Dear Editor,
President Ramotar’s belated visit to Linden must be viewed as a positive development. While this should have occurred as early as the day after the shooting, and there is much than can be criticized for the extended delay, that regrettable record cannot be undone. There are, however, some other uncomfortable truths, which will linger well into the distant future.
First, the President should have, could have, visited earlier; he just didn’t. This may be traceable to uncompromising hardliners, timidity and vacillation (not for the first time) on the part of the President, or other strategic calculations. Still, when the President ought to have seized the opportunity, it was only seen fit to teach a lesson. Clearly, and with the benefit of hindsight, that approach failed; and, as always, when the polemics are exhausted and reason prevails, there is only the table of communication and negotiation left. Even in full-fledged wars and savage confrontations, when emotions and insanity are spent, adversaries have no choice but the table. Sadly, this always seems to come at the end, after the tumult of storms and threats, of squeezes and intransigence.
Second, it will never be known with certainty whether this drawn-out confrontation – and corresponding languor – was for the purpose of banishing corruption from the national mind, or whether it was to generate specific hostility levels for elections purposes. I believe there is substantial basis for this thinking, given the ruling party’s attitude and actions on both counts.
Third, even with the exercise of great care, optimism and trust have suffered a terrible body blow. The psychological, emotional, and other damage experienced can only be measured in pyrrhic grimness. There are mountains of embers and ashes left to navigate and douse. Large swathes still, and will, smoulder dangerously; this is part of the legacy for the future. Regardless how it is twisted or turned or smoothed over, a fifty year conflict has been rekindled. It is not a regional matter, but a national concern, and one that will not easily fade away from consciousness. The circumstances in Linden were unattended hands-on and face-to-face for too long, and allowed to deteriorate; for some reason further disintegration was averted. Nevertheless, a price will be extracted for this in the form of ongoing, if muted, rancour and distrust.
Fourth, as the dust shows some semblance of settling, the question must be raised as to how many more Joint Services operations will be the favoured priority response, and implemented when other differences arise in other communities. And they will. That too is, and will be, a derivative from the Linden circumstances, and mishandling. This results when outreach and outstretched hand are denounced and jettisoned in furtherance of more bellicose postures. If there is to be one lesson, let there be no more silence and delay and avoidance at the beginning. And let the will of the people not be underestimated.
Fifth, it must, in fairness, be said that the representatives of Linden did not always act with the community’s interests uppermost, and there were times when there were too many voices saying different things, and adding to the haze of an already confused situation; too many times raw emotion took precedence over better judgment. Still, it was the President’s show to direct and run, to coordinate and nurture. He is best measured in the aftermath.
Last, President Ramotar needs no reminder that his predecessor was notorious for a certain coarseness and heavy presence right up-front in just about every issue under the sun; there was no room for others in this world of megalomania. On the other hand, he himself (the incumbent) lags too far behind the caravan and loses the moment when the occasion demands. Linden was such a moment. Perhaps a lesson will be learnt from all of this, especially as to the nuances, protocols, and dynamics of the presidency when a crisis is balanced on a pinhead.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
