The furore over the establishment of the lands Commission of Inquiry, which has been denounced by Guyana’s political Opposition and other relevant bodies, especially the National Toshaos Council (NTC) as being divisive and a potential threat to Amerindian land and socio-economic rights, has called into question the relevance of the government’s ‘social cohesion’ construct, which is clearly failing in its mandate. The need for a body like the dismantled Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) is paramount to deal with issues that are dividing our country into ethnic camps. The Ethnic Relations Commission was comprised of stakeholders across the societal strata, and held a wide-ranging mandate to address issues of national concern, especially regarding race relations. However, there had been a clamour for the disbanding of this body from persons with self-serving agendas and their media supporters; and this was eventually effected in May of 2011, when a PNC powerhouse filed an injunction restraining that body from functioning: So, although there is a fully staffed office, the Commissioners are prevented from carrying-out their mandate as officers of that legally-constituted body. Practically everyone concedes that Guyana has inherited from the colonials a serious racial divide in the nation; primarily between Guyanese of Indian descent and Guyanese of African descent. Maturity in nationhood should dictate that Guyanese transcend racial considerations and deal with each other primarily as members of one human family and as fellow Guyanese. But while relationships at individual level between members of different races in Guyana are strong, even where miscegenation has created a creolised amalgam of races that are truly Guyanese; especially during elections season, the ugly reptilian features of racism raises its head, poised to strike its poison into the soul of Guyanese nationhood. While the nation is becoming aware that our development can only retrogress if we continue to harbour malice toward our fellow Guyanese – especially on the basis of their ethnicity, the psychology of politics is so entrenched in the Guyanese being that it poisons the architecture of the nation’s identity and causes decay in the framework of nationhood. The incorporation of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) into the body politic of the ERC, which was bitterly opposed by some politicians and members of the media corps, was integral to the struggle to eliminate the prejudices – real or imagined, that exists within communities that are dividing our nation, so long after we have achieved independence and republican status. Guyana is a deeply-religious nation, albeit of several approaches to serving the Lord but, by and large, the primary message preached by every religion is one of love and acceptance of one’s fellow human with the fraternity of humankind. As such, the inclusion of the IRO in the ERC was integral to healing the soul of the nation through the various approaches to national cohesion by the latter body. But those whose agenda is best served by divides in the nation were bitterly opposed to the involvement of the IRO in this process of mending breaches in Guyana’s national, ethnic and cultural tapestry. A two-day Media Encounter facilitated by the Ethnic Relations Commission in collaboration with Guyana Press Association (GPA), University of Guyana Centre for Communication Studies, Guyana Media Proprietors and Owners Association, the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB) and the Government Information Agency (GINA), in 2011, concluded with expressions of a sense of satisfaction and the almost across-the-board conclusion that the event was useful, stimulating and beneficially functional. A release, which was drafted by the various facilitators, stated “The various partners of Media Encounter 2011 considered the participation of approximately 110 persons in the two-day event a positive development…the emphasis of the ERC on the use of education and moral-persuasion as an approach to interactions between the ERC and the media was commended….while the ERC received input from media practitioners for the conduct of its functions in the forthcoming elections period, the media practitioners in turn called upon the ERC to seek a Declarative Statement from the Judicial Branch in their quest for elucidation of aspects of the Racial Hostility Act. A major emphasis of the media Encounter was discussion of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act and the Racial Hostility (Amendment) Act.” The debates at that encounter were, although heated at times, respectful and sound, with various concerns raised and addressed. The atmosphere of cordiality was pervasive and the success of the media encounter was due to its broad-based involvement from many stakeholders, which augured well for maturity in reportage during electoral campaigns and in the coverage of daily events, especially within the political divide. Sadly, this promise did not fructify and the rancorous and skewed reporting has never abated.
If for nothing else, the ERC served a major purpose in reaching out to every community in Guyana for participation in such necessary debates and social interaction activities; where respect and cordiality transcended every consideration, so that the stakeholders were prompted to pursue their various mandate with the public good being the major concern. If Media Encounter 2011 was a microcosm of what can be expected and achieved in the wider society during Guyana’s elections seasons, and indeed, in a wider sense as a norm rather than an exception, then there can be no reason for Guyanese to see each other as “them and us”, but as one nation working together for national peace and prosperity.
