The modest measures taken by the Government of Guyana, described in the announcement by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, “to right a tragic wrong,” marking the 41st anniversary of his assassination, are welcome. Too long, many will say, but they restored the humanity of one of Guyana’s most famous sons, Walter Rodney. His stature as a world class intellectual, scholar and revolutionary have been long established. His vast contribution the liberation of Guyana from authoritarian rule, and the liberation of all oppressed peoples, particularly Africans, in whose history he was an acknowledged expert, are recognized by grateful Guyanese. The corrective measures will restore the dignity with which Walter Rodney carried himself throughout his life. It is only in the country of his death, and birth, that every petty effort has been made by little people who cheated his family, his country and the world, of his life, to diminish him. They will never succeed.
Continue reading “TO RIGHT A TRAGIC WRONG – RESTORING WALTER RODNEY’S HUMANITY”PROMISES, PROMISES
The PPP/C Government attained political office in circumstances in which the rule of law was under severe stress. The PPP and citizens of Guyana had to rely on the timely intervention of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the United States of America, Canada, Britain, Europe, Caricom, and the intrepid, courageous and resourceful diplomats of these countries resident in Guyana to ensure that democracy prevailed.
Continue reading “PROMISES, PROMISES”ELECTION LEGISLATION REFORM
A letter from prominent citizens in SN last Friday called for consultation on electoral reforms. But drafting of the bill may have already commenced requiring the publication of the SOPs by GECOM immediately upon receipt and the creation of appropriate offences with severe penalties for election staff who violate election rules.
Continue reading “ELECTION LEGISLATION REFORM”IT TOOK LONGER THAN EXPECTED
It took longer than expected for the challenge to the jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to materialise. In expressing support for electoral reform in an interview on May 14, Leader of the PNCR and former President David Granger said that the Guyana Court of Appeal, and not the CCJ, should rule on electoral matters. Describing the foreign influence to be ‘phenomenal,’ ‘relentless’ and ‘toxic, he said that the ‘very strong’ Court of Appeal was competent to rule on electoral matters inside Guyana. If Mr. Granger was referring to the CCJ as foreign, he is badly mistaken. It is as indigenous as cook-up and pepperpot.
Continue reading “IT TOOK LONGER THAN EXPECTED”ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF, PALESTINE’S RIGHT TO SURVIVE.
In Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighbourhood in Jerusalem, captured and since occupied by Israel in the Six Day War in 1967, Israel sought to evict six Palestininian families, who have been in occupation since 1948 or before. The attempted expulsion is based on an Israeli law which gives Jews the right to recover property that they had owned in 1948 and before. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from Palestine by Jewish armed groups in 1948 but they do not have the same right. The attempted eviction started the unrest in Jerusalem around the Al Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest shrines in Islam, in this month of Ramadan. It was viciously suppressed by Israeli troops by attacking only Palestinians, not provocative Israeli thugs
Continue reading “ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF, PALESTINE’S RIGHT TO SURVIVE.”