In the aftermath of the Lusignan killings, nothing which those elected to protect us had to say seemed to have much relevance to the issue. There they were tying themselves in linguistic knots about whether the perpetrators were common criminals or domestic terrorists, associating the PNC by implication at least, with the gunmen, and ranting about the fact that the Leader of the Opposition would not pronounce the words ‘safe haven for criminals’ and ‘Buxton’ in the same sentence. To cap it all, of course, they rejected the PNCR motion on the Lusignan slayings for debate in the National Assembly.
Did the administration seriously believe that if the gunmen had been described as ‘terrorists’ by all and sundry, and every media house in the country had praised the government’s efforts to combat crime while condemning the PNC as well as Mr Corbin because he would not intone the magic formula, the ‘terrorists’ (or criminals) would not have struck again? Of course they didn’t. So why were they treating ordinary citizens as if they were fools by belabouring them with all this irrelevant and hostile polemic? In addition, at a time when the government was calling for a united country against crime, it was operating in total contradiction to this objective by spewing forth divisive political propaganda. It was certainly not a performance to inspire any confidence that they had a clue about what they were doing or where they should go from here.
Since last Sunday, however, there has been a potentially significant development. If events in Bartica have not exactly ‘concentrated’ President Jagdeo’s mind ‘wonderfully,’ they have at least concentrated it rather better than before. And so now we have the head of state speaking to people he said he wouldn’t speak to, and ‘consulting’ with civil society and political parties when previously his government had brushed aside the notion of consultations. Whether the administration is serious about these encounters, or whether it is just going through the motions to assuage the donor nations and agencies, only time will tell. What is important at this stage, however, is that the first step has been taken to meet stakeholders on the question of security and hopefully, related matters.
It is now incumbent on the PNCR to sign the communiqu
