…must do the time
There was an interesting letter to the press from former President Ramotar. He observed the immediate punitive actions taken by the US authorities to the “insurrectionary” attack on Capitol Hill. And asked simply why that hasn’t happened here in Guyana. The attackers are being identified from the voluminous video streaming they narcissistically indulged in – plus, of course, the CC cameras in the building.
Individuals from across the US are now being charged – including an extraordinary number of folks with military and armed forces background. Some of the Police guarding the Capitol enabled the insurrectionists and they’ll also have to walk the plank. The Head of Police has resigned. And most importantly, there are moves afoot to punish the man who incited the whole shameful episode in American history – the lame-duck President Donald Trump. He might either be forced to resign or be impeached.
These official American actions demonstrate that while they’re not perfect as a democracy – and this will always be so ‘cause “men aren’t angels” – they do enforce the laws of the land to punish those who break the laws to subvert it. And that’s the only way to secure all our institutions – including democracy. The law can’t be seen like “Christmas blow blow”! Which is the case in Guyana when the PNC doesn’t get its way.
We don’t have to take a walk down memory lane to count the ways in which the PNC traduced the law to keep itself in power or try to grab power – let’s just go back to the “protests” on W Berbice following the murders of the Henry cousins. Just as with the videos of Trump inciting his supporters to their extreme action, we have videos of PNC leaders Granger and Harmon making even more inflammatory and inciting statements.
The protests had been initiated by local PNC activists after the bodies were discovered. And when Granger and Harmon went the next day to visit, rather than advising the gathered crowd to facilitate the Police investigation, without a shred of evidence, Granger implied that the murders were politically instigated, and told them to organise “self-defence”! He encouraged further protest actions by insisting “we’re not going to put up with this nonsense”! Granger and Harmon must be brought to justice: those who incite must bear responsibility.
And just as with the Capitol Hill insurrectionists, we have numerous videos circulating of men who heeded Granger’s call, beating, molesting, robbing and humiliating perceived supporters of the PPP. There was one egregious instance where one fella walked up to a bus that had pulled over and repeatedly punched the driver in his face!
They must be punished for democracy here to survive.
…must be brought to heel
Your Eyewitness has commented on Maduro’s provocative “decree” on our Essequibo border – as if he’s that Pope of yore who could arbitrarily draw a line on a globe to divide the world between Spain and Portugal! As soon as he takes office in just over a week, President Biden will have to demonstrate that just as America will not back down from doing what it takes to defend democracy within its borders, it will also defend it outside – at least in this hemisphere.
The overreach by Maduro over in Venezuela is a direct thumbing of his nose at the Americans since he is once again threatening a major US corporation – Exxon – just as his predecessor Chávez did. Biden would know that Maduro is aided and abetted by the Chinese, who’ve bankrolled him as the economy imploded. The rivers of refugees have already challenged the social services of Venezuela’s neighbours and is a destabilising force in the region.
President Biden must protect the underbelly of his country!
…on women are slime
A symptom of our sickness as a society is the seeming inexorable increase in violence against women by their “intimate” partners. No matter what the individual circumstance, this is simply the consequence of seeing women as property.
