any debate on the theory that in the absence of protest and a vibrant opposition movement, governments, whether elected or not, will not behave democratically, take excessive latitude in violating legal rules and moral guidelines, ignore constitutional limitations on the use of power, interfere with legally autonomous institutions, politicize the security forces and generally seek to intimidate the population. For me, I would not go through the exercise of debating any fellow academic much less pay attention to PPP admirers on the existence of elected dictatorship in Guyana.
I did engage Ravi Dev and Dr. Randy Persaud on this polemic but would refrain from doing so in the future because it is an insult to participate in a process where the evidence is mountainous but people with a narrow, political agenda just want to get some propaganda in order to further their interest with the PPP Government.
On every level where you can cite dictatorial behaviour, the pattern fits the PPP. You name it, the PPP Government violates it.
The latest is two egregious positions that will further erode whatever little freedom is left in this territory. As it stands, the ruling elites laugh at the political opposition, whether in Parliament as in GAP, PNC and AFC or out of Parliament, as in the WPA. The TUC is contemptuously derecognised. The human rights community is ignored.
Between complete dictatorship and freedom stands the private media. And the private media get roughing up from time to time. Just in case you forgot, the Stabroek News did get victimised and the Kaieteur News issued a front page comment complaining of evidence of a vindictive hand about to visit.
One aspect of my theorising about elected dictatorship in Guyana is that if Mr. Hoyte was alive, his political stance would have led to the taming of elected dictatorship. On Thursday afternoon, outside of German’s restaurant, I let Bert Wilkinson on a secret I haven’t told anyone before or have not written about it.
While we were talking about the future of Guyana, its relevance was necessary so I mentioned it to him. During the torrid days of “slo fyaah/mo fyaah” one of the PNC’s most reliable business friends approached Mr. Hoyte and asked him to call in Macbeth’s witches.
Mr. Hoyte told this businessman that he sincerely accepts him as a friend, would do anything for him but would be unable to comply with the specific request because to use Mr. Hoyte words, “Guyana’s future was at stake and nothing came before Guyana’s future.”
Mr. Hoyte went on to tell the businessman that the PPP will not change, will get worse and Guyana will sink if the PPP is not confronted to mend its ways. The businessman, one of Guyana’s most respected and admired citizens told me this. He said to me, “Freddie, I know this man well, and from what I saw in his eyes, this man isn’t going to listen.”
Mr. Hoyte died, Macbeth’s witches doused their fire, and the tentacles of elected dictatorship have taken over.
Look at where we are now.  The two egregious positions I mentioned above are; the official acceptance of torture and the continued manipulation of Parliament by the ruling party. In an encouraging sign for the Guyanese people, the combined opposition parties will carry the pro-democracy fight to the UN and the OAS. They will ask these bodies to rule on the torture situation here. Can you imagine that! Our opposition is asking the international community to investigate torture in Guyana.
Aren’t these things done against dictatorships like Cuba, Myanmar, Sudan etc? The opposition must include other stakeholders like the TUC, WPA, Red Thread, Mark Benschop Foundation, Vision Guyana, GHRA, the churches with priests like Malcolm Rodrigues and Swami Askarananda, and members of civil society including individuals like Oliver Hinckson.
It is time we come together and form a pro-democracy movement and target the international community.
I would urge the pro-democracy movement to learn from the very PPP when it was in opposition to the PNC Government. It joined with the WPA and civil society and went abroad and solicited sympathies for its position. Things are getting out of hand in Guyana. The pro-democracy forces should meet with the new U.S. Ambassador right away.
They should travel to Jamaica and Barbados to meet with Prime Ministers Bruce Golding and David Thompson immediately. I have been told that both Golding and Thompson know that Guyana is not a democracy and are aware of the power of the drug barons in this land. The pro-democracy forces should at least take their cases to these two CARICOM Heads. Time is running out. Elected dictatorship is destroying this country. There has to be a Velvet Revolution!

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