Dear Editor,
Last Thursday’s incendiary acts, violence against innocent people, and robberies disrupted the lives of tens of thousands and to a large extent brought life to a halt in Guyana as flights were cancelled and people could not get home. That was not a protest. It was hooliganism at its worst and the opposition AFC and APNU (PNC) must take responsibility for it.
The opposition organized the rally and they must accept responsibility and be made to pay the victims for their trauma, physical hurt, dispossession, and pain. The kind of thuggery that was unleashed on people must not be condoned by any political party and in fact must be condemned by all, particularly the AFC and PNC.
Beating and robbing people does not belong in our society in this day and age. The violence and robberies, must be condemned and those responsible arrested and charged and the victims compensated. As one union stated, the actions of the protesters “mask criminality under the guise of protest over seemingly just causes” and while the parties are calling for Rohee’s head up till now no evidence has linked him to any shootings.
The AFC and APNU should hang their heads in shame for not coming out to help the victims or seeking compensation for them. It is the business of all parties and people to come together and empathize with those who were affected.
The opposition should call on the police to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Victims should file criminal complaints and lawsuits for compensation against the attackers as well as the organizers of the rally. In the U.S and other civilized democracies, the planners and organizers of protest marches are held liable for the actions of their followers and are known to be sued and faced serious fines as well as jail time. It should be no different in Guyana to send a message that one simply can’t beat and rob people with impunity.
The AFC has disappointed so many people with its revenge agenda against former PPP colleagues. Instead of siding with the victims and condemning the robbers, the AFC is hell bent on getting back at the PPP and Rohee for their ill-treatment. Instead of comforting the victims,
they are playing politics and busy planning another rally. The AFC has its politics all wrong and its priority mixed up.
Justice for the victims should be the number one priority now, not going after Rohee. Since the violence was videoed, it would not be too difficult to pinpoint the perpetrators and arrest them and seize their possessions to compensate the victims. Making the country ungovernable will not serve the interests of the AFC and APNU.
Yours sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram
Comments are closed.