The season of goodwill consists of Christmas and New Year. In Guyana, Guyanese of all religious persuasions seize the opportunity of participating in the delights that the season has to offer. They undertake religious activities at Christmas and enjoy the fanfare of welcoming the New Year. In this period Christians generally take the opportunity of reaffirming their faith, to give thanks and to celebrate the life and work of Jesus Christ.
Our society places little value on human life.
The newspapers reported on November 17, 2009, that seven year prison sentences were imposed on two persons for manslaughter. Mahendra Singh lived in the same yard as his uncle, Ganesh Rai. He was drinking at Rai’s house. There was a mild altercation and Rai asked Singh to leave. Singh went to his house, got a cutlass and chopped his uncle to death. He was charged for murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
Roxanne Daniels was at the home of her male companion. His estranged wife paid a visit to the home not knowing that Ms. Daniels was there. A fight ensued and the wife was stabbed to death. Roxanne Daniels was charged with murder but found guilty of manslaughter. She was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
Continue reading “LIGHT PRISON SENTENCES ARE NOTHING BUT A SCANDAL”
The article printed below is the first known political writing by Janet Jagan. It was written on September 2, 1942. Mrs. Jagan was 22 years old and a student of Cook County School of Nursing. It appeared to be a paper written as part of her studies. Janet Rosenberg, as her name was at that time, did not meet Cheddi until the following year but it can be seen that her political and social views, though still in their infancy, were highly advanced for a young white woman in the US in the 1940s. The article shows no Marxist leanings or typical Marxist language and phraseology. But Mrs. Jagan was clearly conscious of the economic and class basis for racial prejudice. Her obvious hostility to race discrimination was motivated by a political outlook that was both scientific and progressive. Some of the language, now regarded as unacceptable, was in common use at the time and did not have the same negative connotations as at present. Hereunder is Mrs. Jagan’s article.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RACE PREJUDICE
Constitutional Reform in Trinidad and Tobago is on the political agenda. In recent discussions between Prime Minister Manning and Opposition Leader Panday, the latter agreed to support an executive presidency, as proposed by the former, if the electoral system is changed to proportional representation. There is a stalemate.
The demand for proportional representation is self evident if the 2007 election results are examined. The PMN (People’s National Movement) obtained 26 seats, or 65 percent of the seats, with 45.85 percent of the votes, the UNC (United National Congress) obtained 15 seats with 29.73 percent and the COP (Congress of the People) obtained no seats but got 22.64 percent of the votes. The combined opposition therefore obtained 35 percent of the seats with 52.37 percent of the votes. The supporters of proportional representation argue that the first past the post system that operates in Trinidad and Tobago, for the reasons explained above, is unfair.
Guyana is a democracy. Institutionalized and observed in our law and practice are democracy’s basic elements, namely, free and fair elections, a free press, a legislature which makes laws and monitors the executive and an independent judiciary which rules against the Government from time to time. Hardly anyone will argue that Guyana has a perfect democracy. But the combination of these factors ensures that the rights of citizens are protected or vindicated.
In the most perfect of democracies the State sometimes violates the rights of citizens through its agents, either intentionally or unintentionally or negligently. Where this happens the Courts, which are the guardians of the Constitution, can be asked to intervene. In two recent cases on the constitutional right to freedom of expression challenging the Government’s delay in considering applications for radio licences, the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal separately ruled against the State and granted constitutional relief.