…to “good boy” politics
Back in 2002 or so, after the Buxton gunmen launched waves of murderous attacks against surrounding villages – Andaiye wrote a famous letter – “Not in my name” – dissociating herself from their nihilism.
Kwayana, who wrote that the gunmen were being ideologically indoctrinated by what he sarcastically dubbed “political sophisticates” from outside the village, was forced to flee Buxton. He left for the USA, from where he’s never returned.
The gunmen, of course, had broken out of Camp Street Prison, where they’d been jailed for murder and other sundry felonies, but were now hailed by certain elements of society as “freedom fighters”!
That the PNC had lost the free and fair elections of 1997, which they violently protested, and which led to early elections of 2001 – which they promptly lost again – was touted as the “loss of freedom”, which justified the violent attacks. PNC leader Desmond Hoyte, called his strategy of escalating violent protests “slow fyaah; mo fyaah” and insisted there were no “criminals” in Buxton. One man’s “criminals” being the other man’s “freedom fighters” and all that!
Anyhow, we know those bandits were wiped out by 2008 and pretty soon, the PNC changed its image and tactics to push for a “kinder and gentler” coalition politics. It worked -and they slid into office along with the AFC but soon revealed that their stripes were indelible! Under Granger, they tried Burnham’s rigging route to remain in office – but after five months of international and domestic pressure, demitted office.
Since that time, there’s been a constant drumbeat of exhortations on the PNC and its constituency to adopt a more confrontational posture towards the PPP government. After the gruesome W. Berbice murders, Granger and Harmon were commended for their inflammatory statements which resulted in violent protests in which scores of Guyanese – arbitrarily dubbed “PPP supporters” – were beaten and vehicles damaged. PNC Chair, Volda Lawrence, who took a conciliatory position on the violence was condemned by the rabble rousers – who ironically were mostly abroad.
Dubbing the PPP a government “an illegal cabal” – even though they have an elections petition in the Courts – these provocateurs have kept up their incendiary calls. In the wake of President Ali’s magnanimous and statesmanlike call for a meeting with all the former Presidents – including Granger – one of the most strident of them, David Hinds, declared: “In politics there comes a time when “good boy” politics must be abandoned. Mr. Granger and the opposition have adopted the “good boy” politics since August 2 and have nothing to show for it.”
Having already commended Hoyte’s “mo fyaah; slow fyaah”, one wonders if the politically sophisticated “bad boy” politics, include some “Freedom Fighters”.
…to the hysteria
To address the misinformed hysteria on the Haitian migrant smuggling operation, the following is repeated from the reputable “InSight Crime”. “A sophisticated human smuggling ring that illegally moved migrants from Haiti across a number of Latin American countries into Chile shows that the Caribbean nation’s crisis remains a gold mine for criminal gangs.
“In August, Bolivian authorities caught and deported at least 142 Haitian migrants, while at least 22 more were arrested in Chile. In September, both countries initiated an investigation and have since moved against the alleged people smugglers. The full international dimension of the problem soon became apparent. The Haitians were apparently first crossing into the Dominican Republic, where they were taken on flights to Guyana and then moved through Brazil and Bolivia into Chile, according to the BBC.
The scheme was lucrative. Chilean media reported that the migrants had to pay $3,000 a head just to leave Haiti, with more costs piling up along the way as they moved through different countries.”
It’s not just Guyana.
…to blackouts
In this bleak COVID-19 pandemic, to most Guyanese, Christmas looms like a beacon of light.
So your Eyewitness was quite pleased that GPL brought in back-up generators to guarantee the light at least!
