Warning! Dictatorship is Creeping into Guyana!

By Peter R. Ramsaroop

There have been so many free societies throughout history that have succumbed, oft times willingly, to the dictatorship of one man. We have all studied such historical events because it never makes a bit of sense why an entire country of intelligent and capable people would voluntarily lay their down rights as citizens and put themselves at the mercy of a single person.

This is a phenomenon that should be thoroughly explored by all Guyanese since we are at a crucial juncture of exactly this type of occasion in our own country.

One such example we have studied is that of the fall of the Roman Republic to Julius Caesar’s sovereign rule. This is indeed an interesting example of how a country, overwhelmed with gratitude for a long-awaited time of peace, feels so enamoured and indebted to a leader that they want to give him full reign over every aspect of the country.

In the case of Julius Caesar, he won the trust of so many in Rome that he could easily take control of various sections of government one by one without as much as an eyebrow being lifted in protest. He had the confidence of the people and, regardless of their freedom loving representatives who warned them of the dire consequences of the situation, they kept sneaking crowns on the head of Caesar’s statues to let him know they wanted him to be king.

And king is what he would become – or rather an Emperor, since that was more pleasing term in the ears of the Romans who detested tyranny and loved their Republic. However, this misplaced trust resulted in the end of the beloved Republic and the reign of Emperors until the fall of the Rome.

The situation in Guyana is very different than this Roman example in that we have not been in war with anyone but ourselves – yet there is still no peace or prosperity in Guyana. We have no reason to feel indebted to this would-be-king who has brought no reprieve from crime, poverty or racial division. In fact, our country is presently in a state of confusion and on the brink of chaos.

This is the other, more commonly used, method to sneak a dictatorship into a free country. Saddam Hussein is a modern day example of this method where fear is used to goad the people into submission to the dictatorial rule. This is a ruthless technique that silences opposition in any fashion deemed necessary and governs with a strong hand. This type of dictator also tends to be more concerned with selfish ambitions like attaining power and money than with the citizens of the country.

This is the method of dictatorship that is tiptoeing its way into Guyana. Fear is rampant and the people crave peace and prosperity. This condition, created and sustained by the very one who would-be king himself, places Guyana in a position perfect for the picking of any budding tyrant.

Our country is weak, beaten down from years of lack and lawlessness, and seeking a saviour from our incessant despair. I beg you fellow countrymen, do not turn to dictatorship for help. This is not the answer for our woes; it will just bring even more anguish into our already pathetic existence.

Some may say the political watchdogs of our country are just being oversensitive, but that is the same approach taken by the naïve citizens of Rome before they lost their freedoms forever. In fact, let us examine this subject, based on recent events, to see if one can actually draw a correlation with past dictatorships and what is now occurring in Guyana.

What are some steps taken by a latent dictator? One of the very first measures taken is to squelch the citizens’ freedom of speech. A perfect example in our own country is the silencing of Dr. Walter Rodney by previous forces of dictatorship. But a good dictator will go much farther than that. The outlets for this freedom, such as television stations and newspapers, will be targeted. These outlets will be shut down or intimidated into submission to the controlling despot.

Have we seen this sort of behaviour in Guyana recently? Yes. Overwhelmingly. A television station was shut down for speaking out against the government and newspapers, as well as citizens themselves, are being sued for voicing their opinions about the administration. I think we can safely say this step has been marked off the list for impending dictatorship.

Another step on the road to domination is to control the educational institutions. It is vital to attain the loyalty of the minds you want to dominate – especially if these minds are independent thinkers who buck the notions of tyranny. If these freethinking minds cannot be acquired, then they must be eliminated. Once again, this was a method employed by previous dictatorship when it denied Dr. Rodney, a brilliantly free mind, employment at the University of Guyana.

Another pungent modern example of this step to domination was in 1989 when the government of China, in an attempt to silence about 100,000 protesting students in Tiananmen Square, sent in the military to take care of the situation. What were the students protesting? Inequality and government corruption. They simply wanted a return to the socialist values of equality and the communist government just wanted them to shut up. The result was a death toll numbering in the thousands.

Can we see the controlling hand of a tyrant in Guyana? As a matter of a fact, just this week we were enlightened about a situation where the government chose to step in and impose a Vice-Chancellor of its own liking on UG against the protests of the University of Guyana’s wishes.

Certainly, there can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the current administration is attempting to control the minds of the academics of Guyana with the end goal of national domination. Anyone who comes to any other conclusion is just as naïve as the Romans who forfeited their freedoms out of gratefulness – not fear.

However, there may be a portion of the population who can actually see this creeping dictatorship and view it as an opportunity to advance monetarily or to further gain political/social power. These people need to realize that dictatorship is loyal to no one as is evident in tyrants like Saddam Hussein who killed even those who were closest to him if he had the slightest inclination of disloyalty.

These are strong correlations that can be drawn from the last few months to prove that Guyana, unless she fights tooth and nail against the looming storm, is in fact on its way to another era of dictatorship under the current administration. What can be done to save her? We must speak out. Students, speak out! Mothers, speak out! Fellow countrymen, speak out! Do not allow Guyana to fall prey to the hungry eyes of tyranny. Guyana, free and liberated Guyana, awaits your reply.