OPINION: Street protests: two words that instill wisdom, movement

Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, 21:25 by Writer

By GHK Lall

Strange how two words foster wisdom. Street protests. Not the actual, only the promise. All who thought that the PPP brass was numb and dumb, should rethink. Street protests, mention that, and high-voltage surges through the entire PPP Govt. Roust from its resistance. Its malaise. Its indifferences. Its pretenses. The Speaker (govt) was hopelessly stuck on the Leader of the Opposition (LOO) issue, then everything jelled. The promise of street protests introduced change of mind, heart. It is almost biblical. The multitudes came…

I’ll be frank. Some day or the other, street protests will have to leave the podiums and reach the pavements. Regarding the LOO, it would have been fascinating to see the foreign diplomats who spoke standing in solidarity on the street. If for elections, then I submit the untouched loose ends that tarnish the work of the international community relative to elections call for more public plenipotentiary presence. It is the stuff of democracy. Question: how would the PPP of Drs. Ali, Jagdeo, and Nandlall react to such a development? Undesirables? Deviationists? For that alone, and on an issue that the diplomats spoke so openly about, street protest tests would be worthwhile. Let Guyanese see who’s who, who’s real.

Street protests, when necessary, prove universal mettle. Protesters, leaders. govt, opposition. Bystanders, citizen watchers. I take them one by one.

WIN has opportunity to demonstrate that it can call and hold a peaceful street protest. Peaceful is key, compulsory. Mr. Azruddin Mohamed has a chance to manifest that he, as a leader, can deliver what other leaders hide from doing. Perhaps, they may be motivated to hold and properly manage their own street protests. The PPP Govt gets to show its program of reaction to street protests. Spreading fear and hate have been prime PPP policy and procedure. Infiltrating with color-coded hooligans and creating mayhem have been placed in the bosom of its leaders, its intellectual authors, its clandestine street organizers. Thus, prejudices and hurts succeed in sinking their claws deeper into an already bitterly polarized society. Mohamed of WIN gets to demonstrate how he counters that development. How he polices his people. How perceptive and resourceful he is in the street game, the propaganda games that follow. He has edged ahead in Round One: The Speaker chatted with god, saw some light. Monday, Jan 26, the day that parliamentary democracy was allowed to gain a toehold in Guyana. The going is still slippery, with probably more mysteries.

Reality check, reinforcement of the utility of street protests. Letters, columns, editorials, radio, TV, and internet programs, and Facebook posts are fine. To a point only. Thereafter, they are as valuable and enduring as a dog and a fire hydron. Because nothing moves, nothing changes, no matter how many are written or presented. Particularly when there is a government that’s entrenched, and its leaders are all about control, until such is total. Capitalism’s push for profits is soaring. Yet communism’s obsession with command and control has never diminished. All that happened is that the PPP donned a disguise made of nightgown material. A see-through fabric.

Time for other names. Dr. Terrence Campbell publicly said that street protests may be necessary re cost of living and cash grant. That got lost in the PNC wilderness, its internal dynamics. Would have been interesting to observe how many Guyanese (PNC, WIN, FGM, et al) came out for such a bread-and-butter issue. A passionate one because it’s personal. If not for that, then what? Chancellor? Another presidential joke aimed at the poor? If an opposition party and leader cannot call a peaceful street protest and test the PPP Govt’s commitment to freedom of association and freedom of speech (to dissent), then I suggest sticking to Facebook, and the world sees if that’s all that democracy inspires in this country. If over 100,000 citizens voted for WIN and Mohamed cannot bring out 500 peaceful protestors, then he is useless to the political process. If 500 peaceful protestors cannot be so disciplined, so vigilant, as to expose infiltrators bent on disrupting and distorting their cause, they might as well stay home. If the 78,000 Guyanese who voted for the PNC (and their leaders) can’t do better, then protests are not for them, either.

Conclusion: peaceful street protests that are well-mobilized, well-organized, and well-galvanized have significance. If shrunk from, then prepare for whatever comes, and carry on passively, contentedly.