Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
May 10, 2001

IT IS with a sigh of relief that most Guyanese would view the joint appeal by President Bharrat Jagdeo and PNC/Reform leader, Mr Desmond Hoyte urging Guyanese to remain calm and to cooperate with the authorities.

The call came in the wake of the fresh unrest early this week at Buxton and the slaying of the three persons, including an eight-year-old boy in an East Coast backdam, and immediately after the fourth round of dialogue between the President and Mr. Hoyte.

We believe that it is absolutely important for all Guyanese to heed this call and cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to complete their task of investigating the killings and ending the disruptions on the East Coast highway and bringing normalcy to the affected villages.

We also welcome the beefing up of security by both the National Army and the Police Force, which has since been effective in curtailing acts of banditry and lawlessness which were present up to Monday last at Buxton.

We call on every Guyanese to play his or her part to ensure that the illegal activities and killings which unfurled since the PNC/R started its post-election protests do not spread to other areas in the country.

It will be in nobody's interest should this be allowed.

We recognise that there are a few who would do everything in their power to sow the seed of unrest and racial animosity by their very actions.

Guyanese must guard against these people and cooperate with the authorities to flush out the undesirables at the first scent of their presence.

All must be vigilant and guard the democracy which is under threat.

Guyanese have fought hard and long battles for the return to democracy in this country, and it is therefore their duty to defend it at all costs.

Guyanese are not a warlike people, but if a few attempt to provoke their anger, they must as a nation united, drive them into oblivion once and for all.

We recognise that there is a whole lot more to be done for the uplift of the Guyanese people and all must help in this process.

The time has therefore come for all to stand guard against the flame throwers, race haters and killers and to get on with the job required to improve their lives.

Fear must be banished and human welfare instituted in the quest for improved living conditions and to bridge the racial divide.

Guyanese must exercise the tolerance which will give them the wisdom to solve the problem on which the chances of peace turn.

All are in this together and must remember that since the masses are the raw materials which form a people in any society, it is incumbent on them to be involved as in the words of National Poet Martin Carter: "All are involved, all are consumed."