Reaching new lows
DISMAY was spreading far and wide yesterday at the draping of the national flag, the Golden Arrowhead, over the coffin of Linden London, the acknowledged bandit killed in a confrontation last week Wednesday with the Army and Police. As the news of the use of the flag spread here and overseas, some could not escape the feeling that it was a slap in the face of the national psyche and a desecration of a revered national symbol. What message were those who did the draping of the flag over the coffin sending to the wider society, the Caribbean and further afield? Were they telling the young of this country that deserting the Army and setting forth on a career of crime was the new height of ambition? Were they proclaiming to the world that Guyana was opening the gallery of heroes to its notorious? This sacrilege was compounded by it taking place at the foot of the monument to the 1763 slave uprising and Cuffy, the acknowledged national hero who died fighting for the liberation of the slaves. Were the organisers putting London on the same pedestal as Cuffy? Are they privy to knowledge about London's exploits that the wider society is shut out from? The national flag, like other symbols of nationhood, have endured since Independence, remaining the same despite the changes in governments. These symbols cross party political and other lines and ought to be held sacred and not desecrated. We understand that there is no offence in using the national flag to drape the coffin of anyone but such use is usually associated with a symbolism that runs deep and ought not to be trampled upon with impunity. The national flag, we were told, is usually draped on the coffin of a dead President or Prime Minister, a national hero or any member of the Disciplined Services who dies in the line of duty. And there are sacred rituals linked with these ceremonies. London who absconded from the Army some 18 years before he was killed had abandoned whatever military rights he may have had when he deserted and was no longer recognised by the Guyana Defence Force as being among its own. There was no Army Honour Guard for him yesterday and there was no last salute, no final farewell, no fanfare from soldiers for him. His was not a military funeral and it is hard for his backers to justify the use of the national flag at his funeral yesterday. The draping of the Golden Arrowhead over London's coffin is unprecedented as it had never been used before at funerals of criminals killed in confrontations with the security forces of this country. There are many in decent society who would agree fully with University of Guyana History Professor, Dr James Rose's assessment yesterday. He described the last rites accorded London in Georgetown as a "travesty" in the eyes of the Caribbean and the international community. "I have strong, strong feelings against (this)...Certainly no matter how you feel, this is not the message to send. "We are sending very, very disturbing signals (when) he is treated as a national hero", he said. Disturbing signals, indeed.
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