Double standards on public marching

THE EDITOR: Protest marches are a worldwide phenomena. In any so called democratic society peaceful, public protesting is an enshrined right of the citizen, especially in a society that boasts of a vision for first world status. In our nation the ruling clique and its splinter groups, such as the PNM Youth League, the media moguls, the Laventille Council of Elders and two radio stations and their newspaper columnist friends seem to think otherwise, particularly if the protestors are of a different political entity and ethnicity. These supporters of the entrenched regime demonstrate their high level of political patrimony by berating the marchers non stop. Their common jingle is “Dey think marching up and dong go stop crime?” The ill-mannered hosts on these two radio stations never miss a chance to harangue the anti-crime marchers and their leaders, but when Hazel Manning led an anti-crime march around the Savannah in March, that was okay, and it was alright when Prof Cudjoe and his followers marched illegally to the President’s House a few years ago.

During the last month there was a gigantic protest in Hong Kong involving millions in support of democracy, and in Northern Mexico over 200,000 people marched against the scourge of kidnapping. Like the concerned people of Hong Kong and Mexico our right thinking, courageous citizens are also within their constitutional rights to walk the streets with placards and banners, and to assemble in rallies. The answer to the dense question “dey think crime go stop when dey march?” is definitely no, because our intelligent citizens know it is not so simple. Public marching is their only outlet to send the message  that the public is fed up with the incompetence of a government that has allies among the criminal constituency. Protesting is the only recourse that citizens gripped by fear, have to vent their frustration and trepidation. It seems that their narrow, tribal agendas do not permit Umbala, Lewis, Welch, Primus, Ramesar and others to fathom this. They prefer if the people cower in the shadows, trembling. In these public rallies the protestors are not overly aggressive or lawless. Trade Union marches are more noisy and militant.

The anti-crime protestors pose no threat to social stability. It is the criminals who do that. By and large the marchers walk in an orderly way and there is never any destruction of property or assault on persons. It is the police who do the assaulting, most brutally. Yet our media hypocritically condemn the UNC and HCU organised anti-crime marches and say nothing and indeed support, the global, violent anti-American riots which invariably result in death, and mayhem. They praise Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, but lambaste Basdeo Panday and Harry Harnarine. The signs indicate that soon the right to public protest against the government and its prejudiced policies will soon be banned. The riot squad is being beefed up as announced in the last budget. They have earned the right to take every opportunity to pound the asphalt, peacefully and within the confines of the law, before that right is taken away. For when that happens Umbala, Lewis, Rennie, Welch, Ramesar and Primus, will also be silenced, because they will have no protestors to ridicule and taunt. Simply put, there will be no more anti-government marches. Is that what they want?

BIANCA JAGGERNAUTH
Retrench Settlement