Dear Editor,
Now that the PNC party’s internal elections are over, it is my hope that Mr Aubrey Norton would look deep in the mirror and reflect on his party’s poor achievements since 1964: bankrupting Guyana several times; neglect of its base; election rigging, violence, and more recently an upsurge of anti-Indian diatribe, which will not help the PNC win any future elections, since the PNC base is only
about 29% of Guyana’s population.
The most misplaced myth is juxtaposing BLM on the Guyana landscape when the other people of Guyana are also brown and black. All these machinations only alienate the PNC from the larger Guyanese population.
To begin with, Afro-Guyanese leadership inherited the mantle of independence, and ruled Guyana by a brutal dictatorship. They were only a plurality; Indo-Guyanese were the majority of the population.
Indians had no political representation in the country from 1964 to 1992. Only through rigging could the Burnham dictatorship remain in power, and that’s exactly how the minority PNC ruled the majority of Guyana. The PNC and its supporters did not complain; the status quo was acceptable to them. Today, Afro-Guyanese are still the majority in the armed forces, the Police, the Public Sector, and head most of the departments. Furthermore, many Afro-Guyanese own their own businesses, or are self-employed. Also, many Indians are black, and they have been marginalised throughout history.
Does Mr. Aubrey Norton want to be a leader of Guyana and all Guyanese? Or will he continue to use the race card? How long will he continue to fool his supporters that Indians stole the 2020 elections? This myth has been used to sow discord between the two groups, but Afro-Guyanese are not falling for it. Both groups coexist peacefully in Guyana. They know that the PNC tried to
rig the national election of 2020. It was on global display for five long months.
How often was the PNC/AFC cabinet in black villages in Guyana? They did nothing for the Afro-Guyanese community, much less for others. When farmers complained about the APNU/AFC neglect of the agriculture sector, I penned a letter and sent it to APNU members. They ignored it, just like they ignored their supporters in Linden, Kildonan, or Sophia. They imposed exorbitant VAT on all
Guyanese. They raised fees on everything. My land rates and fees went up by 300%, but they did not care. Many people who left the PPP for the Coalition returned to the PPP in 2020, and that’s why they won.
No one “installed the Irfaan Ali” Government. It was PNC/AFC corruption, neglect of the Guyanese people, violations of the constitution, and exchanging gold jewellery among heads and staff using state funds during holiday parties that led to the PPP win in 2020.
Will Mr Norton disconnect himself from the Anti-Indian radicals? Do these people realise that no one ethnic group can win an election in Guyana today? Afro-Guyanese population makes up about 29% of Guyana, and the PNC will need other races to vote for their ticket, like what happened in 2015.
However, what happened from March to July 2020, and the anti- Indian violence that followed, will keep the PPP in power for another decade. This isn’t “mental laziness,” but rather an issue of security for Indo-Guyanese. The PNC not returning to office is even more possible now, because PNC sympathisers are inciting anti-Indian violence.
Will Mr Norton end the anti-Indian campaign? Can he control these radical elements at home and abroad? The world is a different place today, and the PNC knows that well. They are no longer the utensils of the Cold War. The United States have no need for them. They can’t rig and use violence to bully and burn Indian votes.
India today also is a very different country. India has a vast global political and economic leverage, and with a strong nationalist leader in power in New Delhi, Mr Modi, of whom I am not a fan, India will not be a silent witness to any anti-Indian violence anywhere in the world.
Furthermore, Caricom is no longer accepting PNC rigging and violence. Africa isn’t listening to the PNC fake cries. Accra, Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam, Addis Ababa and Pretoria are aware of the PNC’s long history of political and ethnic machinations. Africa, Israel, and India today are closely knit through trade, investments, and weapons’ sales.
Mr. Norton and his party have no moral backbone to talk about “we have to put an end to this kleptocracy, we cannot allow the resources of this country to be siphoned off by a corrupt PPP cabal.”
This is the same PNC that has bankrupted Guyana every time they were in office. When they were in office, they did little to root out corruption in Government, build transparent institutions, and social cohesion. Above all, they have done little to uplift their base since 1964, and constantly look to Indians as scapegoats.
Mr Norton speaks for 29% of the population, and that can’t win an election if he continues to foster anti-Indian racism. There is not a single Indian or Dougla in a high-profile position in the New Aubrey Norton PNC Party. Sadly, what may very well have emerged from this new PNC election is a radical anti-Indian cabal that is using race to cover up its failures from 1964 to now.
The PNC is infamous for using its base to destabilise Guyana. At the Desmond Hoyte memorial event some days ago, Mr. Norton said that his party’s recent elections are an “indication that the party’s constituents want a “vigorous response” to any corrupt intentions of the PPP/C Government to squander the country’s patrimony through reckless spending and bloated…”
May I remind Mr. Norton that his supporters want to see the corrupt and incompetent PNC dinosaurs gone? They are not looking for confrontation. They want to see Norton take over immediately the leadership from Lil Joe; recall and appoint new PNC Parliamentarians. PNC supporters want to see their party in governance take Guyana to new heights in social, economic, and political development, and not confrontation with Indo-Guyanese.
It’s time Mr. Norton’s party set good examples as role models. This can begin with a hard look in the mirror, and stop looking for scapegoats.
Mr. Norton must demonstrate that he will be a leader of all Guyanese, and disassociate himself from radical, racist elements of the PNC and their social media surrogates.
Like Freddie Kissoon, a columnist from the Kaieteur News, put it: “It is a different thing when you are the leader of the second-largest political party with 31 MPs and the eyes of Guyana are on you. Is it in your interest to be seen with this lunatic fringe? This is where Norton will know that permanent interests can take different shapes.”
I hope that Mr. Norton makes radical changes for the betterment of his party and Guyana, like Freddie suggested.
Sincerely,
Ray Chickrie
