It had to happen sooner rather than later. You can’t have political demagogues foaming at the mouth 24/7 about the President being the Devil incarnate – doing imaginably evil things to you and yours – and not have folks who believe they gotta “take out the Devil”. So here we have it: some fella showed up at State House and demanded to see the President immediately. But when the Presidential Guard/Police on duty demurred, the fella, who’s evidently a Nigerian, whipped out a knife and stabbed the Guard five times!! Including in the neck, meaning: this chap meant business!!
And he didn’t stop there. He wrested away the gun of a nearby Policewoman and, as he fled, opened fire at the ranks. They returned fire and wounded the would-be-assassin. The President – in his inimitable and now trademark style – visited the hospital and comforted the family of the wounded guard, while personally thanking the medical staff. Now, while this is commendable, your Eyewitness hopes that this attack has brought home to the President and those in charge of his security that they have to ratchet up his protection by several levels.
There’s been a tsunami of hate generated by the Opposition’s incessant personalised propaganda communicated to their support base, most recently facilitated by social media. First it was against Jagdeo, but recently it’s been turned on Pres Ali. Especially after he started foraying into areas that the PNC’s declared to be off-limits to him and his Ministers!! It’s getting to be reminiscent of the days when those four “escaped” bandits holed up in Buxton and dared even the Police Force – much less the President – to enter!
The wounded cop and attacker were both rushed to GPHC, where they were stabilised. So, now the post-mortem (of the assassination attempt) will begin. The APNU/AFC quickly condemned the attempted violent attack on the President. But what else do you expect them to do?? It’s up to the citizens of Guyana to pick sense from nonsense and tell them, “Methinks thou doth protest too much”!! The PNC didn’t just erupt like a jumbie umbrella; they’ve been around the block several times – and then some – since they were launched in 1958 by Burnham.
They can play their supporters like a fiddle after precipitating Black Friday 1962 – when the business district was torched and Jagan was manhandled. Since then, every decade or so, they’ve unleashed the anger they pent up with their demonising of the PPP as the root of all their miseries. Wasn’t there an invasion of the Presidential Compound as a side-thing to one of the PNC protests in 2002??
Let us wait for the investigation – but the context was already set by the PNC and their hate-filled rants!
…of proving loyalty
The assassination attempt came amidst a concocted protest by PNC Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, on behalf of food vendors with huge stalls in front of GPHC. These were obvious impediments to ambulances and other vehicles rushing patients to the institution!! But one can’t really blame the poor fella. Local government and municipal elections are coming up, and he’ll be doing whatever it takes to get on the ticket again. But your Eyewitness really thinks he exposed his desperation when he threw himself BEHIND a vehicle. If he was serious, shouldn’t he have dived IN FRONT of the vehicle??
Then there’s his accusation that President Ali’s creating a Muslim State in Guyana. Your Eyewitness is a tad confused, since, for over a year, the PNC and their myrmidons have been insisting the PPP “cabal” is creating an “emerging apartheid state”!! So, will this be a Muslim Apartheid State?? Islam may treat persons of other religious persuasions differently, but “apartheid”??
There’s a need for some conceptual clarity here!!
…of foresight
Your Eyewitness can’t believe that the PNC’s still kvetching about the PPP deciding to have the Marriott built in 2013. Where would have all the investors in our oil economy put up otherwise??
At Gaumont??
