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KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
Editorial Suicide Prevention: Alive? On September 10, the world once again observed “World Suicide Prevention Day”. This year the theme was, “Suicide Prevention across the Globe: Strengthening Protective Factors and Instilling Hope”. If the Ministry of Health (MoH) had any program locally to use the occasion to highlight the havoc wrought by suicide in our society, it escaped us. In Black Bush Polder, Berbice, a US Peace Corps Volunteer performed a wonderful act when he released the results of a survey on suicide he has conducted in that community. Black Bush Polder has long held the title of ‘suicide of Guyana.” Guyana has become infamous globally for the Jonestown mass suicide of 1978 when 909 persons took their lives. Many Guyanese brush off this tragedy by pointing out that it was not a ‘Guyanese thing”. But most Guyanese are unaware that Guyana, with barely three-quarters of a million in population, ranks number three in the list of highest suicide rates in the entire world. With our number of suicides averaging around 189 annually, every five years more Guyanese commit suicide than in the Jonestown horror. According to figures released by the MoH, there were 946 suicides reported in Guyana in the five years between 2003 and 2007. Now, we cannot say suicide is not a “Guyanese thing.” Early in the last decade, this newspaper began highlighting the scourge of suicide in our country. In 2001, after private groups had highlighted the extent of the problem, the MoH acknowledged that suicide was a public health issue and that a national response was demanded. Minister Ramsammy launched into a flurry of activities and established a National Committee for the Prevention of Suicidal Behaviour (NCPSC). The Committee started some centres in Berbice, but gradually seemed to have petered out. After a great deal of handwringing, by 2007, the Ministry launched a new body, the National Committee for Suicide Prevention (NCSP). The NCSP’s objectives were to: reduce premature deaths due to suicide; lower the rate of suicidal behaviour; decrease the harmful aftermath and stigma associated with suicidal behaviour and the traumatic effect of suicide on family and friends, and promote awareness that suicide is preventable and train more persons in recognising mental health problems. Since then, the Ministry of Health has conducted several studies of its own, all of which have confirmed the findings of the pioneering study. In 2009, the Minister candidly asserted that the government, the region and PAHO had not deployed the requisite budgetary allocation to deal with suicide, even as they all acknowledged the gravity of the problem locally. In 2011, a decade after the identification of suicide as a public health problem, the Minister announced on World Suicide Prevention day that for the first time in thirty years, the rate of suicide had dipped: from 189 to 160 from the previous year. This was obviously the result of the subsequent flurry of activities involving national and international actors to first get a handle of the phenomena and simultaneously to make targeted interventions. There were reports of training sessions in suicide prevention that involved the International Association of Suicide Prevention, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Dalhousie University Department of Psychiatry to get both health care professionals and communities on board. Simultaneously with the intervention aspects of the pilot program, a detailed history of suicide victims (“psychological autopsy”) was to be compiled to discover specific causative factors in the Guyanese milieu. A “GateKeeper Program” (of influential persons in the community that may intervene to prevent suicide) was kicked off. Since pesticides (especially gramoxone) are one of the most popular means to commit suicide, the Ministry claimed to have also initiated a program to institute a more secure method of storing the poisonous substance. Last year we pointed out that most of the programmes initiated by the MoH seemed to be languishing on the vine or had withered completely. After the elections, this trend appears to have intensified, even as the scourge of suicide seems to have spiked once again.
Kaieteur News
Monday September 17, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news
What is the political objective of these attacks? DEAR EDITOR, Anyone familiar with Guyanese politics will not need to be convinced that the recent attack on Mr. Freddie Kissoon in the vicinity of the parliament on the evening of August 15th, 2012 was anything other than the work of elements associated with the ruling PPPC, and government. Only the political naive would believe otherwise? It is worth noting that to date not a word of condemnation has come from the ruling party and government disassociating them from this heinous attack. They see no need to engage in pretence. In both private and public discussions two questions are often raised: (1) How far would the rulers go in their prosecution of Kissoon? (2) What is the political objective of these attacks? The first question is difficult to answer, since subjective factors can be as influential as the objective political ones. However, Mr. Kissoon is convinced that someone high up in the both the regime and ruling party has an obsession with him
because of his outspoken criticism of the ruling party and government oppressive, and corrupt polices and that person, (and here I hasten to add, they) want to physically take him out i.e. kill him. Given the regime’s known history of repression in which the physical removal of persons has featured prominently, Mr. Kissoon is well within his right to feel at risk, as he has publicly stated. Kissoon’s view of his personal security is shared by the large number of Guyanese. While the concern for Kissoon‘s safety is generally discussed openly in the opposition constituencies, in those constituencies that support the ruling party, it is done privately, except of course when it is openly discussed by the rabid PPPC activists who make no secret of their hate for him. Therefore, physical removal of political opponents is always on their cards. Notwithstanding this probability, my judgment is that the balance of social and political forces at this juncture will make it unlikely that the rulers will choose
physical liquidation of Mr. Kissoon. There is still method in PPPC madness, their actions politically, are calculated and often measured – they carefully balance risk with outcome. My assessment is based on the regime’s behaviour since it came to power in 1992. Mr. Kissoon falls in a special category of Indian Guyanese critics of the regime - like CN Sharma and Chris Ram. While these gentlemen are seen by the PPPC as irritants, that party believes that at this point their influence on their constituencies is minimal and manageable. However the PPPC recognizes the potential danger they pose to the party’s future if they are allowed unrestrained, unfettered access to the party’s “supporters”. Hence that party at times expresses viciousness towards them. It is however my considered judgment that Moses Nagamooto is more at risk for physical removal than Kissoon since he represents more of a political threat to the PPPC’s ruling cabal. As hard
as they try to do, the PPPC’s leadership cannot easily undermine what Nagamootoo’s long association with the party, his history of being a trusted and loyal lieutenant of the late PPPC founder leader Dr. Cheddi Jagan and his record of struggle in the trenches (unlike the very weak or nonexistent record of most of his detractors) mean to those persons who are rooted historically in the party. Moses Nagamootoo has demonstrated political will and exemplary courage not only to criticize the ruling cabal, but to go beyond criticism and to provide outside of the PPPC alternative leadership to the ruling party support base. That, to the present crop of PPPC leaders, is an unforgivable sin. As I indicated earlier, the second question which seeks to address the political objective of the frequent attacks/ assaults on Kissoon is the easer of the two to answer. The following are some of the political objectives the rulers seek to accomplish: Continued on page 5
DEAR EDITOR, I observed recently a series of articles in the Guyana Times regarding the purported new constitution of the Guyana Cricket Board and quotes from Mr. CLIVE Lloyd regarding same as reported by Mr. Rajiv Bisnauth. It is interesting that the Government of Guyana through one of its now infamous IMCs has resorted to preparing a constitution for an entity that was declared nonexistent and disbanded by the Minister of Culture Youth and Sport. What now makes that entity “in existence” considering that the Attorney General filed court papers claiming the assets of the GCB on a principle of “Bona vacantia” or ownerless property? Of course, the GCB has filed its reply and since the CCJ ruling has declared that it is the membership that exercise ownership of the assets in an unincorporated body, this government action is doomed to fail. However, it is clearly hypocritical for the government to attempt to disband the GCB on the most frivolous of grounds and then resort to prepare a constitution of their liking for the very disbanded entity. All of the manufactured allegations against the GCB were cleared by the Rupert
Foster report which investigation was commissioned by the Ministry of Labour. In any case, the Government, the IMC, Mr. Lloyd or anyone outside of the GCB and its membership cannot legally repeal the existing constitution and replace it with another. It is simply not true that the GCB has two constitutions. In the lead up to the Stanford 20/20 tournament the GCB was required to register with the Friendly Society as a requirement to receive funding. The government, through the then Minister Mansoor Nadir, sought to stop the GCB elections through the Friendly Society. The membership then tested this registration in the Courts and the Chief Justice effectively deregistered the GCB under the Friendly Societies Act in May 2011deeming the registration to be illegal. It simply followed that the GCB had to revert to its original constitution since it was no longer registered under the Friendly Society as directed by the Court. Another glaring untruth is the contention that the WICB has accepted or agreed with the government prepared GCB constitution as reported in the Guyana
Times of 14th Sept. 2012. In fact, the WICB media officer Mr. Imran Khan issued the following statement on the 15 Sept 2012 “Please be advised that the substantive claim in the article that the WICB has approved the GCB constitution is not accurate. The WICB has received a draft of the proposed new GCB constitution and is currently reviewing. Upon completion of this review the WICB will return the draft constitution with its comments”. The WICB hereby indicated that its comments is all that is intended and will definitely indicate that the GCB and
only the GCB can decide on the content of a new constitution, considering that it is an independent, private organization governed by its own rules. I have had numerous conversations with stake holders with almost everyone expressing the view that the proposed constitution is merely the old constitution with someone inserting clauses to exclude broad based participation. The President of the ECB, Mr. Prince Holder, has already indicated his concerns and I am informed that Mr. Hilbert Foster did indicate in a recent Continued on page 5
Only the GCB and its membership can change its constitution
I commend the Acting Police Commissioner on his new style of leadership DEAR EDITOR, I must congratulate the Acting Commissioner of Police for the new style he is bringing to the job. It is not every person shot by the police that he will be seeing their relatives or protestors, some persons are, definitely justifiable, shot by the police but in the case of the Agricola youth there was enough circumstantial evidence as to evince an iota of doubt in one mind (e.g the youth was shot while lying down and to the back of the head). Therefore the Commissioner was right to take the steps to defuse this situation and launch an enquiry. Since he was catapulted into this job I have been admiring his style and firmness, he must be supported by the general public. In closing I would like to quote this motto “…..without fear or favor malice or ill will….” Keep it up Mr. Brummell you must forever hold to this motto. A good old police