Abandoned protest and racing down Homestretch
APNU and the AFC seem relentless in their efforts to get equal air time on the State television, NCN. They claim that they must be given what they are advocating. Their advocacy has moved from the usual rhetoric to picketing the television’s main office on Homestretch Avenue. Apparently there was a call summoning the “forces” to converge on Homestretch in an effort to show strength. Sounds reasonable; get to the “home” of the perceived issue and “stretch” the action.
The folks down on Homestretch must have been expecting a mammoth crowd vociferously making their claim. Lo and behold three turned up; Christopher Ram, Basil Williams and Lincoln Lewis! That was the crowd which spent 15 minutes. Is that all they could muster? Clearly they have lost relevance and support. But wait. That’s not all. During their 15 minutes of “fame”, a much larger crowd than their three turned up. They were outnumbered. The second crowd was the police.
The police have a duty to be present whenever a picketing exercise is taking place, to ensure that law and order are adhered to. The same for political meetings and entertainment shows and so on. Various ranks were present. Seeing the police, some passers-by thought it was another of the now usual bomb scares at NCN. Some even thought that Ram, Williams and Lewis were locked out of the station’s compound after they came to place APNU’s death announcement! If that were the case, then it would have been discrimination, given that the death announcement station was suspended!
No one passing by really knew the reason for the three-man “mammoth “crowd outside NCN. Two stopped and asked questions. One asked why Mr. Granger wasn’t there, so that he could have seen the presence of the Police to ensure law and order. The question was in response to Mr. Granger’s recent comment on the lack of security. According to the person asking the question, Mr. Granger should have been there to see for himself so that he would have to lie about the lack of security.
The other said Mr. Granger deliberately didn’t come, because if he had, then his lies would have been exposed and he would not have anything of substance to tell his supporters which are dwindling in numbers! The two then asked the three how come they want equal time on NCN and government don’t get any free time on Channels 9, 6 and 7? According to the same two inquisitive “interviewers”, Channel 9 is named after President Hoyte, so it is branded PNC; Channel 6 is for JFAP and other Opposition entities, while Channel 7 is known to be sympathetic to the Opposition, especially the PNCR.
In other words, the inquisitive two let the three know that the three stations mentioned are propagating the Opposition’s position on a full time basis. So, the two firmly suggested that given that the three are protesting for equal time on NCN, then maybe, supporters of the government should protest outside Channels 6, 7 and 9 for equal time too.
The silence was deafening after that suggestion. Immediately Ram, Williams and Lewis got into their vehicles and drove away. The Police were shocked, so were the inquisitive two. Why the sudden and hurried departure abandoning their protest?
Shortly afterwards, the reason was clear. They left in fear; fear of government supporters mounting a protest outside the channels mentioned; fear for the magnitude of people it would attract given the massive show of support in Albion and Kitty. That fear made Homestretch into the “homestretch” of the past. The speed at which the three left brought memories of racing there and made the mini-buses look like “slow-pokes”. It was probably a rare occasion that the Police present didn’t intervene in the speeding violation. Maybe they didn’t want to add to the fears of the three.