EVERYONE talks loudly about their rights but never about their equal need to be responsible in exercising those rights. Politicians and others insist in their right to speak and protest, but many times fail to do either in a legal or responsible way.
It is legal to protest but not to impede access by others, threaten or damage or destroy property, neither is it advisable to be too aggressive in confronting armed police. Unfortunately, these two factors helped to contribute to the untimely death of three persons. The right of Lindeners to know what actions led up to these deaths were denied by their Chairman, when he failed in his responsibility to support such an inquiry.
APNU was given an opportunity to debate the President’s pension which they have vigorously opposed, although the Leader of the Opposition also enjoys pretty good benefits. When given the opportunity to have the right for access to NCN, they decide not to debate this issue on public media. In effect, they failed to act responsibly. The Lindeners had a right to hear directly from government officials why there was a need to increase the electric rates, before including it in the budget. Unfortunately, this responsible action appears not to have been done. Without responsibility, rights may not survive.