Coalition ravaging the sugar belt – PPP

As Guyana remembered and reflected upon the sacrifices of the five slain sugar workers – Rambarran, Pooran, Lallabagee, Surajballi and Harry – on their death anniversary on Saturday, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said the incident is more relevant today than ever.
“Seventy years after the Enmore shooting, thousands of sugar workers have been coldheartedly fired and plunged into economic despair through the politically motivated closure of estates by the [A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change] APNU/AFC Government ravaging the sugar belt and the national economy in the process,” the Party said in a statement.
According to the Opposition, tens of thousands of others, who indirectly depended upon these estates for their livelihoods, have also been severely affected as many local economies were decimated by the Government’s uncaring action.
“Guyanese are once again confronted by a burgeoning dictatorship under the APNU/AFC Government which, through its visionless and inept leadership, is strangling our people through harsh and unjustified economic policies. With innumerable taxes, within the three years of its administration thus far, Guyanese have seen a derailing of progress, their standards of living plummet, continually steep rise in cost of living and opportunities for advancement dwindled,” PPP said.
The Party went on to say that the workers continue to witness encroachment on their freedoms, growing societal fears through spiralling crime and oppressive policies, massive corruption, discrimination, rising unemployment and blatant disregard for constitutional processes.
“The struggle of the sugar workers seventy years ago and that of the late Dr [Cheddi] Jagan have not only become more relevant in the current circumstances in our country, but have intensified for a better life for all. The PPP therefore salutes the invaluable sacrifices of the Enmore Martyrs for the influence it had and continues to have on the quest for betterment. Our party remains resolute in its struggle with the Guyanese people for a free, democratic and prosperous Guyana,” the Opposition noted. According to the PPP, the 70th death anniversary of the Enmore Martyrs should remind of the selfless sacrifices of the five slain sugar workers. It recalled that in 1948, having being strangled by social and economic hardships, the burdensome “cut and load” cane harvesting system and being deprived from having a union of choice to represent them, sugar workers were forced to mount protest actions after their fair demands were continually being ignored by the sugar producers.
“Instead of their demands being met, riot Police fired on the poor, simple workers killing five in the process. They died in their quest for a better life for all the workers and their struggles and horrific deaths significantly impacted Dr Cheddi Jagan. On that unforgettable day of their funerals, he silently pledged to dedicate his life to the cause of the Guyanese people and to free them from bondage and exploitation,” the statement added.
It went on to say that fortified in his belief and determination, Dr Jagan was unrelenting in his struggles for the advancement of Guyana and Guyanese. Having founded the PPP in 1950, Dr Jagan, despite being incarcerated and deprived of his rights during the decades of his unremitting struggles, never succumbed to the atrocities meted out to him and his followers by the oppressive forces.
In this the centenary year of his birth, PPP is reminding Guyanese that, in the end, his resoluteness prevailed and a new era of freedom and democracy was born under his leadership in October 1992.