We are now a divided society where our motto no longer exists

Apr 15, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
The Joint Parliamentary Opposition leader Brigadier David Granger had met with the Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan prior to the sitting of parliament on the morning of Thursday, 10, April, 2014 to discuss the $6B allocation for the sugar industry in the 2014 budget presented by the Finance Ministry Mr. Ashni Singh recently.
In that meeting, the Joint Parliamentary Opposition agreed not to vote down the $6B allocation for the sugar workers in the National Assembly because sugar, for decades, has been a significant contributor to the Guyanese economy in its good years, and provides jobs. This was expected by all of us, since Mr. Granger has always fought to ensure the sugar industry doesn’t close down in this country under this incompetent regime.
It is very clear that the PPP/C Government was behind the related protest to create some sort of disturbance and division in the country. This Government is bent on trying to regain control of power in parliament through dirty politics – on racial and ethnic grounds – after they lost power at the 2011 general elections. This nonsense must stop if our nation is to move forward.
However, I was very surprised to notice that the sugar cane workers were not arrested, shot or tear-gassed by law enforcement officers, when they turned up in front of parliament building last Thursday, to register their concern about the allocation that the Government had made for the sugar industry.
As a matter of fact, the police acted in a professional and civilized manner in dealing with the hundreds of sugar workers, predominantly Indo-Guyanese, who were outside Parliament Buildings on that day. Remarkably no lives were lost and I must take this opportunity to commend the Force for a well job done in dealing with the protestors.
Conversely, I would like those in authority to tell me and the nation why is it when protesters of Afro-descent take to the streets to protest for better wages, working conditions and equal rights, among issues of genuine concern to them in this country, they are either being arrested, terrorized, murdered, jailed, tear-gassed, beaten, tortured and shot at with live rounds.
Under the Constitution, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” and Article 20 (1) states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.”
So why have predominantly Afro-Guyanese protestors been the victims of police brutality under this administration for the past twenty years?
In July 2012, Shemroy Bouyea, Ron Somerset, and Allan Lewis were shot dead during a protest regarding government’s plan to increase electricity tariffs in the bauxite mining town of Linden. The protestors were calling for a reversal of the decision. These protestors were peaceful and unarmed, just like those outside Parliament Buildings on the morning of Thursday, April 10, 2014, yet three persons were killed senselessly.
We are now a divided society where our motto ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’ no longer exists.
Rayvonne P. Bourne

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