On criminals and campaigns
Frankly Speaking...
Believe me, despite the caption, I'm determined to avoid the weightier subjects; the serious national "issues" today. One suffers from burn-out often when only the contentious merit attention and all columnists, commentators, analysts - genuine or quasi - are required or expected to explore the "issues of local, national and international significance". So today excuse me while I try to be relatively flippant leaving the heavy stuff to Cassandra and others. First, my treatment of this repeat piece.
Carlos the criminal You see, Carlos has been "lucky" in crime so far. For all his convictions - more than his age - he has spent just a total of seventeen (17) prison months in the Georgetown jail and "open prisons" the authorities had experimented with at Hope Estate, Timehri and Lusignan on the East Coast. Additionally, you could say that the reasonably intelligent Carlos had honed to a fine art, the skill of being a "model prisoner" every time he happened to be sentenced to his short stints. Many reductions in length of time were his. Frankly speaking, Carlos has also made a keen study of how seemingly stacked against the victim and the innocent, our legal (justice) system is. He realises how great the onus is on the prosecution to prove that he, Carlos was/is guilty every time he is caught. He realises that his misguidedly proud businessman Godfather - who raised him - seems always to engage the better lawyers in Georgetown to defend him. Carlos studied these attorneys at work and always concludes, with a smirk, that most times they are superior to the outclassed police officers and young, recently-trained lawyers who must prosecute. Actually, Carlos marvels at how our society lauds and feels indebted to lawyers generally. After all, it is touted that these are the folks who specialise in upholding the rule of law in our state; they ensure that their professional colleagues - on the bench - dispense justice. Carlos smiles. When many legal practitioners "get the call" they even eventually become judges, tribunes, arbiters, politicians, ministers and presidents! And I won't write here what Carlos knows about a few magistrates. It's just that Carlos the criminal is wise about these things. And Carlos reads! He gleefully reads about the reactions of Human Rights groups and Civil Rights lawyers when, say magistrates in Guyana or Trinidad, order floggings or whippings for dangerous and convicted robbers (who might have half-killed their pregnant victims); he reads about the calls to abolish the "inhuman" death penalty. Carlos studies the numerous accounts of case files missing witnesses failing to turn up; confessions deemed not to be free and voluntary, and the legal gymnastics that end invariably with "cases dismissed". Yes, young Carlos - and a few hundred like him - like our brand of "justice". He admires too the modern-day TV activists who glorify crime and criminals, often placing them in a class and political context. That's why Carlos and his following have decided to remain career criminals!
The campaigns this year Well, all I'll do, hopefully light-heartedly, is to point you to a few obvious and a few "polished" approaches. One advantage the government party always has - to the chagrin of those opposing and contending - is the ability and authority to utilise government/state resources in the pursuance of their party/political campaigning - whether it is a vehicle or a school. I'm aware that this still hurts the PNC to its core, as for decades it (they) were past-masters at this utilisation and mobilisation technique. The shoe and cup are now on the other side. So the governing party will be on the road more, but in its governmental mode. The minister can't be expected to separate his government functions from his political persona. The opposition will dutifully accuse of unfair extravagance but the government will be damned if they do and damned if they don't. ("See, dey only doing de road' cause is election time"). But look for the strategies: a few "foreign" campaign ads; new faces as spin doctors on both sides; opposition pouncing on tailor-made issues highlighting government "shortcomings"; new "parties" boasting business types and social activist-media "personalities" - and Mr Hoyte soliciting support from Amerindians and squatter communities. Those who become scared in Georgetown when the PNC and GPSU take to the capital's streets may wonder whether Mr Hoyte will command his protester-troops again, or whether he'll try to refurbish his statesman, erudite elder politician-leader image. My feel, my sense, is that he'll menace with the stick but brandish the carrot. Despite Dev, Keith Scott, Hubert and Hanoman, I have to say "alas", whenever Joe Singh "flys the tapes" it will be a two-party race once again. Yes O.K.; Dr Roop, I realise that the 18 year-20- year-old, first-time voter in 2001 would have been just ten or twelve in 1992 when the Civic first returned to the corridors of power. Don't pin any hopes on that statistic or fact! Keep tuned to this column.
Just four pot-shots
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