Let us not be tricked into a racial confrontation or civil disturbance

Mar 14, 2015 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) is concerned about the dangerous unfolding of PPP combustible politics and the safety and security of all Guyanese/workers, many of whom may be sacrificed for political gain! The assassination of activist Courtney Crum-Ewing raises grave concerns for Guyana, at this time when our country is preparing for national and regional elections.  This death does not have the hallmark of a random murder or a regular crime, but one intended as an act of political provocation.
Crum-Ewing chose to set himself apart from most Guyanese and become engaged in a very public, political one-man battle to heighten awareness and bring change to Guyana. He is well known for his solo campaign in Georgetown and seems to have escalated his efforts walking the streets  of Diamond  with a loud hailer in an effort to “get out the vote”  for May 11th. Crum-Ewing’s public posturing was pro-Guyanese and anti-government abuse and excesses.
The engineers and architects behind those who pulled the trigger to snuff out the life of Crum-Ewing know only too well, that due to his activities, his death will be viewed through political lens, further enabling them to engineer a response that will drive fear into sections of the Guyanese community. His assassination speaks to fear of forces in our society who are desperate and willing to create a pre-election atmosphere of violence. Guyanese must resist this.
In Guyana, racial tension is a well-known and historically used political weapon. Its ammunition is fear and it is triggered by violence.  Those who benefit from orchestration of violence know only too well that Guyanese are either galvanized against them or have too much apathy to give them the support they need to hold onto power. The recent campaigning at Babu Jaan reeks of the creating of ethnic tensions and fear, and we as a nation must condemn this before it consumes us.
Jagdeo, who is best likened to an irrational, dishonest and depraved, power-drunk man, we must recall, presided over a period where hundreds of Guyanese were slaughtered and several of these linked to a death squad with which a senior government official was associated.  He presided over an era of drug wars raged by Roger Khan who is now serving time in a USA jail.  Under his leadership our country became too familiar with blood baths and ethnic finger-pointing instead of crime fighting and resolution of crime and poverty.
In recent days, he is consuming the PPP campaign and this must be of concern to all. The nature of the beast remains the same and he has returned with a vengeance. President Ramotar has chosen to embrace it rather than flee from it.
Pre-election violence only serves one group. It serves the leadership of one group who fear the outcome of the elections and that Guyanese will unify around the issues of their abuse and excesses instead of unify around race.  Race politics can only benefit the leaders who declare they are the majority but can become a minority if their vote is split. GTUC is concerned that race politics fueled by violence and fear is a strategy that will once again be used to divide Guyanese at this critical juncture of our history. GTUC calls on every single Guyanese to be vigilant during this period where victory can be snatched from the jaws of defeat.
GTUC urges all to let good judgment and peace prevail.  Let us not be tricked into a racial confrontation or civil disturbance. Let us not be fooled by racial stereotyping of the enemy in our midst, for we know only too well that the face of the enemy we see is the face engineered to be seen; the one used as a tool by the engineers of hate and political greed to create tensions and fear.
GTUC calls on the Guyana police to do their job and to do it professionally, to secure Guyana for all Guyanese not just a few. The fact that the Ministry of Home Affairs can apply an unusual act of issuing a statement within three hours of the execution of this young man brings into question the hands behind the young man’s execution, since he was an advocate for justice, and hauled before the court at the instigation of certain powers within the PPP government.
GTUC extends condolences to Crum-Ewing’s loved ones and calls on Guyanese in honour of his contributions to society to let death not find us thinking that we have died. The people in this country deserve better. It is you who hold the key in your hand to lock the door on an ugly chapter of our history and to open a new era where Guyana is given the breath of new beginnings, to pursue the aspiration of One People One Nation, One Destiny
Lincoln Lewis
General Secretary, GTUC

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