WHILE the scenario is still emerging at Linden, it would appear that all Guyanese backers have come around to a position, however reluctantly, that Guyana should live peacefully. The proposition that finding a solution and formula which will allow us to live harmoniously with one another is infinitely preferable to confrontation on the streets hardly needs to be argued about.
Confrontation is not an option, and that we need to talk to each other. So the answer to racial war is a political solution. However, for now, of primary concern is for the government to get the basic food supplies and fuel to Lethem, Moco Moco, Rupununi and the rest of the interior locations. The people depend on their food supplies from Georgetown and the disturbances at Linden have put them in a vulnerable position. This situation has made it incapable of guaranteeing its citizens adequate or regular food supplies and fuel and finds it difficult if not impossible to survive.
Most of the citizens are now going to Brazil to purchase foods and other basic items, while the traders who ply the Guyana/Brazil route have been left stranded on either side of the border in long lines with their goods. Moreover, our country is susceptible to serious political pressures from Linden. Food and fuel are now weapons in the power play; it is the principal tool now in the negotiation for the reduction of electricity tariffs,
Dr Cheddi Jagan drew our attention to this problem as early as 1970. Early this year, the Lindeners uttered a grim warning of an impending crisis if the charges for electricity were increased and ran an aggressive protesting campaign on July 18, 2012, when three protesters were fatally shot dead by police.
Many productive assets are either not being used at all or are producing below capacity in Lethem at the moment under this crisis. For example, electricity generating plants are operating from 7:00 pm to 12:00 pm everyday. Many public buildings e.g. community centres and schools are not fully utilised by the community for cultural and economic purposes. It is evident that in the face of tremendous challenges ahead, and continuous, rising expectations from the trade union movement and civil society at large, we need to work for national cohesion and national unity.