Democracy must not be taken for granted

Jan 09, 2021 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

Kaieteur News – Now that the dust appears to be settling in Washington following the storming of America’s Bastille, and, as Americans prepare for the inauguration of their 46th president questions still linger over the security breaches at the Capitol.
Sometime in the late 1980’s while the PPP was in opposition, I was given the opportunity through a USAID exchange programme to visit America for the first time.
Our programme included a conducted tour of the Capitol. Security procedures to move around the building were extraordinarily tight to the point of being puzzling at that time. I was nevertheless impressed with the security arrangements.
The second occasion was in 1990 when I accompanied Dr. Jagan to lobby some congressmen and senators in support of free and fair elections in Guyana. The impressive security arrangements appeared to be the same, even though appointments were made well in advance for the then Opposition Leader and General Secretary of the PPP.
During my tenure of Foreign Minister, I had the opportunity to enter the UK’s House of Commons, the European Parliament, Parliament of Canada, as well as the Parliaments of South Africa and India. It is not easy to gain access to the hallowed chambers of those buildings. Security coverage is at its highest 24/7. Cameras and scanners are all over.
Security protocols catering for visits to the Capitol by individuals and groups are one thing, but security to counter an assault by thousands of violent rioters committing an assault on the building is another.
Not even the 2,000 strong members of the Capitol Police was sufficient enough to beat back the massive breach of security of the building by a riotous mob.
It appears that there was gross over-estimation, not only of the Capitol Police’s strength but of their ability to contain what symbolically was declared ‘an attack on democracy’. The guns in the holsters of the police and long guns at their disposal were useless in scenes of chaos.
What seemed strange to me was that a place like the Capitol which is Federal property is protected by what is now proven to be a poorly trained police force incapable of repelling assaults of the kind we just witnessed. The Saturday morning quarterbacks are now busily asking a plethora of questions and the call has been made for an independent investigation to be carried out.
The attention paid to the ‘unprecedented assault on democracy’ by millions of Americans, not to mention millions around the world, including world leaders, is a reflection of the interest and impact that an assault this scale and magnitude would have on the entire world.
To witness the unprecedented breach of security of the Capitol in a country like America is unbelievable but it happened. At the same time, it demonstrated that what seems to be impregnable could nevertheless be penetrated and that domestic terrorism is just as deadly as international terrorism.
And an over-estimation as well as an under-estimation of law enforcement’s capacity and ability to address an attack in any shape or form can result in untold physical, psychological and collateral damage that only time could heal.
Security experts around the world will have a field day pondering and discussing this matter. And no doubt, many books will be written about the incident. It is indeed a classical case that requires deep and critical analysis and study by national security practitioners and those who have an interest in such matters.
Moreover, governments around the world are likely to call on their respective law enforcement bodies and intelligence communities to have another look at the security arrangements for their parliament, congressional or Capitol buildings, reckoning that extremist elements in their respective jurisdictions could engage in copycat actions in pursuit of their anti-democratic objectives.
That aside, as far as the assault on the US Capitol is concerned, questions have been asked whether there was really a breakdown in the pre-coordination arrangements between the Federal, the DC Metro Police and the DC National Guard intentionally allowing the Capitol Police to be overwhelmed and unable to protect the building thus bringing the Capitol Police into disrepute? Who would want this to happen and who would benefit?
Or, was there really and truly a break down in intelligence sharing, communication and coordination amongst the long line of independent security apparatuses in Washington DC?
Why was the metro police called upon at such a late hour and why was the National Guard activated when the rampage was almost over?
The jurisdictional and bureaucratic red tape about who protects Federal buildings versus who protects municipal buildings facilitated the blockage of rapid deployment of law enforcement to protect people and property giving way to a massive security failure.
It is almost unimaginable to accept that law enforcement and the intelligence community in Washington DC was not paying attention to the persistent social media posts alerting about the intentions of the ultra-right, extremist groups and their principal target on that particular day.
And if indeed it was widely known and accepted that ‘this was bound to happen’ why wasn’t the necessary steps taken to prevent it from happening?
Clearly, there are lessons to be learnt from this assault not only by law enforcement bodies and the intelligence communities in the US but by those around the world as well.
We in Guyana, by way of our own experiences, know fully well that democracy is fragile. And as I wrote in a previous letter ‘all that glitters is not gold’.
Democracy must not be taken for granted. Forces are always at work to undermine and push it to the precipice.
A disgruntled, dissatisfied and frustrated section of the population must have their concerns addressed one way or another. At the same time, to protect our own democracy, eternal vigilance must be our watchword, regardless of our social standing, political affiliation, religious beliefs or where we live.

Yours faithfully,
Clement J. Rohee

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