Dear Editor,
Please permit me to address the recent emerging dynamics of some PNC support operatives in Guyana’s political matrix, and highlight their sinful attempts to disguise the overused race-hate phenomenon. The tactics are bound to fail, as the voting public at home bears witness to, and feels the non-discriminatory transitioning of, our country.
The intent of the orchestrators’ sinister plans is to heighten racial prejudices as a medium to secure race-based support, which is unsurprising and only deserving of exposure for the shallowness and lack of worth in the propagandistic scheme. A key player is the vendetta fuelled in the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), which recently announced its hosting of a September 18, 2023 Conference in Washington DC, USA, with the deceptive theme “Combating Racism, Inequality, Injustice, and a One Party Ethnocracy in Guyana.”
All must strongly condemn such unqualified and unsubstantiated untruths. An examination of published media articles designed to attract the participation of the diaspora audiences would find it is not tricky to uncover the surreptitious concoction of hopeful persuasion through which the organizers have sought to propagandize. Articles captioned “Conference on rampant racism and nepotism in Guyana” and “CGID to host a high-level conference on Guyana in U.S come September” deceptively make loaded, emboldened, but unsupported pronouncements.
The authors refer to research findings for which the framework and scope are unknown. For example, pronouncing that 50% of Afro children are school dropouts looking for work is outrageous, while not providing any measure on the other ethnic groups in our population.
Further, there is no mention of the thousands of scholarships awarded to Guyanese of all ethnic groupings to aid the development of capacity to deal with our emerging economy. Instead, the cabal seems more focused on lobbying the Diaspora and US Congress to ensure American ideals are imposed on the Guyana Government.
The reality is that CGID lacks credibility, but in line with the PNC’s decades of manipulation, wishes to portray itself along with its cohorts as having the ordained authority to represent the rights of the Afro-ethnic people. Yet, no other group has abused the rights of Afro-Guyanese than these self-aggrandizing, backdoor power-seekers, who constantly self-proclaim racial spews. The situation begs the question, “Where is the logic when the advocates of racial behaviour make accusations?”
One previous attempt to answer this question is that the illogical positions stem from the scriptwriter’s advancing personality dislike of the People’s Progressive Party Civic Leadership, and publicly expressed personal dislike for Dr Bharrat Jagdeo. Consequently, the conspirators’ frontal schematics are merely to advance the dirty, false claims against the ‘progressive’ Irfaan Ali-led Guyana Government in order to sway our Diaspora’s perception of the fundamental national transformation for the benefit of all Guyanese.
Editor, in a plural society such as ours in Guyana, “race” did not appear as an issue overnight. All the talks of racism and its causes and effects have their genesis from poverty, exploitation, and the lack of trust and confidence in the systems we had to live in. Today we are better at dealing with these issues, and must find a less abrasive path.
While finding a unified path requires objective consultation at the national level, it is unacceptable for our elected President to beg the Opposition Leader for a modicum of decency. One has to wonder what level of discussion would ensue if two parties with our nation’s future as the subject cannot engage in basic cordiality.
Some local and national media houses have argued that President Ali is responsible for fixing the Opposition Leader’s refusal to exercise decorum. In recent press interviews, our President publicly clarified his readiness and willingness to accept Mr Norton’s phone call to address national considerations at all times.
Further, one cannot deny that President Dr Irfaan Ali and his highly respected Government are working to make Guyana a better place to live. Our history has never recorded such a proactive Government with a robust plan and increased resources.
President Ali’s “One Guyana” motto is a providence of unity in diversity. As a result, as one traverses Guyana and visits different places today, our people’s true togetherness is a reality. Go to our schools and markets, all social events and even our “religious activities” are punctuated with Guyanese of all ethnic groups. One must therefore rationalise and conclude that the CGID’s undertaking has no real foundation.
I will follow up with a subsequent appropriate article, as space does not allow me to be expansive.
A perspective of the root cause of attempts to rig elections in Guyana is the racial overtones, which have always gotten more potent as the cycle of national elections approaches. The PNC previously comprised a larger Afro-group, while the PPP knowingly attracted a larger Indo-grouping. However, the PNC’s party paramountcy policy’s instructive approach has always informed abusive rigging as the root cause of “racism.” Today, with the meaningful progression and leadership of the PPP/C, no one could determine a citizen’s political choice by ethnicity. Based on policy and delivery, we have witnessed more considerable crossover support for the PPP/C.
Only as we approach election time can we witness the radicalization of incensed racism. Our country was united in 1992 when the Political Committee in Defense of Democracy struggled as a united front for free and fair elections in Guyana. Again, in 2020, our country has to be supported almost globally to arrest the abusive undercurrents of the most flagrant attempts by PNC operatives to undermine our democracy. While many PNC/APNU leaders continue to act like the abuses never occurred, they have no moral authority or track record to criticize the PPP/C about racism or discrimination. Our people voted; our people saw your behaviour, and witnessed the recounts; and the results proved your rejection of the PNC/APNU Government.
However, it must be necessary for our people to know that both significant political parties have a cross-section of Guyanese in their membership. However, the PNC/APNU still seeks pride in insulting ‘Indians’ conveniently. Only recently, party leaders called an Indo-PNC General Secretary a house slave because she spoke of wrongdoings by her colleagues.
Further, several Indians were recently removed from the PNC leadership following the trend when the PNC/APNU+AFC entered the Government in 2015. At that time, they dismissed seven thousand sugar workers, the vast majority of them from the Indo group, and two thousand Amerindians from employment.
The ‘haters’ conveniently use racism for their political mileage. Significantly, it is of note that some of the vicious mouthpieces of racism are political baggage. In the USA, David Hinds worked closely with the PCD to see the end of PNC’s deadly rigging.
Significantly, no person could talk about racism in our schools, hospitals, transportation system, markets, and social activities while our people are living in greater peace and harmony. Gone are the ‘kick-down-the-door’ bandits. Slavery and indentureship were the bad days, and things would get better with convenient speed under a caring and purposeful PPP/C Government.
We must collectively ensure that we eliminate all forms of electoral rigging, and that those facing charges before the courts for serious election fraud face justice.
Race hate is an ugly inheritance to eliminate, but there must be no backdoor entry to our political power. Those elected must face and earn the confidence of our people.
Sincerely,
Neil Kumar
