One day the PNC will say enough is enough

Dec 01, 2013 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Last week, protestors in Thailand invaded a number of Ministries and took them over, cutting water and electricity supply. The Government invoked security laws and the next day, the protestors invaded the army headquarters.
The main parliamentary opposition has joined the protestors. They openly stated aim of the demonstrators is to remove the Government. At the time of writing there is no police action. What is the reason for the grievance? They say that the politically disgraced brother of the Prime Minister is the real force behind her power.
In Kiev, protestors for the third day are out in their numbers reminding the world of the Orange Revolution in the early nineties that brought down the government. What is their motive? The Ukrainian Government backed off signing a trade agreement with the EU.
In neither of the two examples cited, police brutality, authoritarian policy-making, cruel governmental action and horrible power abuse were the reasons for the anger. In many other lands as this article is being written, people are protesting for things that are far less egregious than what obtains in Guyana.
One more example will suffice. In Bulgaria two weeks ago, after occupying the largest university, the students closed it down. This is a country that has no tradition of political rebellion.
In Guyana, under former president Bharrat Jagdeo, some of the worst abuse of state power the Caricom region has seen since Independence went on for more than ten years, and only one expression of anger occurred. Tragically three persons were shot dead. And even that tragedy ended in farce when the dead men’s families were given US$15,000 as compensation.
This was the July 2012 protest against a proposed electricity tariff hike in Linden.
With a new president since December 2012, Guyana’s authoritarian overdrive continues. In an interview on NCN, when asked about the recent inundation of Georgetown, President Ramotar blamed the disaster on the PNC. He said that one must lay the fault on the PNC because Georgetown is a City Council responsibility and the PNC is in charge of the City Council. But the worst was yet to come. The interviewer then said to Mr. Ramotar that the problem will then have to wait until local government elections. The President promptly agreed.
One anticipated that the President would have followed up by saying that some attempts will be made by his Ministry of Works to alleviate the situation of the garbage and blocked alleyways. But this was not to be. The President simply agreed that Georgetown will have to wait for its survival on municipal elections.
Two points need to be noted. First, the City Council’s power has been slowly eroded the past fifteen years and now is almost gone, through the appointment of a Town Clerk that answers to Mr. Ramotar’s Government and not the PNC’s City Council.
Secondly, Guyanese just have to endure the collapse of Georgetown until the local government elections.
The PNC came in for more blame, this time from another inflexible PPP leader, Roger Luncheon. He blamed the PNC for policies in the past that are now causing the floods. He cited the opposition control of the City Council. What was crass about Dr. Luncheon’s remarks is that instead of pointing to clogged drains the past twenty-five years, where billions of gallons of water have no exit from the city, he said floods will always be with us, but the issue is preparedness.
From the time Mr. Jagdeo became autocratic and ruled with an iron fist, the PNC (not APNU) has been blamed for the terrible things that are happening in Guyana. The religious body, the Muslim Youth Organization, even suggested six weeks ago that the opposition is behind the crime wave.
So we have a big and bad PNC opposition that is the cause of all of Guyana’s political and social atrocities. But this very PNC makes this despotic country look like an oasis of serenity when Guyanese take a look at protest around the world. In a country where democratic governance has long disappeared one must ask; where is the PNC’s creation of anti-government activism? Where are the demonstrations led by the PNC?
At every public meeting by the PPP, at every bottom house discussion by the PPP, the PNC is painted as this, as that, as the cause of Guyana’s protracted problems. The AFC is given some smaller slashes. But this dangerous ploy by the PPP will backfire. If the PNC is the big, bad wolf then its teeth have disappeared. One day the PNC will wake up and say enough is enough and recover its teeth. Let’s hope it is tomorrow.

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One day the PNC will say enough is enough

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