Black Immigrant Daily News

The recently-elected Democratic Labour Party (DLP) President Dr Ronnie Yearwood says that the crime situation on island right now calls for an all-hands on deck approach with a focus on young men and more legitimate opportunities for Bajans of all ages.

Speaking to Loop News just hours after a brazen evening shooting outside a popular fast food restaurant, he said that gun violence needs to be on the front burner for government.

The government likes to prioritise the things it likes, and the reality is, we keep seeing that this somehow, although it is affecting all of us, this doesn’t seem to be on their radar

In terms of tackling the crime, he said, “The reality is that crime is usually tied to an economic situation. They [crimes] are usually tied to poverty, tied to lack of opportunities, or lack of legitimate opportunities, let’s use that word. So we understand what is going on, but the problem is the government is not treating this with the urgency of now.”

Asked if the DLP will be calling for the Attorney General’s resignation as this was a stance taken by other political leaders in the past, he urged that he is all about new politics.

“And I know it is easy and it would be easy to call for the AG to resign, but the reality is the AG is not that competent, but then who, what other incompetence do you replace him with? The reality, who is lining up behind the AG at this particular moment? … That’s what makes this situation so dire, and that’s why I’m saying as a Party, AG it’s obvious that you’re out of your depth, we are willing to help.

“We are telling you as a Party, we are extending the hand of bipartisanship. We will help you bring the stakeholders together. So let us put our heads down and let us come up with a serious action plan. I’m not talking about talk, talk, talk, a serious action plan to address the issues.”

He said that all of the organisations necessary need to come together “to look at young men. It is obvious to anybody looking on, there is obviously an issue with our young men and they need urgent intervention, intervention in the homes, intervention in the schools, so this has to be a holistic approach…. and you need a whole of government approach with this, and I think that’s lacking.”

Yearwood said they will help get the non-governmental organisations, churches and all others on board as well, because this is not only an issue for police to police.

we should not feel that way in our own country and that’s what’s worrying me

“Whoever is required to be involved in this, we need to get the action plan and roll it out as a matter of priority and urgency. The government likes to prioritise the things it likes, and the reality is, we keep seeing that this somehow, although it is affecting all of us, this doesn’t seem to be on their radar. This doesn’t seem to be a priority, and that’s worrying because a lot of people feel unsafe in this Crop Over season.”

Challenging that citizens at this Crop Over time should be excited and full of exuberance to be back outside after the lockdowns, curfews and with COVID restrictions being lifted almost completely, he said with the frequent shootings, Bajans are confessing that they are fearful of outside.

“This should have been a joyous time… we should be out enjoying ourselves and a lot of the time we go out, people actually feel afraid. You know, they think, what’s going to happen? I could just be an innocent bystander and we see that. Innocent bystanders have died. I could just be walking by, be at a fete, be at an event, and that is so unfortunate and we should not feel that way in our own country and that’s what’s worrying me, that the government just doesn’t seem to understand that it needs to respond and needs to do something about it,” said Dr Yearwood.

Barbados recorded five reported shootings over the last five days with two persons left dead and eleven nursing gunshot injuries.

Editor’s Note: Since this interview a press conference has been called to address the crime spike and is to be hosted by the Attorney General Dale Marshall, today, July 8, 2022.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Guyana and Belize have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)which will see enhanced cooperation in food security and trade between the two countries.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, President Dr Irfaan Ali said that the MoU is not only the signing of an agreement but “it is the sealing of exceptional personal relationships and commitment translated into national good”.

Referring to the “coalition of the willing”, a term used at Caricom’s 33rd Inter-Sessional Heads of Government Meeting, which was held in Belize earlier this year, President Ali on Thursday evening said that discussions entitled understanding the “possibilities and understanding the possibilities of each individual country that makes up Caricom is critical”, adding that “Belize, for example, opens up tremendous doors for us in the support of Guatemala, for our sugar sector; Mexico; Honduras”.

He added that in expanding Guyana’s diplomatic work and reach in network to those countries, Belize is a natural ally in helping Guyana to mobilise understanding of the policies his Government is driving.

“Guyana is transitioning in terms of its international image and Belize is not only part of the Caricom community but also part of that integrated whole through which Guyana can advance its cause and Belize can advance their cause,” President Ali said.

Meanwhile, in a joint communiqué issued on Thursday evening, it was outlined that the leaders – President Ali and the Prime Minister of Belize, John Antonio Briceño – engaged in substantive discussions on agriculture and food security, in the context of Guyana and Belize being mainland countries in the Caribbean Community. It also stated that both Heads of State agreed to the importance of strengthening agriculture and food security to mitigate the growing food crisis and provide lasting solutions to the challenge of food and nutrition security in their countries and the wider Community. In that context, they exchanged views on practical ways to advance the regional objective of decreasing the food import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025.

Discussions were held on regional and international challenges including the protracted effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of the ongoing economic recovery, climate change, and existing geopolitical tensions.

According to the joint communiqué, both leaders committed to collaborating and sharing experiences and expertise in designing policies to promote economic, social and cultural advancement of their Indigenous peoples. They also agreed that Belize and Guyana would share best practices and expertise in tourism as Guyana moves to further develop its tourism industry.

Additionally, Prime Minister Briceño and President Ali also agreed on the urgency and value of deepening bilateral ties within Caricom. Both leaders reaffirmed their firm reciprocal support for the efforts towards the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their countries.

Prime Minister Briceño and his delegation also held discussions with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond along with other Ministers.

Prime Minister Briceño was visiting Guyana at the invitation of President Ali, from July 5 to July 8.

The Belize delegation, along with a delegation from Guyana, also visited Boa Vista, the capital of the State of Roraima, Brazil. There the delegations were hosted by Governor of the State of Roraima, Antonio Denarium.

Discussions were held with the Governor and members of the business community on potential exports of agricultural products from Roraima into Caricom and beyond.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Career failure is looming for those politicians who continue to spew race hate and division among citizens, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has warned, noting that many Guyanese were now rejecting this kind of politics.

Also forthcoming are legal consequences for those who had a role to play in the recent violence which erupted along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) which resulted in the destruction of public and private property and severe emotional trauma for many.

Investigations

Speaking during his programme “Issues in the News”, the Attorney General revealed that investigations were ongoing locally and outside of Guyana with respect to the mayhem along the ECD.

Noting that there were deliberate attempts to “incite, ensnare and encourage thousands of Guyanese” to partake in “riotous and terroristic activities”, the Attorney General warned that “those persons who were doing so in the United States of America, on social media in Guyana and who were also present and who, even after the violence, continued along this path to encourage more illegality and more criminality, those persons’ conduct and utterances are also under review, not only by law enforcement agencies in Guyana but also outside of Guyana.”

“And they also will be dealt with by the full force of the law…We ask for patience. The investigations are ongoing,” Nandlall stated.
He also reminded that Guyana’s laws create offences in respect to racial hostility and warned that recent utterances by certain politicians are also under review. He contended that certain utterances can no longer be considered just “irresponsible” statements by politicians.

“This is incendiary and inflammatory utterances in a country where there are ethnic issues like Guyana, they can have combustive impacts and [Opposition Leader] Mr Norton cannot be unaware of these implications, Mr Christopher Jones cannot be unaware of these implications…,” Nandlall posited.

Race hate, division

Nandlall lamented that some parliamentarians wanted to continue the disturbances along the ECD by organising a Day of Protest on Monday in Buxton. Fortunately, he indicated, those desires were rejected by the people and countered by a massive ministerial outreach to the community which scores of residents attended.

Nevertheless, the AG bemoaned the reality that many politicians continue to racially incite Guyanese.

“I listened with absolute shock to Mr Christopher Jones, a person whom I have some regard for, and I listened to the level of racism to which he descended on camera and if these guys are saying these things on camera, just imagine what they are saying when the camera is off…and here the guy is telling the people in Buxton and the youths in Buxton that they can’t get jobs because they’re Black…they can’t get a loan at the bank because they’re Afro-Guyanese, they can’t get contracts because they’re Afro-Guyanese,” Nandlall explained.

“And I can take you to tens of thousands of Indian Guyanese who also can’t get loan at the bank, who also are not getting contracts, who also are now getting jobs…David Hinds, a supposedly educated man, is standing next to Christopher Jones as he is making these utterances.”

“Christopher Jones was in office for five years. He had a very powerful position, he was the Director of Youth and Sports, name one single thing that he did for the Afro-Guyanese youths in Buxton to who he was preaching,” the AG contended.

He also pointed out that Hinds, a member of the Working Peoples’ Alliance (WPA) who was in Government for the same period, did nothing to uplift the lives of the Afro-Guyanese population.

“David Hinds has been speaking about Black empowerment from since Noah was a little boy, let David Hinds name one single policy, one single strategy, one single project of substance that he has ever done for the people of Buxton or for Black people anywhere in this country,” the AG said.

Against this backdrop, Nandlall bemoaned that “every time these guys open their mouth, it is about division, it is about putting hate into young peoples’ minds, putting anger into their minds…divisive politics and hate they spew every time they speak.”

He highlighted too that every time certain politicians encourage persons to come out on the roads and participate in violent and dangerous activities, it must be noted that those very politicians would never put their own families in such situations.

“As someone said, you would never see those very leaders who are putting other peoples’ children in danger, you would never see their children being on the road.”

“The Opposition has reduced themselves to such an extent that they have nothing to which they can make reference to make a constructive dialogue anymore, they have deteriorated to the lowest end,” Nandlall added.

Career failures

This type of politics, Nandlall reasoned, has no place in a modern Guyana. And he believes Guyanese are realising that.

“Guyanese are mature, Guyanese are sensible, Guyanese are now looking at issues and they will not be herded like cattle by leaders who preach race and race baiting; they will not fall prey to racial incitement anymore,” he posited.

“Once Guyanese start to behave in that manner, that is the end of the career of those politicians because the career of those politicians are based upon the existence of a gullible uneducated population who they can exploit on racist and racial grounds.”

And he posited that what he saw demonstrated on Monday in Buxton is the people of that and surrounding communities taking the “dignified, edified and educated route”.

“They did not lend themselves to be manipulated, used and abused by those politicians,” the AG explained.

He further reasoned that no matter the outcome of the investigations into these types of politicians, the litmus test would ultimately be the will of the Guyanese people.

“To the Guyanese people I’m speaking, are you going to support a political leader or a political leadership that…advocates that degree of degradation and that degree of racism and hate-mongering and division in your country? You have to make up your mind because if tomorrow you decide as a people that you don’t want that type of leadership and leaders, then that is the end of their careers,” Nandlall explained.

“You could determine whether they would continue as politicians or you will determine whether they exit public life, because without you, the people, they have nothing, and they literally have nothing…other than your support.”

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