| By Ralph Seer amWell, well, things are really heating up at the Linden Commission of Inquiry, so much that some people are being frustrated that the COI is not going the way they anticipated. Frustration has begun to set it on the forces that oppose the PPP Government.Many are realizing that political rhetoric and evidence are completely different.As I was writing this article I am reading that Nigel Hughes has quit the Commission of Inquiry. This has caused me to rewrite this article,Cheap Jerseys From China Online, and I will tell you the real reason why Hughes is a quitter.My attention was drawn this week to an article in the letter column of Kaieteur News titled” Keep a close eye on the Linden Commission”.The letter was authored by some twenty-three persons. Some of the names I recognized as prominent Guyanese including an old journalistic friend of mine. About eight of the signatories had the prefix Dr. and included a Professor whose books I enjoyed reading as a youth and some other distinguished Guyanese.You would expect a fair, impartial and if not objective missive on the issues before the COI. Instead this group of intelligent individuals descended into veiled attacks on the integrity of some Commission members and sought to tell the Commission where their sympathy should lie.When it comes to politics, academic excellence does not necessarily translate into objective thinking or analysis. It is clear which side of the political fence this group that calls itself, “The International Committee in Continuing Defense of Linden” sits on. This group of intelligent people takes issue with Home Affairs Minister Roche for what it terms his disregard for the Rule of Law”.But in the same breath, the members embrace Member of Parliament Desmond Trot man’s disregard for the Rule of Law by openly encouraging protesters to break the law. They questioned why one Commissioner showed disapproval of the actions of Trotman. This is clearly a distortion of the facts. The Commissioner questioned why a Member of Parliament, and a lawmaker at that, would encourage people to break the Law.To quote, “The Committee welcomes MP Trotman’s candid defence of the only rights available to the powerless whose financial ability to sustain life was under threat…It is always the democratic right and duty of the population to protest.” .What a load of hogwash, this coming from group of educated people.Listen up,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the people of Linden were asked to pay a gradual increase in their electricity rates to bring it in line with what the rest of Guyanese throughout the country pays, it was simple as that, this affected their ability to sustain life?What a joke. People have a democratic right to protest WITHIN the law. One must remember the protesters were given permission by the police to protest, but how were those rights exercised?Blocking a main highway bridge from commuters, refusing lawful police orders to remove, looting,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, burning down Government buildings as well as privately owned ones,Cheap Jerseys From China, robbery on commuters passing through,Cheap Jerseys, highway banditry and extortion committed on vehicle owners passing through Linden. Is this the kind of protest that this group of educated people supports?My question to this group of distinguished Guyanese; “If it was okay for the MP Trotman and other organizers of the protest to ask or encourage protesters to break the law then by extension shouldn’t they also bear responsibility for the damage and destruction in the aftermath?”This Committee went on to criticize Home Affairs Minister Rohee’s actions (which I will deal with later) and had the audacity to suggest how their findings should be. “The Commission cannot be seen making a case for the authorities…If anything it should lean in sympathy towards the victims” What an insult to those distinguished Caribbean jurists. I expressed the view before that the opposition is not satisfied with the way the evidence has been going so far.Nigel Hughes just quit the COI. Why would anyone be surprised? I said before that the death of the three young men will take a back seat to political agendae. Hughes had a political agenda. We need to flash back to last July in the aftermath of the protest and the death of the three protestors.The opposition and mainly by the AFC and Nigel Hughes screamed loudly for an International commission of inquiry. President Ramotar wisely agreed. The terms of reference and the jurists were agreed upon.What the opposition parties, including Nigel Hughes, failed to understand is political. Rhetoric and producing evidence are two completely different things. Hughes seems to be obsessed with Rohee, and appears to want to place the deaths of the three men squarely on the desk of Rohee.Hughes got confused. Hughes the politician went to the Commission of Inquiry, instead of Hughes the Attorney. Try as he might and for all his political rhetoric and bluster he failed miserably to connect Rohee to the shooting, failed to prove that Rohee gave orders to shoot, as he has implied.Rohee took the stand, Hughes grilled him, Hughes grilled Senior Superior Clifton Hicken and the end results were frustration by Hughes leading him to quit the COI at time of writing. He couldn’t prove Rohee gave any orders to Hicken, perhaps because there was no order.The only thing proven is Rohee spoke to Hicken AFTER the shooting,Jerseys From China, and it is my view that the Home Affairs Minister has every right to contact the officer on the ground for updates on a riot in progress. After all, he is in charge of internal security.Nigel Hughes quitting, confirms to me that political agendae were more important than finding the truth about the death of the three Lindeners, and the interest of the people he was representing; he has not only lost credibility but in the process tarnished his reputation.The Commission of Inquiry comprising of mainly distinguished jurists from the Caribbean will base their conclusions on evidence presented before them and not based on political agendae or rhetoric. Those who disagree will have to live with it.After all, it was the opposition that called for and agreed to International Jurists. They got it; don’t complain.Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected] |
