By GHK Lall- No objection! There’s agreement with 592Guardian. Mr. Daniel Seeram, Guyana’s Border Patrol Field Marshall has a right to move mountains and drain oceans in an effort to sidestep the pen post-conviction, presentencing. I make a point or two. Not to deny Mr. Seeram his petition for liberty, but in support of those who don’t carry Mr. Seeram’s weight, nor have his access.
In this matter of sensitivity, custody, and leniency relative to Mr. Seeram’s welfare, state of mind, and his pivotal role on behalf of the Guyanese people, the following is submitted. Not to thwart this fine Guyanese in his quest for freedom, but to layout in human terms.
If freedom for the Border Patrol commander today, who else tomorrow? If his pleading is given friendly reception, then what about others in a similar court boat? Or for lesser or greater circumstances. I go down before I go up.
The police constable in Georgetown, when under fire, could come up with a novel argument. He must be on duty, it’s mandatory. If not, Georgetown could be overrun by criminals bent on wreaking a world of havoc. Sacking by Visigoths. By the same token, the army lance corporal on guard at the Cuyuni River could make a claim identical to Mr. Seeram’s: if he has the book thrown at him, Venezuelan hordes could rampage across the border, and then what? If for Mr. Seeram, then why not them?
The Community Policing Group man can be a must-have presence. Locking away the sole breadwinner in a family can bring about starvation of its members. A single parent imprisoned could contribute to a wayward child, juvenile delinquency.
In short, what Mr. Seeram seeks for himself, due to the primacy of his national role, can be applied to a whole host of situations involving lesser people and, perhaps, more consequentially. I go higher. A minister could claim monopoly rights over his portfolio due to unique skills.
A permanent secretary could swear to some extraordinary loyalty. An agency head, or head of department, could submit testimony favorable to his or her cause. Genuine, compelling, claims not to be in jail, because of the exposure to Guyana. Bottom line: go low, go high, Mr. Seeram has a lot of company re those who could legitimately qualify to be out of jail, using his representations, different circumstances. Where does this stop? Who doesn’t make the grade for sympathetic consideration? Now I go still further.
The Border Patrol, to take a leaf out of the 592Guardian book, has to have bench strength, contingency for emergency, so that there is continuity, without anyone detecting a difference. I remind Mr. Seeram of this truism: no man is indispensable.
In the abrupt and unfortunate development that someone drops dead on the job, the work still must go on. I go back almost 100 years to remind fellow Guyanese of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt who did just that and two atomic bombs were still detonated on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In war and peace, a good border manager has in place just the right arrangements for such any eventuality.
Moreover, it was reported that, as part of his petition, Mr. Seeram meets with Mr. Ali, Guyana’s president, once weekly as a matter of routine. Pres Ali could be guilty of a major mental lapse, if all he is comfortable with for management of Guyana’s hot-and cold borders is Mr. Seeram.
Suppose he has a change of heart, a rush of blood to the head, and decides to return to the PNC, or from wherever he came? Look, I am not that stonehearted that I don’t empathize with Mr. Seeram in his precarious situation (in more ways than one). But, as a practical matter, the relief he is seeking would empty the jails, leave prison wardens with time for mischief.
Last, I recommend that Minister Vindya Persaud, she of gender care and compassion, files a court brief. The hon minister has a choice: the battered wife, or the Seeram-controlled border. Politics or pain inflicted. PPP-style justice, or what applies universally, without fear or friends, when a felony occurred. No bail was the right decision.
