Disciplined services commit to race-free zones
Heads of the five disciplined services in Guyana were the latest to sign pledges of commitment to the establishment of race-free zones in their organisations. Some 700 groups of all descriptions have so far signed the pledge. The signing ceremony which took place yesterday at the Guyana Human Rights Association centre, saw the heads, apart from signing the pledges, making brief presentations in support of the cause. Signing for the Guyana National Service was its Director General, Colonel Leroy Benn, who called for the campaign to be widened through the vehicle of education which would encourage the implementation and enforcement of the rights of the child. His organisation, he stated, was committed to the equality principle since it dealt specifically with forging friendships between races of the younger generation. Chief Fire Officer Tulsi John stated that God had made the world colourful and that Guyana was blessed with six different peoples which was a unique situation. The fire department, he said, was already committed to racial harmony since fires had no boundaries and were likely to affect all races similarly. Commissioner of Police, Laurie Lewis, in describing himself as a child of his parents, equated the present campaign to those launched in the US by mothers against drunken driving and the stance taken by mothers of Russian soldiers who were losing their lives in what seemed a meaningless Chechen war. It was the commissioner's view that the organisers of the race-free zone campaign were bound to succeed if they pushed, as success was had with strength in numbers. He said he was also hoping to have the group involved in youth camps that the force sponsored annually. The police, he said, wanted to be identified with the effort especially as there was a determination to succeed by the organisers. Director of Prisons, Dale Erskine, stated that his institution was committed to the exercise since it had the possibility of preparing young people for the future. Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Major General Joseph Singh, stressed that it was in the interest of the country that such an issue be promoted. It was his view that in the backdrop of the UN promoting a year of the Culture of Peace, it was necessary that this focus be widened to embrace children. The army, he said was already being guided by UN principles and those of the Geneva Convention which required that it oppose all forms of discrimination. The campaign was launched on November 20 last year. Earlier, members of the campaign's co-ordinating committee, Shanaza Ally and Michelle Kalamadeen outlined their achievements so far and plotted the course that they needed to follow to achieve more success.
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