Very few people in the world have earned the legitimacy of talking about peaceful protest as the late American Congressman John Lewis, who as a young man walked and protested with Martin Luther King Jr. We highlight two quotes from John Lewis. The first quotation from John Lewis highlighted here is taken from the book “John Lewis, Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation”. He said: “During the 1960s, we protested with non-violent methods. There is something peaceful, cleansing, and wholesome about being orderly and not threatening.” The second quotation highlighted in this column is also from the same book in which John Lewis stated: “When you burn down a building or topple a car, the violence drowns out the injustice of what’s being done to you. It puts you on the same moral level as the people whose violence you are protesting. You’re no longer on the higher ground or plane. You make enemies of the people you need to win over to effect change.”
Peaceful protest is a fundamental right of citizens in a democracy. Our democracy will be considerably threatened should this right ever be curtailed or restricted. I remember two occasions in 1990/1991 in Guyana when there were severe restrictions on protests at the time. Permission had to be granted for any kind of protest. We requested permission to stage a protest in front of Parliament. We were granted permission, but only for staging the protest on Hadfield Street, behind Parliament, preventing us from being near the entrance into Parliament on Brickdam. In other words, they would have hidden us away. We, at first, complied, but gradually ventured onto Brickdam where I and 32 other comrades were promptly arrested and locked up until the next day.
On another occasion, Sir Sonny Ramphal and a team held a consultation at Pegasus. Essentially, he wanted us to accept that Desmond Hoyte will not repeat the rigging of past elections. We decided to stage a protest in front of Pegasus while the consultation was taking place. Permission was granted for us to stand with our placards behind Pegasus, by the seaside. We decided to stage our protest in front of Pegasus. After pleading with us to go behind Pegasus because their instructions were to arrest us, the Police arrested us. Such restrictions for peaceful protests do not belong in any democracy. People who are or who are perceived to be aggrieved must have the right to peaceful protest.
There was a national consensus on June 28, 2022, that a band of rogues invaded the Mon Repos market area and unleashed terror and hooliganism on innocent Guyanese. Aubrey Norton at the time agreed that a rogue band terrorised citizens. At the time, Norton claimed that the rogue band belonged to the PPP, with the objective to stir up racial feelings and blame the PNC. David Hinds also made that claim. This past week, eight months after the terror attack, after lengthy and comprehensive investigations, the Guyana Police Force issued “Wanted Bulletins” for 12 persons for participation in the brutal attack against vendors and citizens who were in the area. One would have thought, therefore, given the pronouncement at the time, that Norton would have been elated that finally some of the elements that he claimed were recruited by the PPP would be arrested and brought to justice. Now the Leader of the Opposition, in a sparsely-attended public meeting held by the PNC in Ruimveldt, in South Georgetown, deemed those wanted by the Police as innocent, engaged in peaceful protest, and said that they will be defended at all costs by the party.
This is ample evidence of the hypocrisy and recklessness of the PNC and its leaders. It is also an exposé of Aubrey Norton himself. He has struggled mightily for relevance, not even accepted by a large section of the existing leadership group of his own party. There are many senior supporters, persons who have been senior activists in the PNC even before Norton, who have sidelined themselves because they cannot embrace Norton. One group in North America has called for a special congress to remove Norton. A hand-picked General Secretary voluntarily removed herself from the position, because she cannot serve in an executive in which Norton is the leader. The treasurer and two senior executive members were caught on tape pronouncing Aubrey Norton’s unfitness to serve as leader of the PNC. The treasurer resigned claiming racial discrimination on the part of the party’s leadership and then tried to withdraw it, only to be rebuked. The coalition called APNU is essentially disbanded, continuing to exist for convenience only.
Norton’s reliance on threats, violence, and obstruction is in his PNC DNA. In the Ruimveldt meeting, he went far beyond a promise to stand with those the Police want for questioning in the terrorist attack of June 28, 2022. He also, in the same way the PNC has done for all its history, issued a threat of more violence. Ordinary citizens who paid attention to what Norton said still regurgitate in their minds what possibly could Norton have meant when he said: “This cannot continue. I would not say anything more”. Outside of offering obstruction and violence, Norton has been clueless in leading opposition to the Irfaan Ali-led PPP Government. The loyal supporters of the PNC and many of the senior activists of the PNC have become disillusioned and dream of a day sooner than later when they could dump Aubrey Norton.
While Norton threatens, President Irfaan Ali said “I will not rest until this country is united”.
