Dear Editor,
I WRITE today to comment on two issues, namely, the now infamous Pegasus Hotel protest and the unsolicited comments by the Western diplomats.

I do wish to comment on the Pegasus Hotel incident first. First and foremost, freedom of peaceful protest is one of the pillars of a democracy. No one should ever feel that their lives or limbs are at risk as a result of protestors; neither should the protestors feel that their lives or limbs are at risk while protesting. Having said that, I do need to highlight the fact that the protest at Pegasus was far from peaceful.

Mr Editor, Guyana should be going to the polls in the first quarter of 2020. I would wish it be an election based on issues and not race. As a result, it is imperative during this period before elections, that we compare and contrast the two major parties with a view to providing the electorate with the tools required to make an informed choice when casting their ballots.

In the 1990s the PPP introduced tuition fees at UG. Students at UG, including myself started a peaceful protest. We were greeted by massive guns, batons and teargas. One of the iconic pictures was an unarmed, bespectacled and bloodied Craig Sylvester on the front page of the dailies. Many more students were injured on campus. The then President Dr Cheddi Jagan was surprised at the force meted out to us and invited four representatives to State House to meet with him. Despite my welcome of Dr Jagan’s intervention, this use of excessive force occurred under his watch as leader of the PPP.

My mind now goes to Linden. Too painful to say much. Three young men lost their lives. Water cannon, big guns, teargas and batons greeted the protestors. Again under the PPP. The teenager who showed Jagdeo his middle finger was harassed and prosecuted. Again under the PPP. Attorney-at-Law James Bond’s entire body was perforated with rubber bullets for protesting. And they are many other examples.

Under this government the PPP has had many protests culminating in that ugly sight at Pegasus. What is remarkable is that they are all alive despite provocation by the protestors. What is different? It is an APNU+AFC government. The government that respects the peoples’ right to peaceful protest. This is important to consider when casting your ballot.

I now turn to the UK and U.S. Ambassadors infamous statement. Both Mr Quinn and Mrs. Lynch are guests of the Guyana government. As guests of the government they are expected not to meddle in the internal affairs of the host. That’s an international standard. Let’s say for the sake of argument that they have a right to meddle. The Bible states that one should take the lumber out of one’s eye before you take the spec out of the eye of another. I say this because both Britain and America have bigger issues than what Guyana is dealing with and President David Granger has not instructed any of his ambassadors to meddle. Let’s look at Mr Quinn’s country.

Shall we look at Mr Trump? Do you remember Mr Mueller? Sure you do. He investigated Mr Trump’s possible collusion with the Russians and many of Trump’s close allies were jailed. Mr Mueller concluded that Trump may have obstructed justice on multiple occasions, but Trump was not charged because the investigators abided by Department Of Justice opinion that a sitting president cannot stand trial. What about Mr Trump’s income tax that he is fighting tooth and nail to keep secret.

Have you heard of Sir Kim Darroch? No you have not. He was the British ambassador to America. At least up until July of this year. Part of the responsibilities of ambassadors is to provide their native country an honest assessment of the host country. This is done via encrypted cables. As a result, Sir Kim did just that until a media outlet in the UK got hold of these cables and published them. Donald Trump saw them and was not happy that Sir Kim provided the British Government an honest assessment of his dysfunctional administration. He hurled a collection of undiplomatic and personal insults at Sir Kim and called our prime minister a fool among other insults. The result is that Sir Kim had to resign. Sir Kim was not meddling. He was merely doing his job of providing an honest but secretive assessment.

My point is that both Britain and America have a history of meddling in other countries’ internal affairs, but would become livid if it is to happen to them.
Regards
Dr Mark Devonish MBBS MSc Med. Ed MRCP(UK) FRCP(Edin)
Consultant Acute Medicine
Nottingham University Hospital
UK