“CN Sharma to stand trial in High court for rape” – this was a front page headline of the May 16 edition of the Guyana Times newspaper.

By any stretch of imagination, this news cannot be considered not worthy of a front page headline. Yet neither the Kaieteur News nor Stabroek News carried a front page headline on CN Sharma’s committal to stand trial in the High Court for rape.
This is in sharp contrast to when the late Henry Greene, former Commissioner of Police was accused of raping a woman, note, not a child. These two newspapers had Mr. Greene almost every day on their front pages, ridiculing him and the government, calling on him to resign, calling on the President to sack him.
I am no fan or supporter of Mr. Greene, but this is in sharp contrast with the position of these two newspapers on Mr. Sharma, who is not only accused of, but has been committed to stand trial for an offence which is far more serious, the raping of underage girls.
The Kaieteur News and Stabroek News have given almost no coverage to Mr. Sharma’s committal. This exposes the hypocrisy of these two newspapers which always like to portray themselves as the yard stick of fairness and the sole occupiers and defenders of moral high grounds in Guyana. It therefore begs the question – ‘why this deafening silence of these two newspapers on a matter that concerns more than half the population of this country, the women and children.
It is no secret that the PNC is on record as saying that it is concerned about the prevalence of sexual violence against women and children in Guyana and has been calling on the government and police to act decisively.
It is no secret that this individual, Mr. C.N. Sharma has been accused many times of sexually molesting under-aged girls. Many of these accusations were even prominently featured in these very newspapers. It is also no secret that Mr. C.N. Sharma is the leader of the Justice for All Party, a key partner in the PNC led APNU Opposition coalition and whose parliamentary representative is no other than a son of the accused, Mr. Jaipaul Sharma.
Where are the so called civil society organisations that love to run around the country pontificating about violence against women and sexual abuse of under-aged girls?
Why this deafening silence? Is this also a display of the hypocrisy practised by these organisations? Is it a silent defence of Mr. Sharma? Why is Mr. C.N. Sharma enjoying this privileged treatment from the opposition aligned media? After years of accusations Mr. Sharma has been finally caught and committed for trial in the High Court and there is this deafening silence!  Why are organisations such as Red Thread and Help and Shelter not calling for APNU to dump Mr. Sharma and His Justice for All Party and the resignation of Mr. Jaipaul Sharma, its representative in Parliament? Where is the voice of Ms. Debra Backer and the women’s arm of the PNC, are they not going to call for Mr. Jaipaul Sharma’s resignation?
I am not calling for Mr. C.N. Sharma to be tried in the public, but these organisations should at least express some level of satisfaction that the Court will finally have the opportunity to pronounce on Mr. Sharma’s guilt or innocence.  It is time that these organisations prove to all Guyanese that they are not part of the hypocrisy being practised by the Kaieteur News, Stabroek News and opposition parties, that they are indeed guardians of vulnerable women and children and that they are not aligned to the hypocritical political opposition.
APNU must dump Sharma and his Justice for All Party.