Dear Editor,
After the Election of 1992, there was a torrid time for the incoming PPP/C Government, as we witnessed non-stop rioting, burnings, beatings and killings as Hoyte and his PNC thugs went on a rampage.
The ultimate aim of Hoyte’s guerrilla warfare was to bring the Cheddi Jagan Administration down by forceful means. However, this did not happen, due to the resolute action of the Guyana Police Force.
Now, peace did come, but that was a shaky and unstable pause, because, at a dog whistle, that calm could have erupted into mayhem; and sure enough, it did when Mrs Jagan came to power in 1997. For two long years, this tiny nation was rocked by civil war, yet again. The same old instigators using the same old rhetoric, “They rob Desmond,” were hoping that the carnage would bring about an overthrow of the elected Government.
Mrs Jagan eventually abdicated, and handed over power to the young, educated and energetic Bharrat Jagdeo. He took over, and his task of running a developing country ravaged by civil conflict was no easy task either. his was a balancing act of building a nation and putting out the flames of hate that would so easily erupt from time to time.
This country then slowly settled down to purposeful development, as progress was seen and felt in every sector of the economy. Guyana became a showpiece for Caricom. From an undeveloped country that was ranked below Haiti, Guyana rose to the prized position of being called a Middle-Income Developing State, and that was nothing short of being phenomenal!
It was around this time that the Opposition chose to make that blanket statement that Guyana was a narco-state. The logic behind that statement was that Guyana could never see development, unless it was involved in drug trafficking. It was a theory fashioned and delivered by the PNC after they had suffered successive election defeats. They could not bear the thought of losing again, hence the coining of the new drug phrase “Guyana is a drug haven”. You could hear the “jag” in their voices as they repeated the jargon “Jagdeo is running this country with drugs.” The singers and the message were all the same, only the lyrics were slightly altered to suit the objective; that is, bring the Government down!
Jagdeo’s reign coincided with Baron Roger Khan, whom the PNC promptly pinned on Jagdeo. They claimed that Khan was an Indian, and so was Jagdeo; therefore, the logical conclusion to it was a drug trafficking connection. This gained much traction here, to the extent that they took their case to The International Community, who believed them. Finally, like a cankerworm, those drug allegations began eating away at the heart of the PPP/C regime, hence it lost power to the accusing PNC-led Coalition. The PNC had done its work, which brought it back into office.
Now, one would have thought that the so-called “new and clean” PNC would have gone for a trial of the soon-to-be-released Roger Khan on his return to Guyana, but that was not to be. Khan came right into the arms of the people who accused him of being in collusion with Jagdeo and drug trafficking. So, the anticipated next chapter in this drug saga was to have been a prompt trial.
But that long-awaited trial, Commission of Inquiry, or questioning of the man, soon vanished into thin air as Guyanese were now all the more perplexed as to what was unfolding before their eyes.
There was none of the above. Even Granger himself came out to announce that “There was no credible information on Roger Khan, like we say in Guyanese Creole “My blood runs cold,” at that statement. You are talking about a sudden turnaround from a bellicose position of “Drugs partner and some jail time for Jagdeo” to a “No credible information,” or “The allegations we raised were disingenuous and untrue.”
In another article, I shall delve into the heart of Granger’s statement, and who he was trying to protect.
Guyana is once more undergoing rapid development, and again we hear muted tones of a narco-state raising its ugly head. We await the revelations, if any.
So these are the cold hard facts we have to face here in Guyana. That is, an Opposition who would do practically anything, yes, any low and demeaning thing to gain power. Finally, I pose the question: do you think anyone takes the PNC seriously when they mouth these wild statements?
Respectfully,
Neil Adams
