GRC distances self from State media report

Dear Editor,
The Guyana Rastafari Council (GRC) writes this letter to distance itself from an article published by the State media on Friday, October 27, 2017 under the caption “Rastafari community commends President on appointment of GECOM Chairman”.
The premise of the article that the President’s action is justified in unilaterally choosing a black Guyanese because the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had only chosen Indian Guyanese to be the chair of GECOM is utterly disgusting and shameful. Moreover, for any Rastafari person or group to hold such a position is a total violation of some of our main principles, such as Nyahbinghi, which pronounces death as the judgement for oppressors and their oppressive behaviours; whether it comes from whites or blacks; and the utterance of His Majesty who states that until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes, then peace will continue to be a fleeting illusion to be pursued but never attained.
The Rastafari community knows very well the face of those who passed the draconian Narcotics Act that condemned us and a vast number of black youths to a life of prison and poverty, we know too well the face of those who lied to us last elections by promising to review the Narcotics Act when they get into power, only to now say it is not a priority for them. The GRC will not prostitute the interests and concerns of the Rastafari community and we will not allow a few “locksmen” to do it either.
Finally, our position on the GECOM chairperson issue is that it could have been handled differently by a President whom we chose to be different from what we’ve had before. If Jagdeo’s lists, after his consultations with stakeholders, were not acceptable to the President, he should have called his own round of stakeholders’ consultation then exercise his “constitutional right” to choose a new GECOM chair. The PPP and the People’s National Congress are not the only stakeholders in this country. Even if the President’s action is constitutional, it has done more harm than good since unilateral decisions are not how we “share governance” and achieve “social cohesion”.
It has become clear that Guyanese will have to look elsewhere for the kind of leadership that will heal and not continue to hurt.

Sincerely,
Ras Khafra
General Secretary