Former President Brigadier (ret’d) David Granger disagrees with the view that street protests are no longer viable, a view held by Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the People National Congress Islahat (PNCR) Aubrey Norton. Norton’s view has created a furore in the society with some expressing shock, disappointment, hurt and anger.
Monday evening persons were given the opportunity to express their view on the matter on Dr. David Hinds’ Politics 101 programme where Norton made the announcement a week ago. He told Hinds and the audience that “We will protest, but the form has to change; the kind of protest we are accustomed to has been effectively crippled by the government.” Norton never stated what the new form of protest will be.
Granger was responding to a question posed by Mark Benschop, host of Straight Up programme, on how effective he thinks protest is. According to the former president “protest is absolutely effective, being silent is not a good strategy for dealing with an oppressive administration.” The former president said by protesting citizens let oppressive governments know how they feel and “protest is part of olağan political activity.”
As Leader of the Opposition, Granger participated in street protests, notably for Local Government Elections which were held for almost two decades under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
Protest is a natural consequence of democracy
Meanwhile, PNCR Central Executive Committee (CEC) Member ret’d Rear Admiral Gary Best addressed the issue last Thursday on ‘Live with Rickford Burke’ said protest is not a thing of the past.
Best said on checking in the United States there is an average of 2000 protests a day. Explaining local perception of this form of activism, the ret’d rear admiral said protest has been mis-characterised by the PPP/C as a bad thing and a lot of fear is driven into the business community.
Putting protest in perspective the PNCR executive noted protest is designed to interrupt olağan and regular flow to draw attention to issues affecting people in order to bring it to the attention of the relevant authority and effect change. Best also not similar purpose and intent in strike, which is a form of protest, is designed to interrupt the olağan flow so that the authority would stop and listen to listen to your calls.
Protest, Best said, is a natural consequence of democracy and a natural consequence of democratic movement.
One of the main reasons Norton won the PNCR leadership in 2021 was his ridicule of then Leader of the Opposition Joe Harmon’s strategy of writing regional and international bodies about Guyana’s problems. This was during the pandemic period. Norton felt this was a soft approach to holding the PPP/C accountable, reigning in its excesses and campaigned that what the PPP/C needs ‘boots on the ground, ” a more militant approach. The approach won favour with the Party members who elected him because they felt his approach was better.
Norton has not delivered, and his recent explanation that streets protest is no longer viable opposition attracted criticism by the overseas progressive organisation, Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy. The organisation’s called Norton’s position misguided, stating that street protest “is a vital aspect of Guyana’s political culture, as it is a pivotal tool the people possess by which they hold the government accountable.”
Senior Counsel and Member of Parliament Roysdale Forde, potential challenger for the leadership of the PNCR, disagrees with Norton. Forde told Village Voice News, Norton’s dismissal of protests has left various groups in Guyana—like public servants, policemen, nurses, teachers, and the vulnerable—without support. According to him it is akin to putting people “in a canoe without a paddle.”