ERC condemns incidents of intimidation, abuse, assault

Elections campaign

The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) is appealing to Guyanese to put an end to the hostility towards each other during this elections season.
On Saturday the ERC noted that it remains mindful of the various incidents of intimidation, abuse and assault on Guyanese while they were engaged in activities to sensitise on political messages reflective of the parties they represent. It explained that such acts, which are counterproductive to the valiant efforts being made for the fostering of unity and harmony, have no place in our society and must be condemned.

In doing so, the Commission said that it wishes to reiterate sentiments it repeatedly expressed in the past for the periods, prior and post the March 2, 2020 General and Regional elections, to be free of hate, violence and racial or any other form of incitement.
At the beginning of this year, the Commission, in a public message, stated its expectation for peaceful and transparent elections in keeping with democratic principles. ERC, in a statement, noted that following its reconstitution in 2018, Leaders and representatives of various political parties were engaged where mutual sentiments for peace and unity were expressed.
In addition, in the run-up to the 2018 Local Government Elections, all Members of Parliament were written to in an effort to remind of the importance of keeping the campaigns and other interactions, including social media, free of any utterance which can impact negatively on national harmony and good relations amongst Guyanese.
However, since that engagement, the Commission noted that statements such as “giving jobs only to my people”, “chase them out” and “war break”, from some public officials have been made and their effects are still being felt.
“The Commission firmly believes that incidents of harassment, the removal of party flags and prevention of persons to mount, social media incitement and attacks including those on some performing artistes, propagation of religious preference, referencing Guyanese by ethnicity as tokenism and the alleged stereotyping of ethnic groups as “hardheaded”, are most unhelpful to building and sustaining a cohesive nation,” the statement noted.
The Commission reminded that while it is constitutionally mandated to promote harmony and good relations, the task can only be realised through the collective efforts of all Guyanese. In that regard, it took the opportunity to commend those, including public officials, who expressed disapproval over some of the actions in question.
It reminded that freedoms are enshrined allowing each and every Guyanese the democratic right to freely associate and support a political party of his/her choice and to engage in lawful activities concomitant with election campaigning. That must be respected.
The Commission called for an immediate cessation of all hostilities during and after this campaign period and reminded that the welfare of Guyana and its people is in the hands of all. “So is peace, during and after the process. The Commission will, in the near future, embark on initiatives to examine inherent causes which have led to current suspicions and stereotypes and explore possible mitigating measures. Guided by its constitutional parameters in the discharge of its mandate, it will also endeavour to re-engage the political leadership while monitoring the current situation,” the ERC stated.
Only on Friday, Police said that they have arrested a suspect who was caught ripping down elections paraphernalia of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic. The suspect is also accused of attacking the party’s supporters.
Last week, former parliamentarian Harry Gill, along with other members of the PPP/C, were attacked while erecting elections campaign flags at Number 10 Village, West Coast Berbice.
The incident, which was captured on camera, shows persons verbally abusing and physically blocking the team as it attempted to place the flags on the utility poles.
In light of the recent attacks, the party had written to Police Commissioner Leslie James, asking for swift actions to be taken against supporters of the People’s National Congress (PNC)-led A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) coalition, who attacked Opposition members and destroyed the party’s impedimenta.
PPP supporters were also attacked in Laing Avenue, Georgetown, and Sophia, Greater Georgetown, as they were announcing party meetings and erecting elections campaign flags.
The PPP had strongly condemned the acts. More so, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed dissatisfaction in the way the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) was dealing with the reported campaign attacks while calling on the body to implement stricter penalties.