Latest update September 11th, 2026 10:26 AM
The police acted professionally in both cases
DEAR EDITOR,
Please allow me to respond to a letter published in the April 15th edition of the Kaieteur News under the caption “We are now a divided society where our motto no longer exists”. In that letter, the author, one Mr. Rayvonne P. Bourne compared the actions Police took in relation to protesting sugar workers outside of Parliament with that of protesters in Linden in 2012. He chose to attribute the difference of Police actions to the ethnicity of protesters rather than their behaviour on the ground.
Mr. Bourne deliberately omitted to mention that the protesting sugar workers were orderly and did not breach the law. He failed to mention that the protesters in Linden, on the other hand breached the conditions of permission granted to them to hold a peaceful protest. He deliberately omitted to mention that unlike the sugar workers, leaders of the Linden protest instigated the protesters to commit acts of wanton violence and destruction of property and then left them to face the consequences. He also found it convenient not to mention that the Linden protesters blockaded the entire interior region of our country, an act that is unprecedented in Guyana’s history.
Mr. Bourne seems not to understand, or to be exact, refused to accept that the Police also acted professionally in Linden protecting the law, life and property. After all, they have sworn to protect the law and maintain law and order in the country. It would have been certainly unprofessional and a dereliction of their duty for the Police to have just stood by and allow the Linden protesters to continue their reign of destruction and mayhem.
Why it is then that Mr. Bourne wants to import ethnicity as a factor into the professionalism of the Police? Can’t he see anything outside the context of race?
Mr. Bourne must accept that it is the responsibility of leaders to ensure that their followers behave in a civilized manner whenever they wish to publicly express their discontent. Certain leaders need to understand and display this responsibility and not just compare actions of Police only from the perspective of race.
Reaz Holladar
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