Have you noticed that, with all the various and sundry (and not so sundry!!) crimes committed in our dear ole mudland, the Courts yet seem to be more taken up with dealing with political matters, rather than with dispensing justice to the poor victims of crime?!! What’s going on?? Well, remember what those two UWI academics – who’d been part of the Recount Team – wrote after that sobering experience?? (Sobering because Granger, who’d brought them in during a COVID upsurge, allowed some PNC supporters to challenge the recount in – where else? – the Courts!!)
Anyhow, the academics offered a big word that we should all get familiar with to describe what’s going on – the “judicialization” of politics. Basically, it says that because some politicians are too immature to follow the rules of political participation that have been worked on – and worked out – for hundreds of years, they have to call in a referee all the time to tell them what to do!! That’s right folks… immature, squabbling, tantrum-throwing politicians who want to have their way all the time!! You ever saw a bunch of primary-school kids in the playground arguing about whose turn it is to bat?!!!
So, you have Judges – who aren’t elected by the people of Guyana – having to make decisions that the politicians – who’re elected by the people of Guyana, and paid by them (and let’s not even get into the perks and playthings!!) – should’ve made!! Can you imagine even a bunch of Grade 6 students arguing about the “majority of 65”?? Yet that’s what the PNC took all the way to the CCJ, because they refused to accept the answer was 33 – even though they’d formed the Government because they had the “majority of 65 seats: 33 seats!! No wonder even the staid Justices had to force themselves not to roll their eyes during the hearings – which was broadcast to the entire region over Zoom, because of the COVID pandemic!!
So, right now we have the same CCJ in TT deliberating whether an elections’ petition is still valid, after the PNC that brought the petition – after complaining the PPP had rigged the elections by raising the dead and teleporting the migrated – didn’t comply with the rule of service. That is, they didn’t officially give their Sanctimonious Leader a copy of the petition as required by the law!! But maybe it’s part of their devious plot – they wanna show they were just as careless during the elections for their agents to’ve missed the alleged PPP shenanigans in the polling stations!!
And here, the Opposition’s in the Courts claiming their 8 MPs – who created mayhem in Parliament after they stole the Mace – shouldn’t have been suspended!!
Commended instead??
…and survival
Well, now that the Sri Lankans have chased out the corrupt, nepotistic, hapless Rajapaksa dynasty, they gotta start saving their country. But can they?? One test’s gonna be if their Buddhist Monks – who’ve stoked hatred in the Sinhalese majority against the minority Tamils – will start talking “inclusivity”. The second test will be whether they’ll be able to swallow the IMF medicine – which, like most medicine, is gonna be bitter!! Your Eyewitness doesn’t see how Sri Lankans can tighten their belts, when their bellies are already touching their backs!!
One thing that should work to their benefit, however, is the rivalry between China and India. The latter was pretty miffed by the Rajapaksas cosying up to the Chinese with their billion-dollar projects – which mostly went bust – but the debt’s gotta be paid!! Like giving the Chinese the port they’d financed!! India’s given about $1.5 billion for imports of food, fuel, medicines and fertilisers. Plus another $3.8 billion in currency swaps and credit lines.
China? $75 million in humanitarian aid; no debt relief, but a firm handshake!!
…in old Blighty!!
And now there are two – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – to face the 200,000 Conservative members, who would decide who’ll be PM till 2024!! Truss is the bookies’ favourite.
Wonder why??
