Having another go
Editorial
CARIBBEAN Community (CARICOM) heads of government are again to consider the Guyana political situation as a special item when they meet tomorrow in the Dominican Republic. They have been at it since last year, after the main opposition People's National Congress (PNC) refused to accept it had lost the December 15, 1997 national elections - endorsed as free and fair by teams of international and local observers. Their first attempt at brokering a solution saw the governing People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/Civic) agreeing to give up two years of the five-year term it got as a result of its victory at the elections. The PPP/Civic also agreed to have a special CARICOM team audit the elections. That probe, led by an eminent Trinidad and Tobago jurist, also validated the polls, but the PNC thought otherwise and in effect, called for an audit of the CARICOM audit. The PNC anti-government street demonstrations in Georgetown in June last year, following the first round in January, resulted in CARICOM leaders brokering yet another `peace' deal in St. Lucia in July. Fresh PNC street protests in Georgetown last month coincided with another meeting of CARICOM leaders - this time in Suriname - and they did not lose any time in condemning the unfortunate turn of events. Now the structured dialogue they had set in train between the PPP/Civic and the PNC has been scuttled because of a triviality, the PNC's offence at a remark they feel did not mean that they were `equal' to the PPP/Civic. So the dialogue has stalemated, the CARICOM mediator, former Barbados Foreign Minister, Mr. Maurice King, has gone home to await the next step and the donors funding the process have been asked to continue financing the mediated dialogue. CARICOM leaders are gathering again from tomorrow, this time in the Dominican Republic, for the second summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). They have several pressing matters to discuss ahead of the full summit, including the threat hanging over the tiny banana-producing member states of CARICOM. The CARICOM Secretariat here yesterday said the meeting was being held to deal with "urgent matters of Community interest." And among the `urgent' matters on their plate is still the `Guyana situation' - yet again, after they first got involved more than a year ago. We have noted before that CARICOM leaders expressed their frustration and disappointment at the renewed PNC anti-government demonstrations in Georgetown last month, which clearly threatened the peace and stability of the country, again. They were at the meeting of CARICOM leaders in Suriname last month and President Janet Jagan and Foreign Minister, Mr. Clement Rohee, are due to be at this next engagement on the `Guyana situation' tomorrow in Santo Domingo. We expect they will tell it exactly like it is and we expect that other CARICOM leaders will begin taking a more frank approach to recognising the root of the problem in the Guyana political landscape. They may need to lean a little more firmly on some of the key players here so that firmer progress could be on their table when they meet again in June and in July this year. A spade sometimes has to be called a spade. 
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