Let’s continue to pray for Peace and National Unity

Apr 21, 2022 Letters

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Dear Editor,

I noted with great interest an article in the media titled “Human Rights must not stand in the way of American interests.” The article alleges that this point of view was expressed by former Secretary of State, also a Republican and former Executive of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson who let the “cat out of the bag,” since 2017, when he postulated the thesis that things such as human rights/democracy must in my words be subordinated to the national interest.
My friends who noted this were quick to condemn this theory. Some others from my alma mater are of the firm belief that the demand for President David Granger to “step aside” had little to do with democracy, human rights and the principles dealing with National and General Elections of a country, but rather, according to Tillerson, what was in the best interest of the then US Administration during the Pre-Guyana’s 2020 Elections.
Not forgetting Granger’s reluctance to agree for the US occupation of an area in the Northwest in response to an effort to destabilise the Maduro Administration.
Many of us, members and supporters of the PNC and the Coalition have been heaping hot coals on the head of David Granger blaming him justly or unjustly for all that went wrong, ignoring that in the great US, it was the immediate, past President of America who tried to thwart the will of the American voters, a matter still being investigated.
Tillerson’s approach to that of Pompeo who visited Guyana had all to do with their perception of what is in the US’ interest.
May I add this caveat, the above is not an American phenomenon but resonates among powerful Nation States, whether the East, West, North or South and I pose this question, even as we seek peace during this Passover, that: Has this attitude of powerful Nation States become a common and universal curse?
Guyanese need to see this and our situation in its widest context and I argued earlier that it is our lack of a moral sense, that is, the root cause of our tragedy and unless as a people, we have the intellectual nimbleness, we, less than a million people, will be swallowed up by this old culture of a shortage of moral sense, which translates to mean might is right and such righteousness is really devoid of those treasured principles we were taught in our early childhood.

It means that the United States is merely part of a global truism that determines the feasibility of war, more of an addiction which ignores everything else.
But the Easter Sunday sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury offers us hope, if only we listen and learn.
Look at our history books and the things we learn, it is the glorification of the great warriors and warlords. Some held with reverence, no pun intended.
Remember Alexander the Great, Ann Nzingha of Ndongo Kingdoms (Angola), Atilla the Hun, Julius Caesar, Shaka Zulu, Spartacus, Yaa Asantewaa and of recent vintage, the German, British, Japanese, American and Russian Generals.
The famous Christian Crusades were waged to subdue the Islamic Byzantine and Ottoman influence, although a cardinal principle of Christianity demands that ‘Thou shall not kill.” Their important weapon then was the sword, the shape and design was that of the Cross of Calvary.
We read centuries after World War I and World War II, among civilised people throughout their campaigns in Europe, the Pacific or North Africa. Those who came here and prevailed upon us to follow the demands of those doctrines saw nothing wrong in the killing of millions, whether it be Apostasy, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, the Reformation, Shinto and Taoism.
I pose this question: Are we dealing with the harvesting of our natural resources? Our primary concern, all of us – Government, Opposition, so-called Civil Society and the religious organization – should not indulge in the use of hackneyed language but concentrate on finding common grounds to confront the common adversary.
If I repeat this oft times, it is to get a message across to all of our Leaders in Guyana.
I plead with our political leaders on both sides of the National Assembly to suspend this rhetoric of those chameleon words, Democracy and Human Rights and sit down and deliver to those who harvest our gold, diamond, timber, oil and gas, a single message to obtain optimum benefit from our God-given resources, and not squander precious time shouting at each other.
I pose the rhetorical question, the present crop of political leaders possess the wisdom to sing from the same song sheet, so that for Armistice Day 2022 and certainly before Christmas 2022, every Public Servant, every Pensioner will take home enough to allow them to cope in comfort with the rising cost of living, now being worsened by this contentious issue between Ukraine, Russia and countries around the world.
Let us continue to pray for Peace and National Unity.

Hamilton Green
Elder

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