Equality before the law is a central tenet of any truly democratic society

Jul 05, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

WPA has been following closely, the developments surrounding the murder of Quindon Bacchus almost three weeks ago. In the wake of the march along the East Coast public road on Tuesday last, our party wishes to register its concern at the related developments. First, we express outrage at attempts by the government to turn the entire issue into a racial confrontation between African and Indian communities. What occurred at Mon Repos was clearly the act of thugs with an agenda that is not consistent with the actions of the grieving residents of Golden Grove before and after that incident. The march passed several Indian Guyanese communities without any hint of attacks on persons or property.

We therefore condemn the utterances and posture of the president during his hasty visit to Mon Repos. We feel they send an ominous signal to the country. His clear attempt to characterise one community as victims and the other as aggressors is a very dangerous ploy that is sure to inflame an already tenuous situation. That should never be the stance of any government in a democratic society, particularly one that is historically divided as Guyana. His visit to one community to console and reassure its residents of government’s support while refusing to visit the community that lost a son to bullets shot by an agent of the State is unbecoming of the Head of State and makes a mockery of his “One Guyana” refrain.

Second, the president’s decision to compensate vendors hurriedly without any due diligence is yet another example of bad governance by the PPP. The tendency to throw money around like Santa Claus without investigation and proper facilitation by the legitimate agencies amounts to illegality. The Treasury is not the personal bank account of the president. WPA does not object to compensation to citizens for losses incurred, but we insist that such action must follow the law and not be used as a political weapon. In this regard, we note that the same kind of haste was not employed in the case of vendors and other citizens at Golden Grove whose properties were damaged or destroyed by the police later the same day. To date, there has been no compensation granted to them. Equality before the law is a central tenet of any truly democratic society.

Third, WPA reminds the country that the issue at hand is the murder of Quindon Bacchus by a member of the Police Force. This murder is not an isolated event—it is the latest in a long string of similar murders of mainly African Guyanese males under recent PPP government. The government’s indifference coupled with the attempts at cover-up by the top brass of the Police Force have understandably fuelled charges of complicity on the part of the administration. This attitude by the government and the police has been in full display since young Bacchus was murdered.

The deafening silence by the government and the police on the fate of the investigations and the ignoring of the pleas for justice from the family and the community are the factors that triggered the march on Tuesday. The suggestion that a press report that the alleged shooter was set free was the cause of the march is a simplistic and convenient explanation that insults the intelligence of the residents of Golden Grove and the country at large. It is against this background that WPA joins those who have been calling for a charge of murder to be instituted against the alleged shooter. Three weeks is too long a period of time especially in light of the evidence that has been in the public domain.

Fourth, WPA condemns in the strongest terms, the military assault on the community of Golden Grove on the night of the march. If the objective of the police was clearance of public road, why the indiscriminate shooting of rubber bullets and live ammunition at unarmed residents including women and children far away from the public road? The injuries sustained by residents coupled with the destruction of property including a church were reprehensible acts by a Police Force that has gone rogue. We are yet to hear any rebuke of the police by the President, officials of the government or the Commissioner of Police.

Fifth, WPA questions the presence of members of the army on the scene. It is our considered view that since the situation was not beyond the capacity of the police, the presence of the soldiers was a cynical form of intimidation. WPA therefore call for the immediate return of the soldiers to the barracks and the concomitant withdrawal of the heavy police presence in Golden Grove and Buxton. In the absence of a State of Emergency, their presence represents an extreme form of intimidation.

Finally, WPA views with much concern, the consorted efforts by the government to criminalize protests. This is a development that threatens to take the country back to the dark days of colonial rule. The right to protest wrongdoing in high places is sacred and must be protected at all costs. Emancipation from slavery and independence from colonialism were consequences of protest and resistance. Protest and resistance often stand between dictatorship and freedom.

Working People’s Alliance