HEAL Guyana, a nonprofit local organization, has lauded the peaceful protest actions by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) last Friday, along with the work of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in maintaining order.

Founder of the organization, Sharon Lalljee-Richard, told the press, subsequent to the protest, that evidence of improved reasoning regarding ethnic sentiments and the demonstration of a healthy democracy were observed in the streets during the protest.
The PPP was calling for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to respect the Caribbean Court of Justice’s ruling and to scrap plans for the House-to-House Registration exercise, which incidentally, has already kicked off.

“It was interesting to see a female Afro-Guyanese protester, holding her placard and speaking very adamantly about the need for the rule of law to be upheld while making the point that the issue was not one of race, but rather, one of principle, as she appealed to President David Granger to comply with the constitution. Her exact words were, ‘…the people are calling on him to respect the law! This is not Black and Indian, we are one! We have dougla kids! We have Indian son-in-law and daughter-in-law! Do not divide the country! Black and Indian is the best race in Guyana that unite and live lovingly.’ She ended her plea by saying that the constitution must be kept and that we (the people) are looking for President Granger to correct himself,” Lalljee-Richard said.

Her organization has been running continuous public education campaigns since the launch of its ‘National Call for Peace and Unity regardless of Political Preference’ initiative.
“Heal Guyana was unable to obtain the name of the woman but whoever she was, she has demonstrated exemplary maturity by addressing ‘the issue’ while choosing to see past the typical race-related biases we often witness within the socio-political environment in Guyana during this time. This is what is fundamentally necessary for our country to grow and succeed as a nation. All of us, regardless of ethnicity and political preference, must hold our leaders accountable. If the Government of Guyana were to change tomorrow, the same levels of public accountability must be upheld and it is the people’s place to see to that,” she further commented.

Lalljee-Richard also expressed a sense of satisfaction with the performance of the local police force who was assigned to maintain order during the protest.
“There was an incident where a female by-stander attempted to hurl water from the gutter onto some of the protesters during their peaceful demonstration, and the police on duty promptly arrested the assailant, removing her from the scene. Some may want to dismiss this act based on the argument that the police were merely doing their job, but I believe that the David Granger led administration should be commended for protecting the wellbeing of peaceful protesters who choose to exercise their democratic right as citizens,” the Heal Guyana founder expressed.

She recalled that a similar show of regard by the Police was evident during the MAPM (Movement Against Parking Meters) protests in 2017 which lead to the quashing of the draconian parking meter deal between Smart City Solutions and the Mayor and City Council.

“Heal Guyana plans to continue its advocacy for peace and unity, especially during this period of uncertainty. Members of the public are invited to volunteer with the organization to serve as peace-building partners, during the upcoming efforts to educate against race-hate, quell hate-speech and monitor the behavior of persons on the campaign trail during the upcoming election. Applications to volunteer can be sent by visiting www.healguyana.org and clicking on the ‘volunteer’ tab to apply,” Lalljee Richard urged.