Dear Khemraj and
Moses,
It is with great remorse and through my long-standing friendship with you both that I choose to write to you regarding the ongoing electoral standoff in Guyana. We have ploughed the fields of injustice and reaped the wrath of shameless electoral fraud; we have shared far too many moments in the political journey to obtain credible elections in Guyana for me to remain silent. With utmost respect as a comrade in the struggles for free and fair elections and as a friend, nay, as a brother, the time has come for me to indicate you have twisted the very concepts of honesty we shared for decades.
Moses, my admiration for you took a nosedive in 2019 in the milieu of the No-Confidence Motion when, after acquiescing to the fall of the coalition, you performed a back somersault. From savvy politics to peculiar math, you concocted an unheard-of formula consisting of 32 ½ men rounded to a full man = 33; a majority is 33+1 = 34. One year later, wasting millions of Guyanese taxpayers’ money, it took 5 Judges in Trinidad to declare that 33 is greater than 32! To my brother Moses, I say “you cannot lead people out of bondage then chain them to deceit’.
Khemjaj, I recall around 2012 I attended a meeting (you were the main speaker) at the real estate office of the late Sankar Nirahu, one of the founders of the AFC, and rekindled my association with you. (Our first encounter was at the BO Adams Commission of Enquiry in the aftermath of the 1992 Elections). At that time many in the diaspora were very frustrated over the PPP’s governance and felt compelled to align with a new political movement, the so-called third force. I felt your movement would relegate racial voting to the sidelines, prevent highhandedness and abuse of power and uplift Guyana to prominence from Third World status. I joined your party. It was a decision I regret.
Many persons became ‘aligned’ to the AFC and were inspired by regular visits by yourself, Nigel Hughes and Moses. Following the death of Sankar, my office became the prime location for AFC meetings and fundraisers; the highpoint being a huge 2014 Christmas party with Lenno Craig being the featured speaker. Even at that juncture, the concept of a coalition of forces with the PNC was unthinkable: in fact, you had insisted this would ‘make the AFC into dead meat’.
However, in February you (Khemraj) indicated a joining of forces with APNU in which the PNC was the dominant player, I disagreed but reluctantly complied; the main rationale being in your words “dem can’t run Guyana as dem please because the AFC will keep dem in their place!” I envisaged, with Mr Granger as the Presidential Candidate, the transformation of Saul into Paul the Apostle. I was wrong.
Through many fundraising activities, at my office, members’ residences and the culmination of the grand event with Granger and Moses, notwithstanding a crowd of PPP protesters, AFC gained support and millions of dollars was raised between February and May 2015. Such was my convictions that I abandoned my office and projects and rushed to Guyana to campaign for a change of Government in the hopes that we will see a better Guyana. I was wrong.
Today I feel ashamed as I reflect on the words in May 2015 of my poor, now deceased, mother: “Why you going to support these people who made me line up in hot sun and rain for oil and soap, don’t you have shame!?” “Son, remember tiger does get old but he don’t lose he stripes!” I did not pay heed to her words. My response was, “this is a different time, people can change”. I was wrong.
I know the humiliation you both suffered from Freedom House; I understand the venom you carry, but you cannot allow your personal feelings to stifle the duty you have to our country. Be guided by the immortal words of the great Mahatma Gandhi: I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet. Let not your personal aggrandisement obscure your higher moral values to collide with anyone to harm to our beloved country.
While no one person can change the tide of history, you have both time and opportunity to smooth and even prevent the impeding waves of scorn that will eventually become the hallmark of your life. There can be no compromise between good and evil. The quest for transparency today is no different from pre-1992, nor are the underlying principles of truth and honour whether you stand in Robb Street or Sophia. Neither is it of any consequence if you wear yellow or green instead of red.
In closing, remember the immortal words of Ralph Waldo Emerson “We do not inherit this world from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”. I ask of you: is the title of Honorable Prime Minister more meaningful than the quality of being Khemraj, a man of honour? Khemraj, I know you are waiting to embark on your Prime Ministerial maiden voyage, (if you get it) however, to sail on such a ship of deceit and thievery is selling your birthright for a mess of pottage. Your mentor and predecessor embarked on the same journey in 2015 as the captain; today he steps off as a crew member. The same fate awaits you.
Sincerely,
Leyland Chitlall
Roopnaraine
