Stabroek News
April 17, 2001

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), has joined the list of organisations calling for peaceful and rational solutions to the crisis facing the nation following the March 19 polls.

In a press release from that organisation, a call was issued for the supporters of both the ruling PPP/C and the opposition PNC/R to follow the examples of their leaders who have agreed to engage each other in discussions.

Congratulating President Bharrat Jagdeo for "his restraint and commitment to dialogue," the GHRA also applauded the efforts of PNC/R leader Desmond Hoyte for agreeing to engage the President in discussions.

Commenting on the violence gripping the nation at the moment, the GHRA opined that if the talks were to reassure a sceptical nation, the PNC/R must cease using inflammatory language and also find a formula for condemning recent violence perpetuated by those who said to be masquerading as their supporters.

The GHRA said it saw that party's silence on the violence as unacceptable and wondered whether it was aimed at keeping the party intact or the more chilling prospect of wanting to negotiate from a position of strength in the proposed talks.

The organisation also saw as deeply troubling, the unwillingness of the PNC/R's leadership to disassociate itself from the Channel 9 talk-show hosts, who, it said, promoted what sounded disturbingly close to ethnic cleansing.

It saw the PNC/R's recently stated acknowledgement of the treatment to be applied to the PPP/C to be changed from 'slow fire' to 'more fire' to the party's spokesmen on channel 9 calling for raging fire as possibly being the reason why 20 or so businesses and three homes had been razed to the ground.

Similar action by a talk show host according to the GHRA, who called on people to light up Georgetown, may have contributed to the early morning fire in Tiger Bay which razed one of the city's oldest properties and threatened several other including the nearly St Thomas Presbyterian church and a possible attempt on the world famous St George's Cathedral.

The GHRA called for the PNC/R to distance itself from the inciters in order to strengthen public confidence in the success of the upcoming talks.

The Director of Public Prosecutions was also called upon to act to protect individuals and the general public against threatening and slanderous attacks and incitement of public disorder and violence.

An appeal was also made to President Jagdeo albeit for different reasons, to consider appointing independent chairpersons to the three state media outlets GTV, GBC and GBS. This the group said, would help to recognise and redress the genuine irritant of their bias in the covering of issues.