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Violent masquerade in Region Five
This county, an obscure one on the world stage, produces the most bizarre spectacles that if it was a known nation in the international arena, it would have made the press in all the big countries around the globe. In the May 2015 general and regional elections, the opposition PPP won the election in Region Five. But its premier, known in local government parlance as the Regional Chairman (RC), cannot govern because of a little incident that has become a circus that is no longer funny.
There will always be a basic distinction between morality and legality. If you call a person ugly, it represents a reprehensible descent into moral nastiness, but you have committed no illegality. In politics, moral viciousness is the order of the day.
In Guyana, Donald Ramotar in one of the election campaigns ridiculed Ravi Dev’s medically done hair piece on his head. That was morally distasteful. Ramotar never apologized. In American politics, moral descent is common place. Bill Clinton once used the race card during his wife’s contest with Obama for the nomination of the Democratic Party in 2008. Donald Trump mimicked a physically challenged journalist on the political platform who reported negatively on him.
What is important to note here is that Clinton may have been morally wrong to subtly refer to Obama’s ethnicity, but that is a right conferred on him by natural law. In my own writings, I have seen people consistently say things that have convinced me that they prefer the Indianized PPP to rule Guyana than the Africanized PNC. I may be wrong. People may be offended at my choice of words, but I have a right to say who I think embodies instincts of racial bias.
Does the RC of any of the 10 Regions in Guyana have a right to snub the President? The unpleasant answer is yes. It is definitely an immoral flaw. The President’s office should be respected and every courtesy shown to him. But it is the right of a politician to do so, even if he is made of rude stuff. He is breaking a moral law not a legal code.
In Parliaments all over the world, probably in all parliaments in all democratic countries, opposition members insult the President or Prime Minister by walking out when the Head of Government is addressing the Parliament. That is equivalent to a snub.
The story in Region Five would have been comical if it wasn’t so dangerous. The RC was not present when President Granger went on an official visit to Region Five to make a certain type of social donation. The APNU-AFC councilors said it was insulting and they are demanding an apology. This incident occurred about seven months ago.
The RC is on solid ground even if not on moral ground. He said he did not get an invitation. You could choose to call him a liar. But the most important dimension to recognize is that he didn’t admit that he boycotted the President. He could have said he was sick but lied; he was home watching cricket. How can you prove he was wrong?
The RC is refusing to apologize. However we feel about human conduct, natural law guarantees us certain rights. It is his right to refuse to apologize. He is an elected official, elected by majority vote to administer the affairs of Region Five. Opposition politicians and social activists have been insulting to President Jagdeo on many occasions but no scenario ever played out as what we are seeing in the meetings of the council of Region Five.
For seven months now, the APNU-AFC councilors have denied the RC his right to hold statutory meetings. And the reason is not because they caught him stealing, not because he is always driving dangerously and hitting pedestrians on the road, not because he takes home the computers and coffee, but because he is refusing to apologize to President Granger.
The RC has done nothing illegal. The APNU-AFC councilors are the ones that are behaving illegally. The Regional Democratic Council was legally elected and it is illegal to prevent it from administering the government of Region Five. This type of political behavior belongs to the past.
The dictatorial PPP Government is out of power and the PNC, AFC and WPA, the major units that form the central government, have an obligation to history to show that its political culture is a break with the past. What is happening in Region Five is a somber reminder that Guyana is a country that is indeed dysfunctional. The APNU-AFC councilors have protested. Now it is time to serve the people of Region Five.
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Freddie, I liked the way you put it. In my days as a public servant in the Burnham days we were compelled to attend visits of senior government functionaries. It pained me to say that many national events were converted to party events. After all said and done the party was above the state. We see the same happening with the APNU government.
In the developed world there are major projects completed without a fanfare. However, in Guyana a little thing becomes a big political celebration and politicians want political mileage. We should just get over this.