War is not a nice thing

Feb 27, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – War and civil war are horrific developments. For those who never experienced wars, the present conflict between Russia and Ukraine, provides them with a good idea of the tragedy which accompanies such conflict.
War is usually used in the sense of conflict between countries. Civil war usually refers to internal conflict among groups of combatants within a country. Both are deadly and have dire consequences.
Guyanese, over the past few days have been left aghast and shocked by the scenes, which are being relayed on television and social media, of the ongoing carnage which is taking place in Ukraine. They paint a picture of horror.
Unlike the American invasion of Kuwait, which was primarily fought out in the desert, and the attack on Iraq which involved shock and awe aerial bombardment of Iraq, this war is being fought in full glare of the cameras. Scenes of destruction and dislocation are being relayed almost instantaneously to viewers around the world.
And this fact is driving home to viewers around the world the horrors of warfare. For many Guyanese, particularly the younger generation, this is an eye-opener and a novel experience.
But Guyana has known its own warfare – civil warfare – and not all of it has been a low intensity affair. Guyanese will recall the PNC/R protests over the 1997 elections which descended into mayhem, including ethnic violence, muggings, robberies and the destruction of property. They will equally recall the channa bombs which were hurled at targets and other acts of arson on buildings, including businesses which resulted in the loss of millions of dollars.
One member of the lunatic fringe wanted to burn down the city and was photographed throwing petrol around lantern posts along Regent Street and attempting to ignite them. He would later go on national television and urge all the East Indian supporters of the PNC/R to seek refuge at Congress Place.
Those old enough will recall the controversial grenade explosion at a television studio and the equally suspicious attempt at a fire at a city hotel, both of which latter incidents were believed to have been the work of the PPP/C.
The 1999 public service strike was also characterised by violence. When the strike ended, arsenal of channa bombs was discovered by the police in backroom of a union hall. No one was ever charged for this discovery.
The violence took on deadlier proportions after the PNC/R election loss of 2001. Determined to steal the elections through violence, political extremists triggered even more violence and robberies with its epi-centre in Buxton. The violence assumed ethnic proportions. This violence led to another response which saw the emergence of phantom killings, trigger waves of retaliatory murders and also charges of ethnic killings.
Following the elections of 2nd March 2020, political agitators used the horrific murder of two young boys to stoke ethnic conflict in West Coast Berbice. The violence soon also began to result in arson, robberies and murder.
The present conflict in the Ukraine therefore should be a forewarning to Guyanese that they should not allow themselves to be manipulated by political extremists and violent agitators, bent on creating mayhem and division in the country.
Guyana has paid a huge price as a result of domestic conflict. Whether it is war or civil war, the consequences of the suffering, death and destruction have caused irreparable harm to our country. It is time we look and learn from the horrific lessons of conflict, not only in the Ukraine but in other places where internal conflict has also led to deaths and destruction.
It is said that a political solution is needed in Guyana. But at the core of the violence which occasionally erupts in Guyana, and usually does so in the wake of election results, has been the failure of the losing parties to graciously accept their defeat.
Guyana also faces an external threat from Venezuela. But that threat also has international dimensions because it has been used by western imperialism as part of the Cold War narrative.
Guyana must not allow itself to be drawn into conflict with Venezuela. The Americans desperately want this to happen so as to have a pretext to destroy the already tottering Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela.
This is all the reason why Guyanese must not be lured into conflict, both external and internal. War and civil war are not nice things as we are seeing now in the Ukraine.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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