PPP Kitty Rally: “Crum–Ewing did not deserve to die” – Jagdeo

By Jomo Paul

This statement by Jagdeo comes after President Donald Ramotar had hinted that Crum-Ewing was a criminal and was “more of a nuisance than a threat” to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration.

Jagdeo, speaking at the Kitty elections rally of the PPP/C, pointed out that while Crum-Ewing’s death was a tragedy, the PPP/C would have nothing to gain from his death.

In fact, he said it was the political opposition (A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change) that would stand to gain exponentially from the death of the political activist.

According to Jagdeo, the Opposition would use the death of the activist for political gains and carry out “whisper campaigns” in predominantly Afro-Guyanese villages.

“They want ex-soldiers and police men to get angry with us. They want to use this to carry the whisper campaigns to the Afro Guyanese villages to say you see the people kill this man,” said Jagdeo.

He said that while APNU/AFC Presidential Candidate David Granger may seem to be a “nice old grandfather,” he is “dangerous” and should not be trusted with the responsibility of being Guyana’s President for the next five years.

Addressing APNU/AFC’s Prime Ministerial Candidate Moses Nagamootoo, who has been overwhelmingly critical of Jagdeo in the past, the Former President labelled him as a “PPP reject” contending that Nagamootoo has a lust for power.

“Let me tell you what Granger has done with Nagamootoo; he has put a Prime Ministerial comforter in his mouth and so while he is sucking on the potential PM comforter, he has forgotten the violence of PNC rigged elections,” he contended.

On the issue of rigged elections, Jagdeo revealed that Presidential Advisor Odinga Lumumba was paid with buns and soft drinks to vote 34 times when he was 14 – years – old.

Recalling a public meeting in Buxton, Jagdeo paraphrased Lumumba as saying “when I was 14 years old you made me vote 34 times…I ate as many buns and soft drinks because every time I voted I got a bun and a soft drink,” to a People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) “top brass.”

He told the thousands of PPP supporters that “they (APNU/AFC) have harassed our government, they have done everything to sabotage progress and we stayed quiet but we will stay quiet no longer…We have seen what they can do…the nature of the animal has not changed, it is highly militaristic, it is criminal purpose and it will use violence to achieve its means.”