It is a village that is famous for its struggles in the colonial days and its history is rooted in the fight for the liberation from slavery.

There is much in the history of the village that Buxtonians can be proud of and its name is associated with one of the most succulent of Guyanese mangoes - `Buxton Spice'.

Sadly though, the village and some others on the East Coast have come to be associated with incidents of violence that cannot be said to be linked to its rich history of struggle.

The disturbances at Buxton and other East Coast areas that followed the elections of March last year saw attacks and robberies on innocent people that cannot conceivably be related to any struggle for justice of any kind.

Beating, chopping, robbing and throwing burning acid on passengers in mini-buses and cars that got trapped in the violence on the main roads passing through the village cannot be defended or justified as part of any `peaceful' protest.

That was the work of criminal elements intent on robbing and causing mayhem and as long as they are allowed to run amok in any `peaceful' protest, the entire affair is stained by their foul deeds.

Since the post-elections disturbances there have been other violent incidents in the area and the new Railway Embankment road has again been dug up - making it impossible for vehicles to drive on that stretch passing through Buxton.

The road was also dug up during the protests last year and the Government had to divert scarce funds from other projects to repair the damage.

The ditch dug by `protesters' across the road again has caused tremendous inconvenience to motorists and others travelling between Georgetown and Rosignol and poses a danger to the unsuspecting, as happened to a group in a vehicle that was trapped and robbed in the `danger zone' on Sunday night.

This is not a country that is at war and there should be no `danger zones' on a public highway.

People should be free to travel along any highway and byway, and any street and road in this country without fear of being set upon by gangs of thieves and vagabonds.

Buxton cannot be regarded as an enclave of any kind and it is time that its community leaders and elders stand up and speak out against the excesses by the criminal-minded that have stained the good name of the village.

People have a right in a democratic society to protest against perceived grievances when they fail to get redress but such actions must be within the law.

Those who organise `peaceful' protests have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of ensuring that protesters toe the line and stay within the rules of the game.

No one would mind if demonstrations are peaceful and no harm comes to innocent passers-by; but the organisers have to share the blame when `peaceful' protests degenerate into violence and people passing by are injured and robbed.

A welcome step by community leaders in Buxton towards helping to restore normalcy would be to begin a self-help project to repair the damaged roads so that traffic can peacefully flow through again.