The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) yesterday accused the government of ordering the security forces to undertake “highly provocative” actions in Linden on Friday and warned that the country is closer to mass political conflict with far-reaching consequences.
The party was responding to the developments in Linden, where unrest intensified on Friday after a confrontation between the security forces and residents engaged in a three-week old protest. Several buildings were burnt on Friday, while members of the Joint Services cleared some of the roadways that have been blocked since the July 18 start of the protests, when three men were killed and around 20 injured after a police shooting.
In a statement yesterday, WPA also noted government’s unilateral cancellation of continued negotiations with Region 10 representatives in wake of the actions of the security forces in Linden and it accused the Donald Ramotar-led administration of bad faith.
The party said that it has started to alert its overseas friends and members to the deteriorating situation in Guyana and has been urging them to in turn alert the international community to the developments here and to join in organising solidarity actions with the people of Linden.
Although the security forces have denied mounting an operation and escalating the situation in Linden on Friday, the WPA accused President Ramotar of ordering the military into various provocative actions, including dropping pamphlets from a military helicopter on the people of Linden, while talks were still ongoing with the Region 10 administration and the parliamentary opposition that had reportedly seen considerable progress.
“The government’s decision to unilaterally and abruptly cancel the scheduled meeting on Friday in the wake of the Joint Forces’ action is ominous,” is ominous, it said, while suggesting that the Terms of Reference for the Commission of Inquiry and the setting up of the Technical Team to take another look at the electricity issue represent the furthest the PPP intends to go. “WPA continues to support open dialogue with the government, but urges the opposition to recognise that it is not negotiating with a sincere partner but with a hostile party intent on undermining any genuine effort at national reconciliation,” it added.
The WPA suggested that the administration fears a negotiated settlement, being unprepared to address the core concerns and demands of Linden. “The WPA can only conclude that the PPP has decided on a military solution and has used the talks as political diversion and theatre,” it said.
According to the WPA, the political opposition has understandably been urging vigilance, resoluteness, calm and restraint in Linden, but argued that the subjection of the community to “war propaganda, military occupation and disproportionate force” has severely tested the patience of the people. “The PPP government has ignored every reasonable attempt by the opposition in and out of parliament to forge a cooperative form of governance and [has] instead opted for confrontation,” it argued.
The WPA affirmed its full solidarity with the people of Linden in the face of the “latest assault” on their right to peaceful protest in pursuit of their human and civil rights. “We urge them to continue their historic act of defiance and self-emancipation,” it said, while calling on the rest of Guyana “to wake up from its slumber and recognise that the actions against the people of Linden are an attack on our collective right to live as free citizens. Tyranny in any part of Guyana must be met by resistance and resolve in all parts of Guyana.”
Meanwhile, the WPA also criticised the role of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) in encouraging the government to crackdown on Linden.
It said while it respected the right of the Private Sector to protect its interests, it “will not trade justice for the working people in exchange for the protection and patronage of narrow elite class interests.”
Due to the continuing protests in Linden, fuel, supplies and travel to interior regions 7, 8 and 9, have been restricted, and both the government, businesses and others have noted the impact on communities and mining and forest operations.
“It is nauseating to hear both the PSC and the government constantly bemoan the loss of profits while completely ignoring the economic plight of Lindeners and the fact that three lives were lost and several other citizens have been injured,” the WPA said, adding that the “openly uncaring attitude” that puts profit above human life is “a frightening development that must be confronted and obliterated.”
