A rational atmosphere
Guyanese should be eternally grateful to the mediation team which played such a critical role in achieving a settlement between the Government and the Public Service unions. It was the most rational end to the dispute that was possible in the circumstances, and despite the objections from some segments of the Guyana Public Service Union, represented a very fair deal for the strikers. In the end, the administration displayed great foresight by making what amounted to substantial concessions, a decision for which they should be given full credit. Minister of Labour Henry Jeffrey at the signing of the agreement said that everyone had lost through this strike, and of course, he was correct. However, it could equally well be said that as a consequence of the accord everyone gained, since the alternatives were unthinkable. After last Tuesday it was as if a weight had been lifted from the shoulders of the Georgetown citizenry; even Guyanese in other parts of the country may not have had a full understanding of just how much stress the residents of the capital had been enduring over the last two months. And what next, one wonders? It is a rocky road which leads to the elections in the year 2000. What is clear, however, is that the long-term solutions to our larger dilemma have to begin with a consensus between the two major parties on a new constitutional framework. A constitution which has the backing of the governing party alone will not provide the conditions which would allow us to recover from the current political malaise. The mainstream PNC as well as the other opposition parties will have to find the new arrangements acceptable, otherwise there will be no long-term peace for this country. A new constitution which is endorsed by the mainstream PNC, in contrast, would commit that party to the democratic rules at an official level, and would marginalize the extremist elements as has happened in Northern Ireland in the case of the Real IRA. A consensus on a new constitution will not come easily; it will involve a great deal of hard bargaining, and most of all, a great deal of compromise, particularly on the part of the Government, which is apparently enamoured of the virtues of the present constitution. Since there is no short-cut, and we will all have to wait out the convoluted process which will eventually change the political parameters, what can be done in the meantime? Most of all, one would wish that the political leaders on both sides would tone down the rhetoric. The population beyond the capital may possibly not yet have wearied of it, but the people of Georgetown of all ethnic groups are exhausted by the strike, and have little tolerance for the sometimes malevolent carping to which the local politicians are prone. They should give the people a rest. Let them discuss substantive issues such as the economy and education in a rational way, but spare us the accusatory speeches and press releases which hark endlessly back to the past and contribute nothing to solutions for our present difficulties. And then there are certain television stations which whip up emotions in a way which not only reflects badly on the profession of journalism, but also appeals to instinct rather than reason. It is this kind of appeal which throughout history has sometimes led to excesses of one kind or another. No one is suggesting that that is what any broadcaster in Guyana intends; it is simply that actions often have consequences which are quite unintended, but which are nevertheless usually foreseeable if people only took the time for careful thought. Guyanese of all cultures can claim this little patch of Mother Earth as their own. They have to live together. They have no choice. Both of the two major ethnic groups are here to stay, and they have to find a formula, therefore, for harmonious co-existence. While we search for that formula, all sides should strive for a more rational atmosphere in which our exchanges can be made and our disagreements aired. For a people as politically sophisticated as the Guyanese, that is surely not impossible.
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