OPINION: A militant opposition needed now

Last Updated on Thursday, 5 December 2024, 23:36 by Writer

by GHK Lall

The political opposition in Guyana found itself on the receiving end of a favor from the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC). It needs to be militant. No question about that around here. I think that this applies at the collective opposition level, or that of the individual parties. The visibility, level of energy, and degree of potency from the opposition has left its base dispirited. There is a sense of inevitability about the elections scheduled for some time next year.

Militant (or militancy) may mean different things to different people. But all of us would recognize it when we see it. I would. It has been so missing in action that if it were to appear, detection would follow immediately. There is too much that is going wrong here in the shenanigans and political scurrilousness of the PPP Government for the population and environment to be so contented. Or, in the worst expression of both, so resigned in the face of the stream of excesses that has no end. Before dismayed citizens start getting ideas about massive crowds clogging the streets of the capital city, particularly close to the commercial sector(s), I urge rethinking. My bit n’ haff advice to the opposition, combined or apart, is that it makes a greater effort to familiarize itself with the politics of protest; the nuances of it. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King did to a remarkable extent. Now all Guyanese, none more than the local opposition, would do well to recall the inroads he initiated. How he went up against one bastion after another in places and against men immovably committed to ancient prejudices. And how he succeeded in diluting some of the evils long associated with such human ugliness.

We have an abundance of that in the domestic space. But amid all the governmental obscenities, all the leadership demagogueries, all that Guyanese have left to contemplate is the reign of silence. Where is everybody? All other Guyanese, other than those intimately related to the mighty PPP machine? In the roiling milieu of what could be categorized as a climate of political toxicity, there is this climate of bland silence. Democracy at its lowest has more spark than what prevails in Guyana presently. Recall the same PPP (now turned rogue) during the era of Burnham-style democracy. Where is its parallel today in the current opposition, when there is so much more at stake? There is massive oil wealth, and the inequities in the distribution of its proceeds must have more meaning that has been manifested. More visceral reaction. More tangible developments.

Carefully selected spots, well-attended by even more carefully selected and groomed Guyanese, could relay to the world the blight of government, as experienced by the ostracized and demonized. Pressure can build from a thoughtful campaign of civil disobedience. Hundreds may be out of reach early on, represent thinking too big. A dedicated bunch, however, of scores of impassioned Guyanese strategically and peacefully deployed could make those in charge sit-up and take notice. Any broad thinking opposition would not exclude quiet protest in front of Exxon’s headquarters; there is the advantage of the US Embassy in the vicinity. Come to think of it, the two are one and the same. So, why not? Why not ruffle a few feathers, since this involves more than a struggle for respect. It is a fight for economic survival, for oil justice.

Militancy can take several forms. People must be prepared to refuse bail, go to jail. And stay there. Martin did and showed the racists and demagogues in the Old American South. If there, then why not here? The hunger strike weapon is another form of passive protest, militancy of another type. But it is one that has been sparsely used in this country. If what is missing is worth a sacrifice, then a sacrifice is what it will have to be. Who in the ranks of the opposition is ready for that kind of militancy? There doesn’t have to be images of hostile confrontations with the State, simply the nonverbalized messages that these are the starting demands. The PPP knows, leverages, the power of propaganda. The opposition must learn the profoundness of searing images. In a land of plenty, there is a bigoted government, a bigoted contract, that leaves Guyanese hungry.

To be militant instils an understanding of the presence of the media (in all of its channels) and how to make the wisest use of that mass communication asset. The Americans rising for their rights found that out quickly, and then moved smartly to capitalize. My view is that the opposition, like the PPP Government, is too sensitive to the exposure side of media work, and too insensitive as to its possibilities. For too long the political culture of Guyana has been to steamroll those asking tough questions, fulfilling the duties long associated to a functioning Fourth Estate. The relationship is incorrectly held as confrontational, when the opportunity is there for consensus engagement. Clearly, that is a limited vision, a wrongfooted one, that is self-injuring to both government and opposition here. The PPP Government has found novel ways to cultivate a stable of friendlies in the media circuit. The opposition has considerable ground at catching up.

In sum, Guyana is at a crossroads, with a class of haves and a nation of have-nots and oil surrounding everyone. The opposition can continue to sit on its hands, settle for blandness. In essence, this favors the government’s interests, incentivizes its disdain for Guyanese. A militant opposition could interfere with that complacency, disturb that arrogance, make a difference.