–Joint Services Chairman says after Ogunseye calls for public disorder, resistance
–AG urges Guyanese not to ignore dangerous threats to strike the foundation of freedom

CHAIRMAN of the Joint Services, Brigadier Godfrey Bess, has called on social and political activists and commentators to refrain from making remarks which would incite racial tensions and deviate from the promotion of the peace and security, which the armed forces are mandated to maintain.

His statement was part of a direct response to Working People’s Alliance (WPA) executive member, Tacuma Ogunseye, who said recently: “The Afro Guyanese dominated police and soldiers… would stand with Afro Guyanese in resisting the mainly Indo-Guyanese supported PPP/C.”

Ogunseye, in an address to persons at Buxton, also said: “We come to tell you that we will ensure that our brothers and sisters in uniform do the right thing and this thing will be over quickly.”
Brigadier Bess, in his response, reminded the citizens of Guyana that irrespective of its ethnic composition, the Joint Services of Guyana is an apolitical institution and will continue to uphold the noble position of service to the people of Guyana.

“It is guided by the constitution which mandates it to stand firm in the protection of the law and in the execution of its duties, in keeping with its constitutional responsibilities, and not by any partisan values and interests,” the Joint Services Chairman said.

Further, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, S.C., who is also Secretary of the Defence Board, said: “I feel compelled to condemn in the strongest possible terms, the exhortations by Tacuma Ogunseye to the Armed Forces of Guyana to join a mass uprising against the lawful and democratically elected Government of Guyana, referencing the Forces’ “ready access to weapons”, for them to be “battle ready”, and preying to the dominant Afro-Guyanese composition of the said Forces.”

Nandlall related that this “racist incendiary call” for public disorder and resistance, positioned as an alternative to the democratic process of Local Government Elections lawfully due, is capable of amounting to several criminal offences, including but not limited to sedition, seditious libel, inciting riotous behaviour and exciting racial hostility in order to create a breakdown of law and order within the State of Guyana, if not treason.

“Certainly, such inflammatory publications cannot be justified under the rubric of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution, since Article 146 which guarantees such freedom, expressly excepts “…hate speeches or other expressions, in whatever form, capable of exciting hostility or ill-will against any person or class of persons” [Article 146 (3)],” the Attorney-General said.

He went on to say: “The unvarnished truth is that persons such as Tacuma Ogunseye and those of his ilk are of a bygone era, stuck in a time warp long gone, and which have no place in modern Guyana, and indeed, in any modern democratic society. Nevertheless, we cannot become complacent and ignore these dangerous threats intended to strike at the foundation of the freedoms we enjoy and the rule of law, which protects us as a civilised nation.

Considering the seriousness of the utterances of Ogunseye, the Attorney General called on all right-thinking citizens to echo their voices against such perilous rhetoric, and said that the law enforcement agencies are obliged to take such action as they deem necessary.

“History has shown that when such conduct is ignored, it inspires the perpetrators with greater boldness to public detriment,” Nandlall lamented.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has said before that there are persons who are bent on disrupting the efforts underway to unite Guyana and create opportunities for all Guyanese.

“[There has been] the use of propaganda, of race and the propaganda of division so intensely in their political work that the sight of ministers of government working in every community and destroying that narrative… is really hitting them hard,” Dr. Ali had said.

The Head of State went on to say: “Your political narrative of using race as your mobilising tool has come to an end! Game over! We are going to destroy it, and bury it in the ground. As President, I am going to work in every single community.”

The President called on Guyanese to recognise that his government is intent on embracing every citizen on development.