OLD Kai had predicted it, and it was long in coming, but as sure as night follows day, the veil of those who have pretended to be champions of free speech, justice, accountability, etc. has finally been lifted.

Not satisfied with trying to stereotype the Indian community by using a sari on Monday during their picketing exercise outside the Ministry of Home Affairs, some of the elements turned up later in the evening and attempted to disrupt the PYO candle light vigil, aimed at raising awareness of the schools girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram rebels in Nigeria, and held at the confluence of Sheriff Street and Rupert Craig Highway.

Images of the disruption which have been circulating on the social media say a lot about the tolerance and respect these individuals have for the right to free speech and expression by other segments of society.

The rogue elements were led by a representative of SASOD, and they reportedly walked with their cameraman from an opposition media house to record their attempts to break up the PYO activity. Old Kai congratulates the youths of the PYO for remaining calm in the face of such provocation and attempts to intimidate them, ironically by these individuals who claim they are campaigning against the very injustices they are now guilty of.

SASOD and company would stage their picketing actions unhindered and free from interference, and I will wait to see if other members of this grouping and other ‘rights organisations,’ as well as sections of the ‘independent media,’ will condone this type of mendicant behaviour, which is more associated with a different period in our history. I await their condemnation of this attempt to disrupt youths peacefully conducting their vigil.

Can you imagine what would have been the reaction had the roles been reversed and the PYO had attempted to disrupt a picketing action or vigil by these individuals and the groups they represent? It would have kicked off a firestorm; but the very individuals who accuse the PYO of being selective in the issues it represents are themselves guilty of “selective outrage.”

Nowhere is this more evident than on a website managed by the president for life of the Guyana Depressed Association, who not only refused to condemn the incident, but has been one of the main agitators against the PYO. In an article posted on his site, rather than condemn, he actually played up the disgraceful episode and highlighting in detail the cause and concerns of the agitators, with only a passing reference to what was the gist of the PYO activity.

So the journalist appears to be encouraging this type of provocative behaviour; but, rest assured, his ‘selective outrage’ will kick in the moment he feels the opposition interests have been harmed.

This is responsible journalism Guyana-style, as this individual is reportedly one who is usually the first to point out the faults of the State media or any media house he deems sympathetic to the current Government.

Now let us take a look at the placard of the SASOD leader, which read “Bring back justice and accountability.” This individual clearly cannot be sane; I challenge the entire lot to point out any period in our history before or after independence when our systems of dispensing justice and accountability were better than they are today!

When you have individuals so blinded and driven by hatred for the Government of the day that they would suppress their conscience and advance misinformation, it is no surprise they so eagerly want to trample on the rights of others. Their mindset has now been exposed, and in so doing, they have henceforth destroyed any legitimacy of their words and, by extension, their causes.

They have only themselves to blame; and in the meantime, through their appalling act, they have served to confirm that they are keenly following the activities of the Progressive Youth Organisation as the premiere youth movement in Guyana, and they were so mesmerized that their only hope for public attention was to piggyback on an activity by the PPP youth arm.

So, in this unfortunate event, the PYO has come out even stronger, while the PR stunt by the SASOD ‘rep’ and colleagues has managed to provide more exposure of the message of the PYO activity, “Bring Back Our Girls,” however little coverage is given in the opposition-aligned media houses, where they would normally not even be given a mention.