The reappointment of Laurie Lewis to head the Guyana Police Force must come as a surprise to many decent Guyanese who thought that his time had finally come. Those of us who rationalized that President Jagan's hands were virtually tied in removing some of the Burnhamites from office must be sorely disappointed with the news that Mr. Lewis is still in charge.
It was feared that any attempt by the President to remove those with a stained past would come up against the charge of "ethnic cleansing." So one had to "bite the bullet" as they say, and wait for the opportune moment when either nature or the natural order of things would cleanse the nation of some of the scum that it had inherited from the past. On the contrary, we are now witnessing the praising of individuals who, during the reign of the dictatorship, were part of the oppression of the Guyanese people.
The retaining of the Burnhamites in office beyond the normal run of duty indicates that they serve a useful purpose to the powers that be. We are not suggesting that there should be a witch hunt. From 1992 to the present, the government of Dr. Jagan has moved very slowly, if at all, in assuring the nation that it would set a new moral and ethical order than that of the PNC dictatorship. We are surrounded with rumors of corruption, and very little effort to stop it. Furthermore, in a report we carry, a law officer has made a statement that suggests that drug running has become a norm in the Guyanese way of life for a significant number of persons. We have warned time and time again, that those of us who are living in an environment where drugs have wreaked havoc upon the nation can appreciate the damage and destruction that will befall any nation that does not seek to protect itself from this danger. Nevertheless, we continue to see signs of this degeneracy, so much so, that it cannot be described as anything less than alarming.
More than ever, many of us are questioning why it is we struggled so dearly for betterment over the past quarter of a century, only to be told that things could not be better. Perhaps we are also the fortunate generation, since the previous generation has almost a half century of struggle to its credit, having pioneered the independence struggle. There was a generation that gave its life during the war years, a generation that witnessed the modern world and could not settle for the backward condition that they had previously lived in, and returned to. What goes through the mind of the older generation that struggled so hard to achieve what they did. Do they feel betrayed, or is it the impetuosity of youth that make some of us so impatient for betterment.
Those of us who were raised during the Rodneyite years, who had our hopes and aspirations shaped during those- years, and who felt that the removal of the dictatorship would usher in an era of higher morals and virtues could only be disappointed that those who held power during the years of dictatorship would be the same powers that held power in the "freedom" era. Perhaps we could be forgiven for our ignorance to expect better, moreso since one of the most brilliant persons to emerge from the region lost his life in the process to rid the nation of the dictatorship that sought to suck the life blood of the people. It is also a bitter cup to drink from when the architects and executioner of Dr. Walter Rodney sit so comfortably on their perches, perhaps mocking us.
It has to be an ordeal for the family of Dr. Rodney to suffer the loss of him and witness the present regime's refusal to bring his killers to justice. We can only feel the pain and sorrow of his son, who sat in vigil outside the Attorney General's chamber, in hope that his cry for justice would be heard. He must be a disappointed son.
Perhaps we were idealistic, utopian and naive to expect better.!