Why Disrupt The Peace?

GUYANA is a peaceful nation. There is a high degree of ethnic and religious tolerance and there is very little, if any, indication of racial animosity among the ethnic groups in Guyana. People of all ethnicities and religious persuasions go about their business with cordiality and respect.

Why then, one may ask, would anyone seek to disrupt the peace and tranquility of the country, especially at this time when President Dr. Irfaan Ali is working so hard to bring the nation together on his One Guyana platform.

One would expect that all men of decency and decorum would embrace the ideals of a peaceful and harmonious society. But not, it would appear, in the case of the Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, who in a rather bizarre display of political vulgarity, openly levelled accusations against President Ali of being a ‘racist’ and not wanting to work with him in his capacity as Mayor of Georgetown, because he the Mayor is a Hindu and President Ali a Muslim.

Such utterances coming from the mayor would have been dismissed as ludicrous and completely preposterous were it not for the fact that he holds the position of Mayor of Georgetown and as such is regarded as its Chief Citizen. What the mayor has in effect done, was to bring the Office of the Mayor to a state of disrepute. And as if that were not enough, he was reportedly arrested by police for inciting racial hostility which is a serious offence under the Racial Hostility Act.

These are indeed totally unacceptable and unbecoming behaviour coming from someone who holds an important public office and who professes to be a man of the cloth. Not surprisingly, the actions of the mayor have resulted in protest actions by concerned citizens, civil society and members of private sector organisations who are united in their call for the mayor to go. The actions of the mayor were described as ‘vile’ and ‘insensitive’.  The mayor was also accused of influencing efforts to obstruct the removal of carts, stalls and other encumbrances belonging to vendors who illegally ply their trade along New Market Street opposite the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The actions of the mayor, it has to be said, fits into a false and misleading narrative of ‘racism’ and ‘discrimination’ made by the APNU+AFC coalition even though there is not an iota of evidence to substantiate such allegations. In fact, the PPP/C has been extremely even-handed in the manner in which the resources of the state are being distributed.

It is clear that both the APNU and the AFC are in a state of moral bankruptcy after their failed attempt to rig the 2020 general and regional elections. And with the impending local government elections around the corner, a way has to be found to delay the elections and to distract public attention from what is likely to be one of the most humiliating defeats at the forthcoming elections.

Every individual has a legitimate right to earn a living but such activities must be done within the framework of the law and not in a manner that is disruptive to public order and the safety of citizens. It is unfortunate that the APNU and the AFC in cahoots with the Mayor and City Council in seeking to make the vendors a political scapegoat in their attempt to score cheap political points.

The citizens of Georgetown, and for that matter, the country as a whole, are much more discerning and are able to see through the political and ethnic smokescreen that the political opposition is attempting to place before them.

President Ali, on his part, has taken the moral high ground and has made it abundantly clear that there is no place in Guyana for those who seek to divide this country along racial or religious lines. “I have zero tolerance for race-baiters and religious baiters. They must be called out and shamed. The time for this nonsense has come to an end and we must start from here,” the President said.

Mayor Ubraj Narine ought to do the decent thing and apologize to the President and the citizens of Georgetown for his recent outburst which borders on indecency and a lack of civility. But that may be asking too much given his close association with those who are lacking political morality and probity.

As the saying goes, “Show me your company, and I will tell you who you are.”

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