Editorial

A more serendipitous encounter than the one that occurred last month in the middle of Guyana in Mahdia, the administrative centre of the Potaro-Siparuni Region, is unlikely to have happened anywhere else in the western hemisphere.

While declaring it was extremely pleased at the media coverage of its Gala Dinner on August 28th which was addressed by President Jagdeo, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) nonetheless in a statement on September 7th criticized the media for what it said was its failure to capture “the fact of the very frank and open exchange of views between the President and his audience on matters of concern to the private sector, at which the President emphasized that nothing should be considered taboo”.

One has to ask the question, is this really a capital city or is it a dumpsite?

Three days ago, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke publicly of “war crimes or crimes against humanity [that have become] part of a self-perpetuating pattern of brutality” in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

As the de facto regime in Honduras battens down the hatches in the face of international opprobrium, refusing to yield in its opposition to the return of President Manuel Zelaya, and presses ahead with the presidential elections scheduled for November 29, it appears that the rest of the hemisphere is gathering itself for another effort aimed at the restoration of constitutional order in that country.

At least twice a year for the past four years or so the forever broke capital city Georgetown finds itself in crisis.

Last week the United States Treasury announced the lifting of a number of travel, monetary and telecommunications restrictions on Cuba.

The shooting to death of a common burglar − Mark Heywood called Mark King − by the police a fortnight ago has once again raised the question of the use of minimum force in everyday law enforcement.

Romanex’s application to the state for permission to conduct alluvial mining in the Marudi Mountain, Region Nine jars for three reasons.

‘Life is a cabaret, old chum,’ runs the song, and nowhere is that more true than in GT.

A human rights group recently released footage of what appeared to be summary executions carried out by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) during the endgame of the country’s 26-year civil war.

The standoff in Honduras continues. It is now just over two months since President Manuel Zelaya was removed from office and ejected from the country still wearing his pyjamas.

The global financial crisis has seen stock markets dip, economies slow down and many people lose their jobs and homes, but the food, drink and entertainment industries seem to have been the least affected so far.

Context is everything.  In social relations, a statement uttered in times of calm and good relations among groups of people may be taken as harmless and allowed to pass.

Describing the recent robbery and murder by members of the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard  in the Essequibo River as “reprehensible,” President Bharrat Jagdeo added that it was worse because it was reportedly committed by “members of the security forces − people who are supposed to protect and serve our country with integrity.”

In its simplest form, good governance is responsive to the basic, legitimate and essential needs of the governed.

It is as if the current leadership of the PNCR is trapped in a proverbial time warp, far removed from the current realities.

Any West Indian reading the history of modern Africa will find a depressing number of echoes in the failure of its nationalist dreams.

PJ Patterson, has rejected in forthright terms any “attempt to portray the notion that the WICB has accepted and is proceeding in accordance” with the report that bears his name and which was submitted almost two years ago, on improving the governance of West Indian cricket (SN, August 22, 2009, ‘Wanted: A new governance for West Indies Cricket Board’).

Three members of the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate Court this week charged with murdering Bartica gold dealer Dweive Kant Ramdass whose body was found at Caiman Hole, East Bank Essequibo after he had been reported missing.