Silence is no longer golden

Aug 20, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The Swiss Inscription: Sprecfien ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden (Speech is silvern, Silence is golden) has not helped the Guyanese people.
Corruption, malfeasance, wrongdoing of every kind abounds greatly in our land and the good men and women remain silent.  The time has come for it to end. The time has come for us to make a choice. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose.  Take which you please – you can never have both”.
It has become evident that your newspaper seeks the truth regardless of where the pendulum swings. I join you in that fight, and encourage all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or affiliation to join us and become citizen journalist and investigators. In the absence of a Freedom of Information Act and continued willful refusal of the government to address issues, I encourage all truth seekers to use Wikileaks to provide document, information and other evidence of fraud, waste, abuse and corruption by the government and its agencies.
Let the people read for themselves and arrive at their own judgment whether the government is misusing the country’s resources.
It may be helpful to visit   http://wikileaks.org/wiki/WikiLeaks:Submissions and learn how to submit these documents. Mr. Editor, many will oppose my calls, but if we heed the words of Arthur Schopenhauer, “we know that truth passes through three stages before it is recognised.  In the first, it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident”.
May God give us the strength to oppose poor governance.
Dexter Harding

Race and ethnicity are not barriers to an individual’s development

Dear Editor,
First of all, allow me the opportunity to extend my congratulations to all the students who achieved success at the 2010 CAPE examinations. Also, I wish for them every possible success in their future endeavours.
A solid education is truly the cornerstone for a bright and productive future. However, it is also interesting to note that there was a mix of races among the top performers this year. More proof that equal opportunities exist for all Guyanese, regardless of the ethnic makeup of the individual.
A marginalised population, according to Mary Morgan, specialist in private sector development in developing and post conflict countries, is, “a group that experiences systemic discrimination or unequal access to power and resources in society”. Systemic discrimination, she defines as “widespread practices, laws or attitudes which are viewed as neutral and sometimes acceptable but establish inequality and disadvantage for certain groups of people in society”.
This is not the case in Guyana, since Guyanese, regardless of ethnicity are constitutionally protected from any form of discrimination and acts of racial hostility. Also, through lifelong interaction and socialising with different ethnic groups, we are, as a people, culturally graced to embrace and respect the cultural diversity of our Guyanese brothers and sisters.
There is no tangible evidence of racial discrimination or ethnic marginalisation in Guyana, rather, I strongly believe that it is the class structures that exist within these ethnic groups that result in unequal distribution of the country’s resources. This competition for society’s scarce resources is what forms the foundation for all class structures.
Race and ethnicity are not barriers to an individual’s development. In every society, there will exist class structures. In Guyana, as in many other countries, there is an upper and a middle class. Karl Marx calls it the haves and the have-nots. What is important is that we realise that the haves, is not exclusively one ethnic group, nor is it predominantly made up of people from any single ethnic background. Neither is this the case with the have-nots. What is also important is that we realise that there is no marginalisation of ethnic groups in Guyana. Education is a significant steppingstone towards the productive future of an individual. And in our school system for example, no child is denied entry to a school, or is subject to inequity where school resources are concerned, on the grounds of ethnicity or race.
The distinction between the haves and the have-nots in Guyana is not drawn along racial lines. Guyana’s fundamental problem is that we are blinded to the existence of the class structures that exist within our ethnic groups. This makes us easily susceptible to racial hostility.
Nigel Green

The Fugitive Offenders (amendment) Bill 2009

Dear Editor,
I’d like to bring to your attention, the Fugitive Offenders (amendment) Bill 2009, which was passed by the National Assembly on 22nd October, 2009. This bill is an important legislation, and is critical to enhancing Guyana’s legal system.
The Fugitive Offenders (amendment) Bill 2009 amends the Principle Fugitive Offenders Act 1988. Amendments made to this Act were in the interest of ensuring that any person that is extradited to a Commonwealth country, or any other territory with which a treaty is established, will not be further extradited to a third party country. The purpose of the Fugitive Offenders (Amendment) Act 2009 is to make it absolutely clear that such a loophole will not exist in the event of the country’s compliance with any extradition request made by a fellow treaty territory. It was birthed in the conflict of alleged drug trafficker Barry Dataram, where Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang ruled against Dataram’s extradition to the United States, on the ground of him being subsequently extradited to a third country.
This ruling by the Chief Justice, Mr. Ian Chang, was made based on the principles of the 1931 UK-USA treaty in light of the precedence set by a case settled in the Court of Appeal in King v Director of Prisons [(1992) 47 WIR 210]. The Court of Appeal is legally binding on all inferior Courts of records in Guyana, as any legal case that establishes a significant principle or authority, sets precedence for future cases with similar issues and facts.
This bill is significant in that it enshrines into law the precedent laid out by the Court of Appeal in the King case, and explicitly shows Guyana’s position regarding the practice of extradition.
Rachael Bakker

Is there an audio problem with NCN Radio?

Dear Editor,
There seems to be a problem at NCN Radio for quite some time now, and which has become rather annoying, and I suppose, to many other radio listeners.
It has to do with the constant irregular, see-saw dropping and rising of its volume, for example: whenever a radio announcer/news caster says “here is more from our reporter”, there is – most times – a drop in the volume when that reporter comes on that is barely audible.
The same thing happens sometimes when “From word to word” comes on, what makes this one a bit worse is that, apart from the recording being low, Dr. Rovin Deodat drops his voice when ending, thus fading out some words so that one has to strain his/her ears to hear.
The recent addition “Health World” with Stan Horn is great, but also suffers from the same fluctuation of volume/tone at times. “Revenue Up-date” and Sports News in the mornings are often times no different, and I wonder how come this does not occur with “News from BBC” and “BBC Caribbean Report”. Sometimes it gets so low, almost like a sign off, for as long as 20 minutes – just rumbling. Now the complete opposite happens on the early morning devotional section when the Islamic prayer comes on disgustingly too loud – I intend no disrespect – but this happens always, as is the case with some others.
The annoyance here is that those persons without a remote to operate their radio set is at a disadvantage and have to be busy making adjustments accordingly; believe me, this is an irritant and a turnoff.
To be sure that the problem was not with my radio, I pointed it out to two other Lindeners who promptly agreed with me and their annoyance also. They too thought that the fault was with their receiving sets.
Mr. Editor, I don’t see the above being a big problem that cannot be quickly rectified for the sake of good radio entertainment.
I love radio, always have, it’s great, there’s no stopping it; there is great satisfaction in the wide range of topics/subject provided, not to mention the Atlantic like expanse of music scrupulously selected for listening pleasure by slick announcers/hosts which take you back, up and away in a world of ecstasy.
One last observation, the item “Your Heritage” or “Your Heritage And You”, broadcast in the mornings; I think it will gain more attention/interest if read with more zest and emphasis and not in that dull, flat, lifeless manner.
Finally, may I take this opportunity to applaud and say thanks to Judy Lewis for her wonderful programme, “Reach Out And Touch”, Franklyn Langhorne for his “Triple M Show” and Ron Robinson for “Ron’s Rendezvous”. These are excellently done without hitch.
Frank Fyffe

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