Dear Editor,
In 2020, the PNC put Guyanese and Guyana to shame when they attempted to rig the General and National Elections in front of global observers. While the whole world was watching, those who are currently facing alleged election fraud charges, finagled the system in order to forge a result in favour of the PNC led by the “sanctimonious gangster” and his band of rebels. Since Dr. Irfaan Ali was legally elected as the President in 2020 due to the PPP/C winning the election as per the will of the people, the image of Guyana and Guyanese has transformed the international community to loving this nation once again. From a stage of repugnance to reverence, people throughout the world have been influenced by the PPP/C’s performance and personality.
A distressed Pope Francis, on the recent attack in the Gaza war, commented, “Why does someone continue to provide explanations for the war as if it could be justified for some reason? I do not know how these consciences can continue to do so.” During last week’s debate in Parliament, the Opposition spoke about “the need for the Government and Opposition to work together to transform roads into safe passages.” The PNC also made mention of “striking a balance …detect and prevention of crime …. protecting individual rights.” How figuratively timing did this metaphorical innuendo stressed on the passage of time as Guyana mourns the 45th death anniversary of the late Jesuit priest and photographer, Father Darke on the 14th July, and, the 51st death anniversary of the Ballot Box Martyrs, Bholanauth Parmanand and Jagan Ramessar on the 16th July.
During Burnham’s era, the Catholic Standard Newspaper prominently featured articles exposing the PNC’s corruption and dictatorship. On Saturday the 14th of July’1979, as Father Darke was filming the beating of Mike James (Assistant Editor then for the Catholic standard), by agents of Burnham in front of the Magistrate’s Court, the young men turned on him and savagely unleashed a string of blows with staves and then brutally stabbed him in the back with a bayonet. On trial were members of the once proud and dignified WPA, who were answering charges politically framed to incriminate them. Sadly, the WPA cannot walk in the shoes of their founder. In fact, they have blasphemed his fight and struggle against Burnham by joining force with his killers.
The Kabaka birthed the tool of rigging elections in order to survive and retain power. For 28 years the PNC was successful and administrate through illegal application which forged their success. All the Opposition forces failed to unseat him as all their efforts proved futile because Burnham and the PNC controlled the electoral system and the agents in charge of the polling stations. Through a process of inflating votes in their favour, destroying PPP votes, denying people from voting and switching the ballot boxes, the PNC was able to manipulate the mechanism and declared themselves winners, thus, shutting out the PPP and others and casting them in the wilderness from 1964 to 1992.
For 28 years, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and the PPP pursued the lonesome war and it progressed without the aid of foreign intervention. This was mainly due to the fact that the PPP was regarded as an outcast with their Marxism/Leninism policy. Nevertheless, the PPP continued its relentless battle against the PNC to oppose and depose them through frank and fair means and not foul means. On the fatal day of 16th July’1973, Bholanauth Parmanand and youthful 17-year-old Jagan Ramessar, two of PPP’s home-grown heroes, were protesting the illegal removal of ballot boxes by members of the GDF at No. 63 Village, Corentyne, a PPP stronghold area. They were barbarously shot and killed unhesitatingly by the GDF who were part of the rigging scheme for the 1973 Election.
Like Hector who was killed by Achilles and his body dragged behind a chariot, young Ramessar’s body was kicked and stamped upon after he was shot and paraded in Jagan’s constituencies to drive fear and threat into his supporters. Private London was one of the soldiers involved. He later became infamously known as the criminal, “Blackie”, who committed heinous crimes against the Guyanese people, and was later shot by the Police. But his coffin was draped with the National Flag by the PNC and he was given a heroes’ farewell by the PNC.
The dark hours of yore remind us of the diabolical days of Burnham’s X-13 Plan and his sharp steel to orchestrate the elimination of his foes. Burnham’s PNC was the intellectual architect of organised murders with the help of street hoodlums and members of the dangerous House of Israel led by Rabbi Washington. With cover-ups by the Police, the GDF and other agencies, a string of nefarious activities permeated the PNC, resulting in crime and corruption becoming overwhelmingly non-stoppable, driving fear into the hearts of those opposing the PNC. Burnham controlled all the military forces and awarded handsomely, those chosen to decorate his kingdom as puppets for administrators in all the public agencies. Thus, his dictatorial rule was guaranteed for the PNC to exercise a reign of destruction and fear, as the PNC terrorised Guyana for 28 agonising years.
On Guyana’s road to development, we need veins of safe passage which will guarantee Guyanese individual freedom and their constitutional rights. The fear of criminal input by infiltrators of destabilisation must be eliminated and the heredity of crime and corruption by any entity’s DNA, must be extinguished and replaced by an honest sobriety with a commitment to seriously honor integrity. Striking a balance between aversion and admiration and dislike and desire, is the first step towards the passage way which will guarantee peace, progress and prosperity for a One Guyana. It is time Guyanese deserve a break from violence and racism to subtlety and impartialness for its healing process.
Yours respectfully,
Jai Lall
