The Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) is calling on PNC/R leader, Desmond Hoyte, to purge his party of what the Islamic body terms "wicked and evil elements" and to resume the dialogue process with the government.
President of the CIOG, Fazeel M. Ferouz, in a release yesterday is also urging the PPP/C to rapidly implement those agreements coming out of the dialogue process with the PNC/R and to firmly set the stage for inclusiveness of all Guyanese in the decision-making process as warranted by a democracy. The PNC/R had suspended the dialogue as it was unhappy with the way decisions taken by the two leaders were being implemented by the government.
Ferouz said his organisation "unequivocally, unreservedly, and in the strongest terms possible condemn the outrageous invasion (on Wednesday) of the highest institution of our country, the Office of the President, held near sacred."
"This signal event cannot but leave the impression that our dear country is on the verge of widespread chaos and that we have descended into barbarism," the CIOG president asserted.
The organisation is also calling on all Guyanese, "particularly the now distraught civil society and the frightened business community," to join in articulating a way forward for the country to be governed in equity and in justice, and to provide for and enjoy its labours in economic, social, and cultural development and progress, the release said.
The Islamic body is requesting too that the international organisations such as CARICOM, the OAS, the UN, and the donor community ensure that Guyana's fragile democracy does not backslide and that institutions are established which will guarantee its growth and maturity so that one day Guyana can truly join the brotherhood of nations that care for its people in an understanding and compassionate way.
Ferouz said that even as people pray fervently to the Almighty to bestow peace and tranquility on the nation, he would urge the government to request the assistance of the OAS and CARICOM to provide a 300-member peacekeeping force that will aid Guyana in predicting and preventing possible acts of crime and terror.
The release posited that the "lawlessness, the looting, the destruction of properties worth millions of dollars, the loss of lives, the robberies, and beatings of Indo-Guyanese at the car parks, on the streets, and elsewhere are nothing but the insidious manifestation of the work of a few politicians and leaders bent on grabbing power."
CIOG contended that the calls during Wednesday's mayhem for more fire, for the destabilization of the country, and for the defeat and the overthrow of the government, create an atmosphere conducive to violence and terror amidst the blatant disrespect for legitimate authority and the wholesale disregard for law and order, which are the cornerstones of a civilised society.
Ferouz noted that for over 40 years the country's poor and hardworking have endured the tyranny of the few who are supposed to look after the best interests of the people. "Our people have fled or withstood the atrocities and hardship and come to know that their interest and welfare are subservient to those who rule or aspire to rule," he declared.
The CIOG leader added that "in the words of Mr Hoyte, enough is enough! Our politicians must choose between being a civilisation, successful and prosperous under the rule of law, or being plunged into and consumed by the wrath of barbarism."