…and Owen Arthur
Owen Seymour Arthur, the longest-serving Prime Minister of Barbados (1994-2008) is no more. He passed away after a brief bout with “heart complications”. In the island fondly referred to as “Little England”, it wouldn’t be hyperbolic to describe the reaction by Bajans to his passing akin to that described by Tennyson in his classic, “Le Morte d’Arthur” – the death of Arthur – the legendary King Arthur of the “Round Table” fame.
Owen Arthur was a quintessential Caribbean Man – and the first PM to be completely educated (in economics, which was his forte) at UWI. He was a local product who could hold his own with the best of the foreign trained. His proudest accomplishment was the work he did to bring the CSME agreement into being. That it had to be placed “on pause” after he demitted office, was of great pain to him. For his contributions to Barbados and the region, the words from the original tale of King Arthur serve as a fitting epitaph: “Do after the good and leave the evil, and it shall bring you to good fame and renown.”
But we in Guyana will forever remember Owen Arthur for his refusal to be bullied by the PNC when they were pulling their “Mingo Fraud” and he and other Observers and Ambassadors refused to remain silent. The Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Karen Cummings summoned them to a meeting in the Ashmins Elections building and threatened to revoke their accreditation!! Whereupon Arthur, who was the head of the Commonwealth Observers’ Team, and sitting in the front row, jumped up and heatedly confronted Cummings.
“I speak on behalf of the Commonwealth, the largest organisation of people in the world, and I am not going to have, not me, the Commonwealth disrespected by a threat to take away the accreditation,” Arthur declared. When Cummings weakly attempted to apologise, Arthur would have none of it. “I am going to speak to the Commonwealth Secretary General shortly…and I have a duty to her to report accurately and I cannot now avoid speaking accurately,” he said sternly as he held out his accreditation badge to Cummings, saying he was returning it voluntarily.
Cummings hurriedly decamped and later said she’d been “ordered” to threaten the Observers. She never did say who ordered her, but she doesn’t have to, does she? She reports to David Granger and only he can give her a direct order. Ultimately, as has been confirmed by subsequent events, the rigging buck always stopped at David Granger, and he must be blamed for insulting this Caribbean statesman, like the vipers they are.
Guyanese must thank Arthur for defending our democracy.
Even as we root out the nest of vipers that is the PNC!!
…of Hamilton Green & Co
After his treasonous advice to Granger went viral and created a storm that certainly reverberated in the visa section of the US Embassy, Hamilton Green claimed it was a “slip of the tongue”. Even though we know vipers have forked tongues, does he think people in these days of social media are BLIND fools?
Just listen to his detailed reply to viper Benschop’s question as to what advice he’d give Granger: “I would say my young brother, David, remain calm, and remain optimistic. You have got to be optimistic. In another few days or another few weeks, it may be unpopular in other quarters; a massive step forward to take us out of this confused environment, and for the sake of your children, and our children and their children, do what is necessary. Put aside the Constitution, put aside the laws. You are at this moment, and we hope for a long time, Commander-in-Chief.”
His tongue would’ve had to be mightily greased for this to be a slip!!
…exulting Arthur’s passing
How low have the PNC’s supporters fallen when they aren’t only exulting Arthur passing, but cursing him out for his condemnation of their rigging?
Even “speak only good of the dead” is gone??
