Home Letters Guyanese must note all those defending the blocking of roads, burning, looting,...
Dear Editor:
I am quite disappointed at the number of people who think it’s okay to commit terrorist activities under the guise of protest activities, when in fact what had occurred was an attempt to destabilise the country.
Protests used to be the holding of pickets or placards in an orderly fashion on the parapet area without blocking traffic. The PNC Adrianna protest in front of the Office of the President was peaceful. The teachers’ strike was peaceful – except for an episode of “doing obeah”, as the locals would say. The protest for Freedom of Information was peaceful.
The nation lost a week of production, and cowered in fear, afraid to venture out as the nation went into lockdown as a result of some folks using the “Justice for Adrianna” cause as a pretext to engage in criminal activities across the nation.
Students stayed away from schools, businesses were afraid to open, workers were scared to venture out, scheduled events were cancelled, incoming flights to Guyana were diverted to Trinidad, and outgoing flights were delayed, etc.
There was widespread disruption of normal life. Hoodlums were blocking roads, burning debris in the middle of the roads to impede the flow of traffic, cooking in the middle of the road right in front the Leonora Police Station, looting and burning businesses, especially the Chinese stores; and motor cycle gangs were driving fear into residents and creating mayhem.
A new word has emerged in our Guyanese lingo to describe these folks: “Scrapes” This was pure criminality, had nothing to do with Adrianna, and was fuelled by some well-organized social media activities peddling lots of fake news: deliberate distortions and outright lies, twisting of facts, unsubstantiated assertions and opinions presented as facts; referring to the death of the child as “murder”, which the evidence has so far not indicated – all with racial, religious and partisan undercurrents. Many social media posts were incitements to commit wrongdoing in violation of our cybercrime and terrorism laws. None of this is acceptable.
The violent events associated with calls for justice for Adrianna, who died by drowning at a local hotel, has done much disservice to the reputation of our country at a time when we are seeking more foreign investors and seeking to build our tourist sector so all Guyanese can rise.
Foreigners must not form an opinion that Guyana is prone to political instability, and is not an ideal destination. We shoot ourselves in the foot when we engage in hoodlumism and defend it as justifiable.
But while the evil works of the terrorists were wrong, the greater tragedy was the silence of the good men who allowed evil to triumph. Most churches and civil society groups were silent. It was shocking to hear those vying for political office or opposed to the Government endorsed the mayhem committed by the hoodlums as some kind of “freedom struggle.” I don’t know how fetching away of big screen TVs and electronics, gas bottles, alcohol, commercial generator, music systems, hotel beds, appliances, and any items they can get their hands on constitute fighting for freedom.
As has been typical when folks engage in riotous behaviours, their defenders try to make them look like choir boys, altar boys, and freedom fighters. Adrianna’s dad made strong pleas: that committing violence in the name of Adrianna is not okay; that Adrianna likes peace.
When the law takes its course and the looters and burners are brought before the courts, we have those who say it’s harsh and is motivated by politics.
The Government has a duty to maintain law and order, and to keep the whole nation safe. There must be justice for all the victims of terrorism, and all the perpetrators must be arrested and placed before the courts in order to send strong signals that such terrorism will not be tolerated again.
The right to protest must never infringe on the rights of the public to travel on the roads to go about their business. That is simply wrong in a country where there is just one major road and few or no options to bypass burning roads. I call on the police to accelerate the arrest and prosecution of all terrorists. Justice for Adrianna, and justice for all Guyana!
Yours sincerely,
Dr Jerry Jailall
