Dear Editor,
The gruesome deaths of 11 persons in Lusignan have brought to the fore the fragility of our race relations, the divisiveness, and the willingness of those who hold power to maximize on political points even during national grief.
Once again the grief felt by a section of our society is resulting in a lopsided public display of anger, frustration and desperation even though there is no doubt that all Guyanese are shocked and pained by the recent senseless killings.
The shock and pain are reminiscent of the way one section of our society must have felt when over 200 of its young males were executed, and many others disappeared. As a civilized society we ought to believe that human life has value and that justice should be executed by the courts. But then, like now, we see mainly one race, one side, in the main, condemning, protesting, struggling for justice and having to face the brunt of a frustrated, ill-equipped police force incapacitated by the government’s indecision.
What would it take for the PNC, AFC, GAP, ROAR and other political parties to mobilize their forces to protest these recent killings in front of Office of the President in support of the people of Lusignan? This show of empathy and solidarity would send a clear message that we as a people are united in our anger, passion against these deaths and that we are collectively calling on the government to be accountable for the criminal enterprise flourishing in our midst, and to bring those responsible for these recent deaths to court justice. It does appear that even if or when we have common situations that we can identify with, even if or when we feel each others’ grief we are, in the main, constrained to join ranks and support each others’ protestations. We are also constrained to call on the support of our brothers and sisters who identify with us. Some may be scared to join forces for fear of recrimination by their race group for breaking ranks. Some fear unity.
Those who are in grief appear to feel that the other side simply does not care or care enough to identify, or worse yet, are the cause of their grief. Is there any wonder why Minister Robeson Benn got the worst response of all his colleagues who visited the people of Lusignan in the aftermath of the tragic killings?
Government’s continuous playing of the race card, which causes us to look at each other with suspicion, does not help us to identify with each other publicly even though we find it impossible to overcome the tragedy before our eyes, the pain and suffering of our countrymen? Government’s divisiveness and the frustrations of a hurt people result instead in some calling for Roger Khan and Ronald Gajraj to return. People dare to feel secure in the protection of criminals and phantom leaders, and not the state which should be protecting its citizens. This is a sad day for Guyana when we begin to feel comfort in the protection of criminal forces insted of the state security.But as long as the race card continues to be the trump, Guyanese will remain divided on the issues that matter most to our collective survival.
The shooting and killing of policemen and citizens has been going on for a number of years , yet instead of civil society holding these deaths accountable to the criminal underground , an inept corrupted security force and a weak incompetent, manipulative government tainted by criminal entrepreneurs we see high profile criminality in our society being shrouded in race and politics.
Government has, since the advent of upscale kidnappings, killings and robberies, chosen instead to gain political mileage whilst covering up or shifting focus from the criminal enterprise operating in Guyana that is intensified by narco trafficking , the deportee situation and impoverishment. They have done nothing and insted sought to remove and to demonise the only Commissioner of Police who demonstrated some resolve to fight narco crime which is feeding the criminal acts we see permeating our society.
As the Lusignan bodies are interred, are the people asking how could “fine man” whose name and situation seemed to have been used after the stage was set with the missing GDF guns under the PNC, marshal these forces and high power weapons?
What is the real reason behind the killings and who are the phantom faces behind the trigger fingers and the marauding killers? How could ordinary criminals rain terror on a village and cordon off another, as occurred in Agricola, with ease? What kind of criminal enterprise can afford to finance such assault weapons, recruit criminals and unleash such unfettered terror on a people and country?
Guyana is fast becoming a Colombia where criminals operate parallel to the government; manage an economy with a large budget even finance aspects of government operations.
Like the killing of Assistant Superintendent of police Leon Fraser and Minister “Sash” Sawh and the many earlier kidnappings of Indian businessmen, these deaths in Lusignan will be lumped at the feet of one set of people and the PNC. The end result will be the extrajudicial killing of black men on mere accusations. Those killed extra judicially will never face the courts to know if they are guilty, hence the real motive for these killings will remain shrouded in race and politics.
There is no justice in any extra judicial end result, or any result which promotes racial division. There is only political gain that is myopic. Lusignan people and the people of our country need justice that puts an end to criminal enterprise of all kinds in our society.
The people of our country need a government and the political leadership that can unite and protect all Guyanese, not only from criminals and vigilante justice, but from all other forms of injustices which permeate our society today.
My sympathy and those of my family go out to the people of Lusignan and the entire Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Debra Carter
