Visionary leaders don’t encourage destruction

Dear Editor,
A fire gutted the Guyana Elections Commission building on Burnham Drive, Linden, in the wee hours on Tuesday morning July 13, 2020. What is odd in this whole saga, is the building burnt belonged to a private owner, a Lindener who rented it to GECOM, this must be investigated to the fullest. I am heartbroken that this has to be a political issue and the private owner’s building was burned and destroyed in the midst of an already difficult economic period. This kind of violence and damage continue to further hurt the people of Linden. What about peaceful protest? Visionary leaders don’t encourage destruction in their communities. It saddens me – the hatred that is spilling out of individuals’ mouths and out of our nation’s people as a whole. Peace-loving persons of Linden and citizens who recognise democracy as a necessary tool for poverty alleviation must condemn the burning of Region 10 GECOM building immediately. There can be no ifs and buts and condemning on conditions. This is wrong! This will affect our innocent citizens of Region 10, creating panic and mistrust which will create some level of uncertainty for all involved, and must be unreservedly condemned. This revelation confirmed that there is a fraction of people right here in our region, who once more want to use Linden, Wismar and Region 10 as the “scapegoats”, keeping up to the stereotyping that it all begins in Linden. I don’t want it to be that this was the work of people in authority who are prepared to violate the rights of Lindeners and every Guyanese who stands in their way of derailing and undermining democracy for Lindeners. For the first time in history, this type of action in our region must be condemned by every resident. Linden should no longer be associated with destroying public offices more so during an election period. This does not send a good message to our young people, especially after our caretaker Government failed to be so forthright with the present elections results, knowing fully well that the people’s will must prevail. It is my belief that our caretaker Government has a right and responsibility to protect public property and public infrastructure during these elections saga. During the past weeks, if there were intelligence indicating that there is a risk of buildings being burnt, then they should have pre-empted this by deploying the military as an additional boost to secure properties deemed to be targets. As a community, we need to focus on specific actions that will alleviate the impact on the well-being and livelihoods of our people in developing our country and the marginalised around Guyana. We need to address Lindeners’ specific needs now, while building back. As Lindeners, our business is a social endeavour with economic, political, environmental and social consequences; where your actions matter.

Sincerely,
David Adams