This was Published on July 20,2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nHigh Court will today deliver its ruling in APNU\u2019s latest case, this time\ninstituted by its Agent Misenga Jones. Let us face reality: this is part of the\nplan to delay the declaration of the results of the March 2 elections \u2013 now a\nfull 140 days since and an incredible 577 days since the December 21, 2018 no-\nconfidence motion (NCM). Once considered scaremongering, the fear that the APNU\nwould not give up power seems to be validated. It is not a series of\nunconnected events that there were three court cases on the NCM involving the\nHigh Court, the Court of Appeal and the Caribbean Court of Justice. And so far,\nthere have been eight cases, including appeals, arising out of the elections:\none before the CCJ, two before the Court of Appeal, one before the Full Court\nand four before the High Court. If the decision today goes against the APNU, it\nis almost certain that the Court of Appeal and the CCJ will have further work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those\nlegal games are not about law, it is about lawlessness. It is not about the\nfairness of elections, it is about the rigging of elections. It is not about\nconceding to who or conceding to what. It is a power grab, an electoral coup,\nthe attempted entrenchment of a dictatorship where one group considers itself\nsuperior and another inferior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For\nAPNU, it is their assertion of perpetual power, the control of state resources\nand denial of the vote of one out of every two electors in Guyana. Apparently\nfor them only some votes matter. And yet, Guyanese remain remarkably patient,\nsimply wondering if when and how it will end. Fortunately or unfortunately, the\nsame is not true of the international community. They are neither taken in by\nthe ruses and tactics of the APNU, nor possessed of the unlimited patience of\nGuyanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nUS State Department has already announced visa restrictions on those engaged in\ndenying democracy in Guyana with the warning that punitive action will be\nescalated and targets widened. With signals of similar action by regional,\nhemispheric and international nations and groups, Guyana will find itself not\nonly more isolated than it has ever been but more isolated than any other\ncountry in the world \u2013 Iran, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five\nyears ago, Granger was touting his decency, honesty and integrity. He came to\npower the model of an upright individual, intolerant of improprieties,\ncommitted to values. Yet, in five relatively short years the path of his\nGovernment is littered with constitutional violations, corruption, cynicism,\nethnic preferences, waste and extravagance, arrogance and delusion. Those of us\nwho promoted and supported him find it impossible to recognise the David\nGranger of five years ago. The veneer of virtues has been shattered. With a\ndetermination that borders on the irrational, Granger seems willing to take\nGuyana into that black hole. And yet, not a single institutional member of the\nCoalition, not even the JFAP, is decent or brave enough to say, to borrow\nAndaiye\u2019s famous words, \u201cNot in our name\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They\nare all it seems, under the spell of Joe Harmon, the master of bravado, the\nuntouchable and above and beyond the law. A lawyer himself, he seems willing to\ncourt international notoriety by mocking the threat of sanctions. He clearly is\nunmindful and uncaring of the consequences of his further acts of recklessness\nto the country and its people. Time will tell whether he is indeed as\ninvincible and untouchable as he thinks he is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For\nmore reasons than one, I do not celebrate sanctions and do believe that\nproblems concerning Guyana should be solved in Guyana. But I do not accept that\nthe theft of an election is a purely domestic matter since it infects and\ninfests all with whom it comes into contact. It is for that reason and that\nreason alone that I support sanctions. Bullies, cheats and thieves must realise\nthat evil does not pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yours\nfaithfully,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Christopher\nRam <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This was Published on July 20,2020 The High Court will today deliver its ruling in APNU\u2019s latest case, this time instituted by its Agent Misenga Jones. Let us face reality: this is part of the plan to delay the declaration of the results of the March 2 elections \u2013 now a full 140 days since … <\/p>\n