Dear Editor,
Please allow me to respond to Mr. Tacuma Ogunseye’s outlandish assumptions in his response to a letter I wrote to the media. In his response to the media on December 28 in KN, “Norton is Smart Enough,” and in the SN, “Norton is well aware of what supporters expect/want,” Ogunseye asserted, “Reading his missive, there is obvious evidence of the pattern of thinking on political, social and economic issues that reflects the general views of the PPP/C and Indian rights activists.” Again, he failed to address the core issue of my letter, rigging and violence, but, not surprisingly, resorted to the race card as a clutch.
As well, Afro-Guyanese who condemn their racism and violence, and those who cooperate with other ethnic groups in Guyana are labelled “House N”. Just recently, “UmbrellaGate,” a Black lawyer and politician holding an umbrella for an Indo-Guyanese was abused on social media by PNC politicians and media operatives. More repugnant was the PNC Opposition’s violent assault on the Speaker of the House, and the violent attempt to remove the Mace from Parliament. When a citizen of Guyana defended the Mace, he was ridiculed as a “House N.” This is how when many of us call out the PNC, we are branded as “PPP, Indian, Uncle Toms or House N.”
The issue was eloquently summarised by a Guyanese award-winning author Mr. Ruel Johnson. “The UmbrellaGate issue is a direct result of the sort of manic, race-baiting…that was cultivated last year and continues to be cultivated for the sole purpose of distracting from and at the same time justifying the attempt to rig the elections. It is another case of the bull… Big Lie ‘revolution’ eating its own children.”
Mr Tacuma is yet to condemn these vile actions. May I remind him that the international community is witnessing it all, and with social media today, it’s all out there. The world is witnessing the PNC vile racism and violence to destabilise Guyana.
I am no activist like Mr. Tacuma. He has been an activist for one race all his life. I have served and assimilated with many races. I belong to no tribe, no clan, no organisation or ethnic group. Africa and India are not my homes. But sadly, these dinosaurs of the PNC believe that they hold a monopoly to speak for Afro-Guyanese.
May I remind Mr. Ogunseye that I am not a PPP utensil. I don’t get paid to blog, nor am I looking for a job. I have a mind of my own, and speak for myself.
Did Mr. Tacuma Ogunseye not see my letters to the media of my criticism of the PPP Government on many occasions? Did he realize that Indians also voted for the APNU Coalition, which was a disaster, and many left in 2015 to vote for the PPP? Again, he uses the card in an attempt to character assassinate those who criticise the PNC’s use of violence, racism, rigging elections and failure to elevate its base. Again, he refused to look in the mirror, but instead he wants to scapegoat Indians.
I agree with Freddie Kissoon when he asserted that Afro-Guyanese, “do not think that Mark Benschop, David Hinds, Sherod Duncan, Simona Broomes, etc. are their leaders.” They are not “guiding agents for the African population.
“Did you see David Hinds with a bullhorn exhorting Black villages up the East Coast to undermine the Government? The villagers just passed and watched him as if he was a lunatic.”
These radical and violent anti-Indian Parliamentarians and PNC ranks frequent the anti-Indian diatribe hosted by Sherod Duncan, Rickford Burke, Kakadie Amsterdam, Mark Benschop, Gavin Matthews, etc. These Parliamentarians took a beating in the election drama in 2020.” Freddie Kissoon called them out.
Minister Dharamlall’s criticism of two judges received condemnation from the WPA, PNC, AFC and their social media anti-Indian surrogates, most based outside of Guyana. Yet, like Freddie said, “To this day, Granger and Harmon have not apologiSed for their rhetoric that led to mayhem in September 2020 in Region Five, in which buildings were burned, cars were damaged, people were attacked.” I am yet to see any condemnation of the violent attack in Parliament. Yet there is no apology from Amanza Walton Desir for calling Indians lazy and the verbal assault in Parliament calling the defender of the Mace a “House N.” Mr. Takuma condemned Minister Dharamlall but remained silent on ADW, UmbrellaGate and MaceGate. These people should look in the mirror and stop calling God’s name in vain.
My I remind Mr. Tacuma that my letter was about the PNC. I am not addressing the PPP. My letter was addressed to Mr Norton to answer if he plans to represent all Guyanese and including Indo-Guyanese, and will he denounce violence? How is Mr Tacuma and Norton going to canvas Indian, Amerindian and Dougla votes to win any future elections?
The PNC should wait their turn. Why use race and the COVID-19 pandemic to mobilise violence to destabilise Guyana? The Government has a mandate to use the money to build massive and transformative infrastructure. The Government also has a mandate to pass legislation, and if the PNC were in power, they would have done the same. Why can’t the PNC wait their turn? They should serve the nation instead of their selfish glut.
Are these leaders? They took a “beating” at the last PNC election, and they did so for one particular reason. “People thought they were the faces of five months of lying to the nation. So did Mr. Norton.” Close to one thousand PNC delegates did not vote.
And like Freddie said, “Was seen by delegates as an extremist who is not good for multi-racial politics. This is where the decency of African Guyanese came in. If she had apologised for her wild vocabulary, maybe she would have received more votes.
“In a democracy, people vote, argue, and debate — often vociferously — in order to achieve the policy outcomes they desire. But in a democracy, people must not employ violence or unlawful threats of violence to affect that outcome. Citizens must not be intimidated from exercising their constitutional rights to free expression and association by such unlawful conduct.” (US Attorney General, Merrick Garland).
Sincerely,
Ray Chickrie
