National consensus must guide path for healing ethnic rift -- Professor Hanf by Terrence Esseboom Guyana Chronicle June 12, 1999 NATIONAL consensus must determine the political path for healing the racial/ethnic rift in the Guyanese society, German Professor Theodor Hanf emphasised Thursday. Professor Hanf said that while a variety of useful political paradigms are available globally to help nudge the Constitutional Reform process here forward, there was no single prescription he could offer this nation. "The choice depends on how people in a particular country view the problems," Hanf explained. Questioned by reporters about his reluctance to make proposals to the Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) in charge of activities that will lead to the eventual modification of the 1980 document, Hanf noted "...there is not one prescription...one can very carefully generalise about what in particular situations can be better than in other situations." He, noted, however, that not knowing "very solidly" this country, he was cautions about proffering prescriptions because the choice depended on how the nation perceived the problems. The visiting expert said that a perusal of the recommendations sent to the Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) by individuals and groups suggests the ethnic schisms here are "very deep and very profound." To diminish the difficulties, Hanf observed that the political system should be organised to allow maximum participation of the various ethnic sub-divisions, ensuring the differences are "maintained (and) stabilised" and peaceful coexistence is ensured. Another strategy can be the implementation of more stringent checks and balances than needed in homogeneous societies. And these include a strong Bill of Rights enshrined in the new Constitution, an independent Constitutional court, and hiring qualified minorities to fill key vacancies. The powers of the Central Government should also be curtailed in the quest too, he said. "If (too much) power is concentrated in one place, the danger is that people who are not of the same shadow which has that power centre, feel threatened. Hence, decentralisation of power is very helpful," the professor said. Elaborating, he stated, "Ethnic struggle tends to be harsher (when) the role of the government in the economy increases." Therefore, "the more the state is an agency of economic distribution...the more important it is to control the state," Hanf said. He said the organisation of the Executive, the arrangement of the balance of power, devolution of power, and an independent Judiciary, among other guidelines, can help in the process. Hanf is on a one-week stay in Guyana as part of the country's Constitutional Reform effort mandated under two accords ratified by the ruling People's Progressive Party and Civic (PPP/Civic) coalition and the minority People's National Congress (PNC) after the 1997 General Elections. Inserted in a Menu of Measures identified in the Herdmanston Accord and the St Lucia Statement, the 1980 Guyana Constitution is to be reshaped in time for the next national polls. As part of that effort, a 20-member Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) was set up with a July deadline to present proposals to the National Assembly. These proposals will form the basis for the new document. A series of programmes is being undertaken by the CRC to fulfill the quest, and officials said Monday that they are on schedule to meet the date. Ten experts, seven foreign and three local, have been identified to help the CRC team in the Constitutional improvement programme. Hanf is the Director of Arnold-Bergstrasser Institute for Social Research, Research Professor of Sociology at the German Institute for International Education Research in Frankfurt, and also Honorary Professor of Political Science at the University of Freiburg. He is a leading international expert on different political systems, especially those involving non-homogeneous, or mixed societies, such as Guyana. Commenting on the 1980 document, he noted the compendium cannot be easily understood by the masses, and is not very helpful for facilitating accommodation within the ethnic divide. He was concerned about the "extreme concentration of power" in the executive presidency, and `tickled' by the clause which mandates the President to appoint the Minority Leader. These clauses he described as "exotic." Questioned about the survival of fledgling democracies such as Guyana's, Hanf explained that survival is linked to democratisation of those outfits vying for national power. "There is every likelihood" that new democracies will survive and thrive, Hanf explained. He noted that democracy was not achieved because of the goodness of the hearts of politicians, but emerged "out of constraints." Monarchs gave up absolute power because of pressure and, pluralistic democracies, have developed because a number of social forces "could not be denied participation in the political game," Hanf stated. He said 19th century working-class English people had a limited suffrage, being disenfranchised by the Tories. Women gained their enfranchisement after prolonged agitation, Hanf said. A © page from: Guyana: Land of Six Peoples