Archives for October 2, 2016
Suspended television licence reinstated
October 2, 2016 By
Some nine years after its television licence was suspended, the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has approved the application for a licence from Community Broadcasting Network Inc.
In a statement on Saturday, GBNA said its Board made the decision to grant the television licence to the company, headed by Vidya Narayan-Lewis, following consultations with the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU).
It was explained that Narayan-Lewis had applied for a licence in 1998 and was granted verbal approval to operate in 1999. However, her operations existed for only seven years after she was asked to cease transmission in 2007.
According to the GNBA, since then she has been persistent in her efforts to resume television transmission, but to no avail.
“Legal action was taken against the previous administration in November of 2014 following the issuance of licences in 2011 by then President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo. The frequency she utilised for the seven years (Channel 27-Cable 78), was allocated to the Chinese (CCTV) during the 2011 allocations,” the broadcasting body stated.
During the legal proceedings, the High Court, after examining the case, had ordered and declared that the applicant is entitled to be issued a broadcasting licence under section 18 (1) of the 2011 Broadcasting Act.
On this note, the current Board of the GNBA had examined Narayan-Lewis’ application and have determined that it satisfies all the necessary requirements to obtain a television licence.
The NFMU, GNBA asserted, has also expressed no objection to a frequency being assigned to the Community Broadcasting Network Inc.
According to the State broadcasting agency, the Community Broadcasting Network Inc is currently in the process of obtaining its television licence.
Guyana’s unique “racism”
October 2, 2016 By
By Ryhaan Shah
Following up on last Sunday’s column on the rise of nativism, Guyana’s rather unique “racism” also bears some investigation.
Racism is an ideology of domination based on the idea of biological and cultural superiority of one or more groups which is used to justify the treatment of others as inferior. Whole societies can be structured along racial lines or there can be, as occurred during the Burnham era, institutionalised racism where African-Guyanese were favoured by the very structure of government and society.
But Guyana does not conform to all the sociological norms of racism. Here, the “racist” term is especially reserved for Indian-Guyanese who speak from their perspective as Indians despite constitutional and human rights guarantees to their identity.
While the Indian communities are the ones that suffer racial/political attacks, in a perverse twist, they are also the ones condemned as the country’s “racists”, and the violence against them is justified by a wide swathe of society including a number of Indian-Guyanese.
The twists and turns that have led to this unique “racism” has its roots in Guyana’s colonial past.
The Indians who were viewed as “acceptable” were the educated professionals like the Luckhoos and Ruhomons. They had converted to Christianity and, in the process, had subsumed their Indian identity. These were the Indians who “arrived” into colonial society.
At the other end of the colonial experience were men like JB Singh and Ayube Edun of the British Guiana East Indian Association. The majority of Indians subscribed to their view that our future lay in honouring the heritage of our foreparents.
When Dr Cheddi Jagan entered politics, he might have succeeded as a champion of the working class had the PPP remained whole. However, the split with Burnham refashioned him as an ethnic leader, a role he never relished or wanted for himself.
To the socialist Jagan, the Indian professional and business class was the despised bourgeoisie. He, too, needed to recast his supporters into another image to satisfy his ambition of being a true leader of all Guyanese. To this end, the PPP generally ignored the ethnicity of their followers and the specific issues that came with it. This while Burnham fully embraced being an African leader.
Adding to “racism” in Guyana is the ideology of “oneness” with its jingoism of “love and unity” which is simple-minded enough to enjoy popular support. Within this context, Indians who value their cultural identity are viewed as “racists” for rejecting the sameness required to be “one”. Because the “all awe is one” jingle sounds nice to the ear, no one stops to consider that the message speaks to a clear disrespect for cultural and ethnic diversity just as Brexit does in the UK and Trumpism is doing in America.
It promotes the dominance of “one” over every “other” – the textbook definition of racism.
For Indians to even speak of race makes us “racist” and when the stumbling block to Guyana’s progress and development is the race divide between Indians and Africans, this becomes problematic: how do you address the problem if simply stating it makes you racist?
Many, therefore, say nothing. They embrace the ideology of “love and unity” even when, as exemplified by the Coalition Government, it is nothing but empty rhetoric. But being accepted into the lie is more rewarding than addressing the truth. It leads some Indians to self-hatred and to justify their hate, they need to accuse culturally secure Indians of “racism”.
African Guyanese’s pride in being African is never viewed as racism and they are content with this inequality which shuts out Indians from engaging in the vital discourse on race and racism. Indians who persist endure the abuse of being called “racists”.
In his quest to be a Guyanese leader, Jagan helped to create this inequality. The PPP continually placates African Guyanese in order to win them back, and often at the expense of their loyal Indian supporters.
Independent Indian Guyanese who address Indian issues are seen as political threats to the PPP and the accusation always levelled at them is that they are “racists”, an accusation that is readily picked up by African Guyanese and Indians who continue to support the idea that the only acceptable Indian Guyanese is the colonised “mimic man” who subsumes or forgoes his Indian identity.
It is time to push the reset button and get everyone on the same page where to address the race issue does not make you racist and where the mindless jingoism of “oneness” is accepted for the disregard for diversity that it is.
Aircraft found at Yupukari brought to Timehri
October 2, 2016 By
…still no new leads
The illegal aircraft that was recently discovered camouflaged at an airstrip in Yupukari, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), has been repaired and flown to Timehri for investigations to be completed.
According to a statement from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the twin-engine Cessna Aircraft was flown from Yupukari to Lethem initially on Friday, before arriving at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at 10:00h on Saturday.
The release outlined that aeronautical engineers from the GDF Air Corps, after inspecting the aircraft, had identified the problems which had rendered it inoperable. The necessary spares were sourced and the repairs conducted, thus resulting in the aircraft becoming operable.
As such, it was flown to Lethem where it overnighted. This allowed for the GDF engineers to conduct further repairs and functional checks which then allowed it to be flown to Timehri. It is currently secured at the GDF Air Corps Hangar, Air Station London, CJIA.
Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing with regards to all aspects surrounding the discovery of the aircraft.
Outgoing Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips, told Guyana Times on Saturday that no further leads have been found with regards to finding the persons connected with the aircraft. However, he explained that with the aircraft now at the CJIA, investigators will be able to better examine it with more resources being available.
On September 13, a Joint Service patrol discovered the illegal aircraft hidden just off of the Yupukari Airstrip, with United States registration N-767-Z.
Subsequently, a team of investigators from the GDF, Guyana Police Force (GPF), Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) was deployed from Georgetown to the area to conduct investigations and were able to determine that the registration number was bogus.
Moreover, investigators had discovered during interviews with nearby residents that the aircraft had been sighted circling the area on numerous occasions in the past.
Additionally, a number of residents shared information they deemed as “suspicious activity”, including the presence of motorcycles or ATVs frequenting the area at midnight.
Guyana Times was told by sources that a leak was discovered in the fuel tank. This, investigators believe, may have caused the aircraft to land in Guyana.
However, it has been reported that one of the local law enforcement agencies was aware of the aircraft at least three weeks before the disclosure was made. It was reported that the security officials were monitoring the aircraft to see if anyone would return to salvage it.
To this end, President David Granger has established a one-man Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to probe the discovery of the illegal aircraft and appointed retired Brigadier Edward Collins to investigate, examine, advise and report on all aspects under which the foreign aircraft had entered the country.
Where’s Harry?
October 2, 2016 By
Satiricus was stumped and his furrowed brow was a dead giveaway to his buddy Cappo, as they nursed their beers in the Back Street Bar. Things were “brown” for Cappo since the sugar factory had stopped grinding and he had to hang up his cutlass for three months. He needed Satiricus to be in a good mood to supply the elixir of life.
“Wha’ mek yuh face suh sa-wa, Budday?” he asked with forced jollity. “‘E might lef” suh, yuh know!”
“I just can’t figure out how they let Harry get away,” Satiricus confessed.
Cappo knew at once who Satiricus was talking about: they had been following the case for a year. “Me hear de law does wuk in mysteer-yas ways”, Cappo grinned. “An’ yuh know justice blind!”
“Cappo, this is no laughing matter, you know,” said Satiricus sternly. “Justice is being subverted.”
“Sato, a wha’ yuh a fret suh fa?” Cappo asked as he finished off his beer. “Wid t’ing suh bad, Harry a circulate nuff money now, yuh know!”
“What you mean?” demanded Satiricus.
“Budday w’en deh arres’ de man, a six pack a de coke bin missin’,” said Cappo knowingly. “Ah de Police tek da.”
“You right Cappo, but nobody talking about what happened to the missing 6 kilos,” admitted Satiricus.
“Well, since da a sell fuh US$10,000 a pack yuh talkin’ ’bout $12 million share out wid de Police,” smiled Cappo. “And dey does spend da right away!”
“That stimulates the local economy,” said Satiricus as he nodded his head. “And Harry did say the Police put in their thumb with $13 million cash and took out their thumb with only $10 million!”
“Mo’ money circulatin’ bai!” grinned Cappo. “An’ t’ink how much ‘e bin gat fuh pay aff dem Police who bin a wa’ch ‘e!!”
“But they said the Police wasn’t watching him!” protested Satiricus.
Cappo just smirked. “An’ na talk wha’ happen fuh ‘e an’ e gyaal crass to Suriname. De man alone a wan industry!”
“But what about justice?” complained Satiricus.
“Justice na only blind,” said Cappo softly, “‘E gat fuh be clean! Den ‘e guh wuk!”
Woodcutter killed after tree tumbles on him in Pomeroon
October 2, 2016 By
A wood cutter from La Union, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), was killed after a tree crashed on him at Apiarco in the Upper Pomeroon River. Dead is Moses Gonsalves, 51, also known as “Squash”.
Reports are that he left his Essequibo Coast home weeks ago venturing into the Pomeroon River to harvest wood. He was accompanied by a worker Rayan Lloyd.
This newspaper was informed that on Thursday Gonsalves was left cutting wood while Lloyd went to fetch some materials from another location.
According to the now dead man’s daughter, Sherena Gonsalves, the family received the tragic news Friday morning. The saddened daughter said Lloyd, who works as a handyman with her father, informed the family of the incident.
“He told us that a tree fell on daddy and killed him. He said he heard the chain saw noise stop but he thought daddy was taking a rest (but) after some time he went and discovered him in a pool of blood.”
She related that her father was then transported by Police to the Charity Oscar Joseph Hospital where doctors confirmed him dead.
The chain saw operator’s body is at the Suddie Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.
Police have since taken statements from Lloyd.
Gonsalves leaves to mourn his wife and three children.
Trotman must apologise for misleading Amerindians and the nation
October 2, 2016 By