GUYANA has been referred to as a fledgling democracy several times.  Fledgling means baby, and I am beginning to see and hear baby-like tantrums being thrown around the political arena. It all began in July 2012 when Lindeners were convinced by their leaders to stage a peaceful protest demanding that there be no hike in their electricity tariff.
A five-day physical protest began on July 18, supposedly peaceful, even though dialogue had begun between Linden leaders and the government. Blockades were set up hindering access to communities other than Linden.
Then something went horribly wrong. Dissidents within the ranks of the protesters bent on causing trouble, riled up the protesters. Security forces who were present to ensure peaceful demonstrations were confronted with crowds whose tempers had been sparked by the dissidents. Three people died that day.
The destruction of public infrastructure in Linden followed,supposedly in retaliation for the killings.
Persons were assaulted when they argued about paying a toll to the protesters to pass the blocked roadways. One man who drove a fuel truck was beaten and his truck was burnt.
Travellers passing through the region were robbed.
Investors began to withdraw from Linden and there were demands for the President to go to the community to talk to the people.
The Head of State refused to do so unless the blockades were removed and normalcy restored. The Lindeners refused his conditions. A half-hearted attempt by the security forces to remove the blockades was rebuffed by the Lindeners.
Talks with the leaders continued, until the Linden leaders refused to allow stakeholders to be part of the meetings. The President refused to continue unless the stakeholders were involved.
More infrastructure was destroyed, including a school, and the Joint Services launched Operation Final Push.  The major blockades were removed, two more persons were shot, and others paid the penalty and suffered from pellet wounds and the effects of tear smoke.
Then the organisers seemed to awake from their frenzy, and looked around appalled at the effects of the protest on Linden itself.
And the blame game began.
Lindeners claimed that the party in government did the damage.  Government insists that the opposition dissidents took control of the protest out of the hands of Lindeners and created mayhem in the township.
Mob psychology seems to still be playing a great part in the current scenario.
The haze of the arson-frenzy seems to have cleared for now, but the dissidents are now working hard towards getting the rest of the country to rise up against what happened in Linden.
What do they think we are? Stupid!
We have already been stuck with paying for the damage in Linden through our taxes, because it will have to be borne by the government, who will take it out of our pockets.
I would say I am a pretty reasonable person with basic common sense. But it seems to me that the Linden protest was just a step towards what is still unknown to me or the rest of the citizens of this country.