Police misconduct and the Linden Bridge toll

Dear Editor,

There are two issues I want to address: the issue of the Government, through the use of the Police Force, going after Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and parliamentarians from his party, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), and the issue of the toll fee for the Linden Bridge.

Only fools, those with blind political loyalty or consumed by hatred would accept the growing misconduct by the Jagdeo/Ali regime. What happened last week to Mohamed and team is tantamount to an intensification of the abuse of political office by using the Police Force, which is supposed to be an independent arm of the State – to target opponents.

We are living in dangerous times. The Police Force, more and more, is taking on a partisan role, enforcing the regime’s witch hunt against people and its attempt to silence, marginalise, or eliminate those it sees as a threat. The Police Force must remember to whom it is in service: all the people of Guyana. It has a motto, ‘Service and Protection,’ and that service and protection are guided by laws and conventions, and its operations by Standing Orders, which must not be violated for any government.

To those in this society who may have looked on and stayed silent, afraid to speak out, or decided it is not their problem, I say this is a problem for all of us. If we stay silent when wrong is inflicted on another because it does not concern us, we give assent to wrongs being committed against us. We must accept that right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of who benefits or who is affected. Because if we turn a blind eye or remain silent, it is only a matter of time before that wrong is extended to us.

Then others will look on and say, when it happened to someone else, you stayed silent, so I will stay silent too. And we continue this vicious cycle of silence that works to the detriment of all of us and this nation moreso. We are treading in dangerous waters in this country. We may be identified as a nation that is wealthy, but we are a nation that is growing poorer every day by the declining standards, increasing ethnic tensions and political divisions, and targeted marginalisation of sections of this society.

None of these bode well for society whose motto is “One People, One Nation, One Destiny.” The malpractices and excesses of this regime, we must reject and be unflinching in saying, “I do not support it.” And it matters not who is affected.

The police men and women need not forget when they take off their uniforms, they blend into civil society and are also from the communities. Further, within their fold, they have families that are part of civil society. They will not want this nation to reach, or return to the era of vigilante justice, where not only the police are targeted but also the innocent in society. For those who do not know or with short memory of the reign of terror from 2002-2006 during Bharrat Jagdeo presidency^[1]. None was safe. Members of the Force must stop and take stock of themselves. Be bold enough to say to this regime: “I cannot do it. It is not right. It violates the principles under which the Force operates.”

The Linden Bridge Issue

I have spoken about the Linden Bridge issue for some time. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) under Jagdeo’s leadership, has engaged in a programme of economic genocide against the African community. That programme is intended to target the race, either as a community or as individuals. Whilst some may take umbrage to the term, its definition as outlined by the United Nations and evidence on the ground bears testimony to the accuracy of my pronouncement.

When you deliberately set out to deny one’s economic right to self-determination through the abuse of state resources or state authority, you are, in effect, working to bring a group of people and their organisations to their knees, with the intent to destroy or re-shape and refashion them in your image and liking. The image and liking the PPP is pursuing is to make the race its henchmen and proverbial house slaves to whip others into subjection. The PPP is engaging in acts to strip the African community of its dignity the race has fought for throughout history.

Even when tricked into those ships and put in chains, Africans fought all the way for their dignity and respect. On the plantation, Africans fought. It may have taken hundreds of years to achieve Emancipation, but none can say the African community didn’t fight their tormentors. Nothing wholesome is achieved without a fight.

Now, the Jagdeo/Ali regime has decided that whereas under the law, there can be no physical chains, it will now seek to enslave Africans through economic deprivations. The trade union community has suffered from it and continues to bear the brunt of it. The Town Councils and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, which the PPP does not control have seen the impact of it. The Linden toll bridge is another reminder, for that bridge is situated in a region and African dominated community which the PPP has no political control over.

While some of us are taking our eyes off the ball, the Jagdeo/Ali regime is focused on bringing us to our knees and settling political scores with their rivals, regardless of race. And it is based on the latter, Mohamed becomes a prime target. We have got to find a way to get up, with one accord, including persons from the non-African community who believe in justice and fair play. We must not only say, “Enough is enough,” but demand the correction of the PPP regime pervasive misbehaviour, criminality, inhumanity, discrimination, marginalisation, and policy of economic genocide.

And if we think it is only Linden today, it was Georgetown yesterday, the Guyana Trades Union Congress or the labour movement, and other political organisations, and it won’t affect us, I say to all, without exception—it will come to your door soon. If the monster is allowed to get away with one act and learns that it can devour one opponent without consequence, it will move on to another, and another. None is safe. And in the words of Martin Niemöller, a German Lutheran pastor, I remind you: when they come for you, no one will be there to speak for you.

References

1. Commission of Inquiry into 2002-2006 violence will be held- Jagdeo – Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana — demerarawaves.com ↩