…elections lawfare
They say politics is a continuation of war by other means. This we know to our cost, having endured the PNC since 1955 – from which time they’ve waged what looks like a “hundred years war”. Remember the opening battle when they burned down downtown Georgetown in 1962?? Then the ones during the 1963 80-day strike waged by their surrogate Civil Service unions? But we don’t have to go through them all, do we? Just a reminder occasioned by the recent conviction of one Caesar, for the multiple executions of a number of random persons at Mon Repos in 2007. He’d already been convicted for participating in the massacres at Lusignan and Bartica in 2008.
Anyhow, even though David Granger was once a soldier, he appears willing to conduct another kind of offensive to keep power – “lawfare”. That’s not to say that he’s necessarily adverse to deploying the old-and-tried PNC battle tactics. After all, he described the deployment of army troops to seize ballot boxes in 1973 and use deadly force on civilians to accomplish their “mission” as very “admirable”!! But since his accession to the highest civilian office in the land, he’s resorted to deploying the law to achieve his objectives. Your Eyewitness calls this “lawfare”.
We don’t have to go through all his battles in this campaign, do we?? Taking the NCM all the way to the CCJ, dismissing the courts’ assessment of his unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chair as “their perception” and also litigating it to the CCJ? But this rear-guard action to justify rigging the March 2 elections takes the cake, doesn’t it?? Here, he tried to split the Opposition by opening his offensive on two fronts.
On the first, he feinted left as he pretended to agree to a “gazetted” recount after Mingo’s massive fraud at Ashmin’s and enlisted CARICOM to stretch out the Opposition by introducing red herrings in the form of all sorts of unfounded “irregularities”. But then feinted right when he had several of his own minions use the court on the lawfare front!! As with the case that was just thrown out by Chief Justice George!!
It was so egregious, that it should’ve never even been contemplated unless – as in this case – you have desperadoes like the PNC willing to fight a total war. In warfare this would be a willingness to go after civilians – like with the Buxton “Freedom Fighters”. In lawfare, it’s using ridiculous parsing of the law as a delaying tactic.
Justice George summarily dismissed all the PNC’s claims as “res Judicata” and “stare decisis”.
Which simply means they’ve already been bitch-slapped by the courts on the matter and she couldn’t be bothered!!
…defying the int’l community
Today, the OAS General Council is meeting to discuss this flagrant violation of democratic norms, which the PNC agreed as part of the Lima treaty, to eliminate. They knew this late yesterday afternoon, after CJ George threw out their ridiculous case that questioned the decision of the highest court of the land – the CCJ.
Yet they announced they’d be appealing even that decision!! More lawfare!! But this time directed at the OAS and Caricom which would be meeting later this week to discuss the same issue. And don’t even mention the US, which clearly hoped that their slapping of visa sanctions on all the riggers in the “Granger regime” and their enablers in GECOM would’ve given them pause. But why would the PNC think they can get away with this international act of democratic banditry?
Many analysts figure they have a “sponsor” who they figure will back up their bluff. Now with all the players arrayed against them, this sponsor has to have very big cojones!!
The Dragon or the Bear?
…to desecrate our heritage
Emancipation Day is fast approaching. Is the PNC willing to desecrate this sacred day when African Guyanese earned their freedom to create a moral society that was denied them during slavery??
Have they no shame??
