Treating citizens with dignity

After all the braying and screaming about democracy, one week after the PPP/C took the reins of government, its intentions have been made clear. Those intentions are anything and everything but democratic governance. What has transpired this past week is nothing short of a stampede that has all the markings of a party that is bent on provoking Guyana into a confrontation. Perhaps the PPP/C feels that with the backing of its local and foreign benefactors it has wide license to resume its plantation-like plunder of Guyana and its peoples.

Many had warned that this is what the PPP/C was up to; that the leopard would not change its spots. But consumed by their hatred of the Coalition, and in pursuit of their own narrow interests the myriad forces of regime change chose to impose the unkindest cut on the Guyanese people. We hope as the days go by and the reign of terror on the supporters of the Coalition unfolds, they would take their fair share of responsibility for what ensues.

From the threat to former minister Simona Broomes’ life, to the hounding of the contract workers to the naked promise to jail GECOM’s PRO, Keith Lowefield and other GECOM officials, this is nothing short of a declaration of war by the PPP/C. The peaceful transition of power has had the opposite effect of what the Coalition intended. The PPP/C evidently views that responsible gesture as a sign of weakness and an invitation to reinstate the Criminalised State and set it loose on the nation.

We must call a spade a spade. The disrespect for the dignity, liberty, and rights of half the Guyanese population cannot be tolerated. History shows us that once the PPP/C’s plan is allowed to take root, it would be difficult to contain much less stop them. It is clear that in the PPP/C, we are contending with a group that has no regard for the lessons of history or for the safety and security of all Guyanese.

It is our considered view that the PPP/C barrage must be stopped now. The Coalition must defend its members and supporters against any further attacks. There is no other way. In that regard, this publication supports former President David Granger’s warning that there will be retaliation for the road the PPP/C has decided to travel. We do not know what he has in mind. But whatever it is, for the sake of peace and stability, it must quickly be operationalised. We support the calls for peace as a path to a shared Guyana, but such peace is misplaced if it is answered by the violence of the PPP-controlled State.

Towards that end we call on State functionaries especially the armed forces to resist attempts by the PPP to turn them against the Guyanese people. We note the brazen attempts by the government to put  loyalists in strategic  areas of the leadership of the Police Forces. The intentions are clear. We remember the dark days of the not so distant past when the police guns were turned on innocent supporters of the Coalition. Those days must never be allowed to return. The leadership of the police force must stand up and be counted; they must refuse to carry out unlawful orders.

Finally, we call on the Coalition supporters to be vigilant and militant. Ultimately, it is the power of the people that would repel the PPP/C. Every citizen and group in Guyana has a right to be treated with equal dignity. Human rights are not confined to some—it is the privilege of all.