Peace is the foundation of freedom
---says Dr. Fenton Ramsahoye at Rotary dinner
by Chamanlall Naipaul
Guyana Chronicle
February 25, 2004
PEACE is the foundation of freedom and understanding among people and the rule of law is the guardian of the peace, but peace continues to be fragile.
This view was expressed by legal luminary and former Attorney General of Guyana, Dr. Fenton Ramshaoye S.C when he delivered the feature address at a recent dinner hosted by the Rotary Club to mark World Understanding Month.
"Peace continues to be fragile. It is an endangered species. Fragility has increased over the last six thousand years. The prospects for peace and world understanding have declined because the minds of both men and women have not been continuously prepared for peace and security. The idea that power comes from the barrel of a gun will be the undoing of mankind. Rotrarians are among those whose dedication to service and to peace has contributed vastly and will continue to contribute to understanding among the people's of the world. The way forward will not be easy but no good cause is easily lost," Dr. Ramsahoye declared.
The rule of law is essential and when it fails anarchy will prevail, he exhorted, adding that the rule of law has to be improved in order for it to survive.
The heart of the rule of law is an efficient legal system with competent and independent judicial institutions and competent law enforcement services, he stressed.
"War and terror which has the characteristics of war, will continue so long as the combatant class has not achieved its objectives," the legal luminary charged.
He observed that there is no mechanism which will bring complete solution and "while damage limitation which is expressed to include the cost of security will continue, the very cost of preventive measures undermines national economies and creates impediments to world efforts to relieve poverty which it is to be remembered, is often at the heart of resistance."
Rotarians, he urged will need to recognize that the services they render worldwide will relieve suffering, however, they also need to train their minds to understand the importance of peace and its relationship to world understanding.
Past President of the Rotary Club, Fritz Mclean said the annual event is a very special one on the Rotary Club's calendar of activities and it coincides with the day the Rotary was founded on February 23, 1905 by Paul Harris in Chicago, USA.
He disclosed that Rotary now extends to 166 countries, encompassing over 31,560 clubs with nearly one and a quarter million Rotarians.