…in tongues?
Your Eyewitness invariably ends up with furrowed brows after reading letters to the press from Eusi Kwayana. This last one was ostensibly about the murders of the three young men from West Berbice that the Police still haven’t cracked. But Kwayana managed to get in his obligatory crack about the PPP – a party he parted ways with more than SIXTY YEARS AGO: “The PPP refers to the year 1992 when it won the elections after 24 years of one-party Government as “the return to democracy”.
Now, stuff like this is the source of the “furrowed brows” of yours truly. What’s the point? We all heard that “there’s no fury like a woman scorned”, but it would seem that the almost centurion Mr Kwayana still has issues with his erstwhile comrades, practically all of whom have moved on to the great beyond. Now, in 1992, Kwayana was a card-carrying member of the WPA, whose charismatic leader Walter Rodney had been assassinated by Forbes Burnham and his PNC.
His party campaigned as a member of the combined opposition forces – the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy – for “free and fair elections” after Desmond Hoyte rigged the 1985 elections. They insisted that all sorts of reforms be instituted – like a new voters list, a new GECOM, and counting of ballots at the place of poll etc. – before elections could be held. And were willing to have those elections delayed two years until the demands were met. Now, this wasn’t an academic exercise for Kwayana and his WPA; they really thought they would win the elections.
But now, after almost thirty years, he’s now casting doubts about whether the 1992 elections were “free and fair” by slyly imputing that only the PPP thinks so. Exactly what has happened since then for this volte face? And a volte face it certainly is, since never in those three decades had the WPA ever suggested otherwise. The only variable your Eyewitness can think about are the hijinks that took place after the March 2 polling day at the Ashmins Building.
But Kwayana has doggedly refused to comment about these incidents that involved RO Mingo and a soiled bedsheet, which led to accusations of “rigging”. He insists he doesn’t have “first-hand information”. But in addition to taking his crack at the PPP about the 1992 elections, Kwayana brought up the matter of the murder of Vincent Teekah, a PPP big one who’d defected to the PNC back in the day. He said Burnham concluded it was an “assassination” but dropped the investigation.
So, does Kwayana have any first-hand information on Teekah’s assassination?
There’s no statute of limitations on murder. And the main suspect’s still alive!!
…out on the LGE
Even with a new leader (Granger), a new Parliamentary Opposition Leader (Harmon) and a new cadre of MPs, the PNC’s sooo predictable!! Do they have a manual on reacting to the PPP? Well, it’s outdated! Where’s the creativity that’ll put the PPP on the back foot if they’re ever to have a crack at getting back in Government??
They find out at the last moment that they’re losing the elections, and what does the PNC do? Well, what else? Attempt a rigging exercise!! So, what if the world’s watching?? There were those unfortunate murders in West Berbice, and what do they do? Stir up some race riots, of course, wherein presumed supporters of the PPP got some condign beatings. The perpetrators of the rigging are taken to court and criminally charged…so what’s the reaction? Claim persecution of African-Guyanese, of course!!
And now that the AG and the President have indicated they want to have the LGE done right, so some reforms must be instituted, what does Harmon scream??
LGE delay! LGE delay!
…in acronyms
After doggedly remaining under wraps for a month, David Granger surfaced on the Essequibo Coast. And what was his message? His PETS – Public Education Transportation Service – Project!
Yup! The ‘5Bs’ – bicycles, boats, breakfast, buses and books!
