by Rickey Singh
Guyana Chronicle
April 22, 2001

IT IS BETTER to hope than despair.

And right now it seems to require much faith to hope that the scheduled meeting on Tuesday of President Bharrat Jagdeo and PNC/R leader, Desmond Hoyte, could, in the initial stages, at least bring an end to the political thuggery, lawlessness, racism and destruction that have generated widespread fear, bitterness and hate in this country.

While both now appear anxious for their first post-elections dialogue to finally begin -- after originally mooted over two weeks ago by the President -- the reality is that the PNC is saying that there should be no prior conditions, while the PPP/C, as voiced by Jagdeo, feels that the current atmosphere is not conducive for serious and productive dialogue, one free from "fear, intimidation and pressures".

The 'no prior conditions' stance is viewed as a response to the President's position that there should be an end to the frequent demonstrations that are contributing to the perpetuation of tension and clearly being exploited by other elements to engage in racist attacks and robberies of innocent people.

A question of relevance is whether -- for all the pleas that have been forthcoming from the resident foreign diplomatic community, the small parliamentary parties, religious, business and trade union representatives and President Jagdeo himself -- Tuesday's meeting will take place in an evidently unsuitable atmosphere, as if this nation has become hostage to the extra-parliamentary tactics and strategies of a party.

If there is indeed good faith on both sides, a consensus that Guyana's interest comes first, then it must be evident that the crude politicking that has engulfed this country with much tragic consequences for ordinary people, not just the business community with its heavy losses, must be immediately halted to ensure an environment of peace for serious dialogue.

Perhaps, for a start, the initial meeting of Jagdeo and Hoyte should end with a joint statement denouncing violence, racist attacks and statements designed to incite and pose a threat to law and order.

The trouble is that the PNC/R -- whose notion of 'reform' has, unfortunately, already suffered at the hands of the conceptualisers and implementers of the unmistakable race-generated post-elections violence and destruction, is yet to condemn unequivocally the beatings and robberies, and the incitement by 'teleactivists' against a particular ethnic group.

There is a significant difference in engaging in platitudes of "regret" about "grievous losses and damages" suffered as a consequence of the violence, robberies and destruction, and specifically condemning the perpetrators of such acts and taking steps to help free up the city and villages from the fear that currently impact on the lives of neighbouring communities, across ethnic lines.

Ugliness and Inquiry Perhaps, in a strange way, the PNC/R is simply being honest in not going beyond its "regret" stance. Whenever it is pushed on the defensive, when logic makes it difficult to distance itself from ugly situations of the kind being experienced in Georgetown and the East Coast villages, for instance, since April 9, following the PNC's rally of April 7, the party resorts to blaming "criminal" elements, when it is not castigating the police for alleged acts of "brutality".

Yes, the police, those Guyanese who have been traditionally voting for that very party. Now they are the objects of verbal onslaughts from the PNC/R which wants allegations of "police brutality" to be on the agenda for a proposed Commission of Inquiry.

It is to be wondered from where do these "lawless" and "criminal" elements always emerge to tarnish the "good image" of a well-meaning PNC, these phantom intruders in PNC-organised demonsrations, who remarkably disappear without any trace, either by the police or the very vigilant cadres of that party.

More startlingly, has come the claim by the PNC/R that the PPP/C itself engineers some of the criminal acts and even mastermind attacks on Guyanese of Indian descent just to put the PNC/R in a bad light. Poor PNC/R!

Clearly the public inquiry being urged into the violence, racial attacks and robberies, destruction by fire, the death of market vendor Donna McKinnon and cases of excessive police force, must take place.

But it will be an injustice, a charade, if the terms of reference are not extended to examine the breakdown of law and order and the racial attacks and robberies that also took place in January 1998 as a direct consequence of the anti-government protests that followed the December 1997 elections, and re-emerged after last month's poll.

After all, the demonstrations, violence and destruction, attacks on the security forces and their use of excessive force that followed the March 19 elections cannot honestly be delinked from the very kind of anti-government, xtra-parliamentary politics of January 1998 in Georgetown in the wake of the PPP/C second term victory.

Those developments had contributed to the intervention of CARICOM to broker the 'Herdmanston Accord' that led to the arrangements for this year's March 19 elections.

The death from a bomb blast of a security guard, Seudyal Singh, at his work place at the NTN Channel 69 building in Georgetown, on the night of January 5, 1998 when anti-government demonstrators went on a rampage, belongs to any public inquiry that must also focus on the death of McKinnon on April 9 when a significant section of the commercial community was devastated.

A handbill distributed at the PNC/R rally in Georgetown on April 7 and showing the image of a lighted bomb may prove useful material at such an inquiry. As should audio and video tapes of the shocking behaviour, the political mischief of certain "talk show" hosts prior to, during and after voting day.

Given the racial/political polarisation in Guyana, such an inquiry should appropriately be chaired by an eminent jurist from either the Caribbean Community or chosen from among possible nominees of the International Commission of Jurists.

Its terms of reference and composition will be crucial. It will be a serious mistake if there is haste in setting it up as a matter of expediency.

Discrimination claims
Although it may be a case of overload, since so much politics are being made of the so-called "discriminated and marginalised", consideration could also be given to widening the Inquiry's mandate to examine specific cases of racial/political discrimination and deliberate 'marginalisation' of any ethnic community.

If not, such allegations/claims should be taken before the Ethnic Relations Commission as soon as the necessary appointments have been made, which should be a priority matter for the government.

It is time to end the politics of race hate in this deeply wounded society by claims of "discrimination" and "marginalisation" that are yet to be documented. No party should be allowed to continue using its ethnic supporters as fodder for violence and destruction to satisfy the narrow agenda of the politically frustrated and bitter.

The truth is that the "discriminated" and or "marginaised" could be found not just among the two major ethnic groups, but also those of the minority races and the indigenous Amerindians. It is to be hoped that the promising new Minister for Amerindian Affairs, Ms Carolyn Rodrigues will succeed in curbing the marginalisation of the indigenous people.

But is this the result of official policy? Where are the facts? Has any of this ever engaged the attention of the institution of Ombudsman? There is danger in playing with words and theories about "marginalisation" or the denial to access power and influence, eight years after the dispensation of 28 years of power by one party, the PNC.

The same may also be asked in relation to the so-called "disenfranchised". The PPP/C seems to have suffered more in this respect last month than the PNC/R, according to post-election statements.

Both parties, therefore, need to discuss in a matured, sensible manner, issues of claimed discrimination, marginalisation and disenfranchisement in the dialogue to begin this week, and to be seen to be doing so in a conducive environment.

The small parliamentary parties and representative civil society groups should also be brought into the discussion once it has been advanced at the level of Jagdeo and Hoyte.

McKinnon and Singh
Up to last week much politics were also being made of the death by the mysterious shooting on April 9 of the vendor McKinnon whose coffin was draped in the flag of the PNC/R on the day of her funeral, when there were more beatings and robberies, with the victims including overseas-based Guyanese on visit.

McKinnon's death, which must be thoroughly investigated, has been made all the more tragic for the reason that, like the security guard Singh in January 1998, she was an innocent person, not known to be engaged in the politics of any party.

n an already tense racial atmosphere, the PNC/R chose to hail her as a "symbol of the struggle" (which struggle?) and claimed that her death was a "wake up call". Really?

As far as is known, McKinnon was not a target for murder. She was a victim when shots were mysteriously fired from a still unknown quarter into a crowd of protesters.

She was not known to have been a political activist who was deliberately killed for her activism, any more than the security guard, Seudyal Singh, was killed by a bomb thrown at the NTN Channel 69, said to be associated with the PPP/C.

It has been noted that amid consistent attempts by some sections of the local media, and one newspaper in particular, to link McKinnon's death with a mysterious gunman in the vicinity of Freedom House, the Police have come forward with a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her death.

I personally hope that the gunman is found and brought to trial. It is now almost TWO WEEKS since vendor McKinnon met her tragic death, an incident being shamelessly exploited for all the narrow political advantage it could offer to the PNC/R.

The police will also know that it is more than THREE YEARS since the murder of Seudyal Singh. No arrest has yet been made, and I am unaware if any reward was ever offered to help bring to justice the person or persons responsible for his death.

It is important that the police pursue with the same vigour and honesty the deaths of McKinnon and Singh, both victims of mysterious people during political protests associated with the PNC in Georgetown.

True justice knows no colour, ethnicity, religious or political affinity. Let justice, therefore, be done in both cases. It is this kind of sentiment that is obviously behind repeated calls for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to move decisively against those television station owners and operatives who continue with their slander, race hate and seditious statements as if they have some vested interest in mashing up Guyana.

The DPP can no longer be expected to remain inactive.

Public opinion must ensure he does not -- even if the Guyana Bar Association feels it is not an issue that should engage its attention.