A lapse in statesmanship

Sep 17, 2010 Editorial

The manner in which a leader behaves often dictates how the subjects behave. It is the leader that sets the tone for the society. If he uses expletives in public at open forums then his subjects will accept such behaviour as the norm and would seek to do likewise.
Similarly, if a leader dresses in a most unbecoming manner to attend a state-sponsored function then the rest of the society would accept that as the norm. They, then, would seek to emulate the leader in the future at such functions.
On Thursday, President Bharrat Jagdeo summoned a meeting of some 11,000 policyholders with investments in the now collapsed Clico (Guyana). The venue was the National Cultural Centre and the Head of State was the centre of attraction. He had promised that no one who invested in Clico would lose their money despite the collapse.
On Thursday, he reiterated this promise and even went as far as to set a timeframe within which the payout could be made to some of the policyholders. His comments were like sweet music to people who, like the widow and her mite in the Good Book, had set aside something for a rainy day.
Up until President Jagdeo’s promise, these people were certain that they had lost their savings. People who had placed their money in another financial institution, Globe Trust, appeared to lose their savings.
Having rescued the Clico policyholders, President Jagdeo was viewed as a saviour of the poor. He was riding a crest of goodwill which carried over to the question session that was limited to the policyholders. It is here that one has a problem with the manner in which the Head of State set about muzzling one policyholder.
Christopher Ram is a critic of some Government policies and he does not mince words in his criticisms. At times some of his comments are bound to offend the government, but such is the way of the world. People will always criticize a government, sometimes without any finesse.
In the United States, one congressman openly called President Barack Obama a liar. That is not language people would use in places like Parliament or the United States Congress. There are certain norms of behaviour in certain forums.
President Barack Obama did not lash out at his critic, but others in the auspicious assembly did, and caused the uncouth congressman to apologise. One is certain that this would never happen again.
Christopher Ram did not criticize either the government or the Head of State at a public forum. He reserves his comments for a column he writes in the newspaper. In a civilized society, the object of the criticism does not let his anger show. He may refuse to exchange a word with his critic and may even avoid the company of the critic but surely, he would employ what would be termed civilized behaviour.
Therefore, when President Jagdeo openly refused his critic the right to ask him a question at a public forum, he was behaving in a manner that would not be contemplated by leaders in any other society.
This action would spark even more criticisms of the Head of State who is doing a lot for the economic development of the country. Depending on the extent of the criticism the image of the Head of State would be tarnished, no matter how slight.
Already salvoes are being fired. Words like puerile, infantile, cowardly and the like are being directed at the Head of State. This need not be. A Head of State is someone who must be seen by his people in a positive light, unless he is a dictator.
There were options. Rather than disallow Ram his moment at the microphone, the Head of State would have been better served if he had listened to the questions and then move on to the next person—a not so subtle indication that he was not prepared to entertain his critic.
We would not be surprised if others at their special forums deny people the right to speak because they are going to take President Jagdeo’s action as an acceptable norm.

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A lapse in statesmanship

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