By Ralph SeeramI decided to glance at Saturday’s headline news before I proceeded to do my weekly column, which was going to be on a different topic. There on Kaieteur News was the headline “Fiery Friday” accompanied by pictures of blazing buildings,Wholesale China Jerseys, the work of arsonists. There were roads lined with rocks and burning tyres. The first line of the article, “anger boils over Police pre-dawn tear gas offensive”.I was boiling over with anger when I saw the pictures of those buildings in flames, thanks to “peaceful protesters”.Two columns ago when I wrote that the opposition was creating a monster it could not control, and could take us back to the sixties, the anti-government letter writers and e-mailers came out in full force,NFL Jerseys Outlet, blaming the police and government for the situation. The situation in Linden has deteriorated into hooliganism, lawlessness,Arizona Diamondbacks Fernando Rodney Jersey, robbery, extortion and banditry, yet the opposition (APNU and AFC) has not seen it fit to condemn the disorder that exists in Linden today. People are openly challenging the Joint Services. It would seem as if they are inviting the joint forces to react.This is all happening just when the Government has agreed to most of the requests from the opposition and groups claiming to represent the people of Linden. I think the first mistake the Government made was to negotiate under duress. That just emboldens the lawless.Imagine the AFC not wanting a Commission of Inquiry to look at any role opposition forces have in the protest leading to the shooting deaths of the three young men and the aftermath. What is the AFC afraid of? That its role in agitating the protesters will come to light?If APNU and the AFC have political maturity I challenge them to come out with a clear and unequivocal statement condemning the destruction of private and public property and the blocking of public roads,Andrew Desjardins Jersey, especially the one leading to the main hospital at Linden. Imagine paving the road to the hospital with huge boulders to prevent the sick and injured from getting medical attention. How cruel and inhuman can that be?Yet those in the opposition see no harm in these actions by so called “peaceful protesters”.Those of us who lived through the sixties know that is how the PNC operates. It’s all too familiar.??It keeps quiet while its supporters cause unnecessary destruction, hoping to gain some leverage with the government and score cheap political points. Those so called political activists who were running to Linden urging them to reject the gradual increase in the electricity,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, are strangely quiet on the mayhem and destruction. It is my opinion that they are encouraging the hoodlums in Linden.I am sure the majority of people of Linden do not agree with the actions of the hoodlums,Wholesale Jerseys, arsonists and bandits. Right now everyone at Linden is hurting. The mining company has been closed for some three weeks; economic activity has come to a standstill. The action has also affected the mining sector in the interior. The people of Linden probably lost more money in wages than what they had to pay in increased electricity rates.The opening lines in the Kaieteur News article made it look as if the security was wrong to use tear gas to disperse hooligans bent on destroying public property and convenience. Just look at the pictures of the boulders on the road and the logs across the streets! I must admit there are some pretty strong people in Linden. It’s taking heavy machinery to clear what those “peaceful protesters” laid by hand.The time has come bring an end to this lawlessness. The rule of law must be maintained. If David Granger and Khemraj Ramjattan believe in the rule of law they should immediately call on their supporters to stop the destruction. I challenge them to issue the appeal.These are your supporters, and after all you are negotiating on their behalf. But I know how the PNC operates as I said before. You will not hear any such call from those politicians; it’s all about getting at the government and nothing to do with the death of the three persons.At the end of the day the Joint Forces will enforce the law, they will do it professionally and firmly. So far they have been very restrained and have been appealing for cooperation. But the time has come to end the lawlessness. Any further incident resulting in the enforcement of the rule of law lies squarely on the opposition’s shoulders. You are negotiating on their behalf and you can’t have it both ways.Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected]