Ruel Johnson, who is an A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government advisor on Cultural Policy of all things was today quoted on his Facebook page, inciting arson against Queen’s Atlantic Investment Incorporation (QAII) located at the Sanata Complex, among other disparaging remarks.
Guyana Times, The Evening News, Radio Guyana Inc. among other businesses, are all housed at the QAII, Industrial Site location. Businesses that cater to the needs of the diverse Guyanese demographic, in addition to contributing substantially to the economic growth and prosperity of the Guyana.
However, Government’s advisor Johnson whose responsibility it is to provide sound, technical and grounded advice and suggestions within the realm of Education, has openly called for the Guyanese to use violence and “go break down all the parking meters and then proceed to torch the Sanata complex.”
Johnson, in a public Facebook post, noted that these suggestions are his idea of a “united Guyanese protest against impunity and tenderpreneurship.”
He was at the time referring to the controversial parking meters while somehow trying to draw parallels between that and the Sanata complex.
A historical source- who asked for anonymity for fear that the same hatred and violence echoed by Johnson would rebound to him- said that Johnson’s remarks are reminiscent of the olden days of politics under the Peoples National Congress (PNC) when “thugs would lead the charge calling for violence and bloodshed, ‘More Fire, Slow Fire’ laying waste to businesses and establishments if the party was not favorable in its electoral and other endeavours.”
According to the source, “it seems as though there are still persons who believe in this sort of aversion and are willing to allow history to repeat its self.”
Meanwhile, calls were made by members of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in November of 2015 for Johnson to be removed from his post as a Government Advisor after he made several discriminatory remarks on his Facebook profile against the Opposition party.
“The PPP wanted GECOM to provide the ethnicity of the 12,000 employed by GECOM for elections. This is the party whose Minister of Public Service refused to cooperate with a UNDP funded ERC study on the ethnicity of government scholarship awardees. If you support the PPP at this time, I have to automatically assume that you are a complete racist, an idiot, or an outright turd. I will be civil to you but I have absolutely no respect for you,” Johnson’s post had stated on November 13, 2015.
PPP Chief Whip, Gail Texiera had stated that this call for Johnson’s contract to be terminated was instigated by the lack of respect he appeared to hold for his position as an Advisor to the Government, while noting that “Culture in this society is one that is multiethnic, multi religious, multi linguistic too.”
Texiera had also added that the “constitutional provision that deals with this anti-discrimination is important , that anybody holding culture has to be sensitive to the realities of Guyana, the cultural diversity of Guyana.”
