Posted October 29th. 2002. - Special Feature by David Hinds

There are two Buxtons

Mr. Hoyte and the PNC say that people are demonizing Buxton. There are definitely some people who see what is happening at Buxton as confirming the negative image they have always had about Black people; they make no distinction between what Buxton is used for and what Buxton is. And Mr. Hoyte plays right into their hands by not making that distinction.

When Kwayana, Andaiye and Hinds condemn Buxton as a terror camp, they point straight to that small force of Buxtonions who have joined forces with the group of non-Buxtonions or Ogunseye's "sophisticated leadership" who have turned the village into a base for terror. Our call to the Buxtonions involved is to give back the guns to the sophisticated leaders. We don't see the violence in the country as revolution and we want our village out of it. For Kwayana and Hinds the situation in Buxton is more than political; it strikes further home.

Nobody has invested more time and energy in the integrity and culture of Buxton than Eusi Kwayana. That his life is in danger in Buxton today sums up what has been done to the village by sophisticated leaders. Mr. Hoyte does not speak carelessly and he did not name Kwayana and Hinds as demonizers, but many people think he implied this when he mentioned those who write long letters. The opposition leader does not waste time with trivial things or people, but he may want to clarify this one.

Kwayana and Hinds can find Buxton on any map. Kwayana and Buxton are synonymous. For me, I have never referred to myself as an expert on anything, but with all due respect to Kwayana, today I declare myself as an expert on Buxton. Twenty eight years of intimate involvement in the politics, education, and culture of that village qualifies me. So here goes.

There are two Buxtons--Buxton the political-criminal base, and Buxton the village under occupation. While there is a relationship between the two, they are not one and the same thing. The political-criminal base is operated and controlled by non-Buxtonion political people and criminals-turn-freedom fighters whose main aim apparently is to bring the PPP government to it knees by creating a situation of anarchy. They have recruited and armed some young Buxtonions for this force which calls itself "Taliban," I have no evidence that the PNC leadership is involved, but some of the leaders of this force have PNC sympathies. They project themselves as the black militant wing of the PNC. So what my colleague, Tacuma Ogunseye, calls the "Buxton Resistance" is not indigenous to Buxton; it's an imposition on the village.

Buxton the village, at the urging of PNC activists from the village and outside the village, started to actively protest after the 2001 election. The PNC's defeat at the election was the occasion rather than the cause of the protest. As is the political culture of Buxton, Buxtonions tried to take charge of things. An organization evolved and self-emancipation initiatives such as the creation of a new market were taken.

But the political operatives had other ideas. They did not support Buxton so that Buxton could liberate itself; they wanted Buxton for the bigger struggle. So when Shaka Blair was murdered they seized moment. When Mark Benschop mounted the stage and seized the microphone at the public meeting, it marked a turning point in the village. This action split the village between a majority who favored a Buxton empowerment struggle and a minority who supported the struggle against the regime" My presence in Guyana during July/August gave a public voice to the majority of villagers who want justice and empowerment but not on the blood of Indians and other defenseless people. There was a resuscitation of the pre-Shaka Blair movement, but this infuriated the sophisticated leaders of the Taliban who promptly labeled me PPP.

There are mixed feelings on the part of the majority of Buxtonions--part fear of the Taliban; part solidarity with the Taliban as an anti-police force; and part private revulsion but helplessness in the face of the anti-Indian violence. So when we talk about harboring criminals, we must distinguish between the passive and the active. Most Buxtonions say or do nothing about the gunmen and their activities out of fear for their lives. On the other hand a minority of villagers actively support the gunmen partly as business (they provide the non-Buxtonion gunmen with shelter and protection in return for money) and partly as political solidarity (they see them as fighting for Black Power)-a convergence of economics (survival) and politics.

When we call on Buxtonions to put down their arms, we do so as Buxtonions who understand that crime, race, politics, and drugs represent a terrible combination and as the host, however reluctantly, Buxton will suffer tremendous damage. And when the "struggle" is over and the generals leave, it is we Buxtonions who will have to deal with the damaged landscape.

Where do I stand on the Taliban? I believe anyone or any group has a right to resist any government it does not like and fight for justice and the Taliban has that right. I understand and share some of the grouses that the Taliban has. But I disagree with their tactics. When you pimp a community and your methods violate the humanity of people in neighboring villages on account of their race, is time to say, "No there is another way."

And Kwayana, Andaiye and Hinds point to that other way. We have long supported a national constitutional solution that settles the issue of the racial balance of power as a starting point. We distinguish ourselves from those who see confrontation and violence as the way out. I favor a negotiated settlement and intra-group rebirth and renewal as the way forward for Africans. I have said before that Black people in Guyana are in serious trouble on account of choices made or not made by all regimes since emancipation and its time to correct that. But I disagree with the Taliban's way of fear, rape, and murder.

And although not all of the crime in the country is directed from the Buxton headquarters, it is the Buxton operation that creates the conditions for the national anarchy. There is a link between crime, drugs and politics that is not easily discernable. Kwayana is currently doing an analysis of the current situation that will be released shortly; it puts it all into context.

We are now counting dead bodies in the sevens-is this revolution and resistance? And to think that history will record my village as the epicenter against its wish is far from comforting.

Dr Hinds is a University Lecturer and Political Commentator and Activist. He currently teaches Political Science at Glendale College and Mt San Antonio College in California. Please send your comments on this article to dhinds6106@aol.com.

For more information about and analysis of Guyanese and Caribbean politics click here at guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com.