Dear Editor,
Every levelheaded person in the world who is following the political crisis in Guyana is probably wondering what has happened to Mr. David Granger. Since coming into power 4 years ago, he has been transformed from a reasonable and respected statesman to a desperate and irrational despot disgracefully clinging to power.
From the time the APNU/AFC lost the no-confidence motion in Parliament over one year ago, claiming that 33 is not greater than 32, to the present, a situation wherein they are claiming more votes actually means more valid votes, they have made numerous attempts to thwart the process of democracy.
The insanity of it all is that our caretaker President David Granger is willing to disenfranchise and invalidate more than 30 percent of his citizens’ right to have their votes counted. Can you imagine what would happen if any of the political parties in the free world: USA, Canada, UK, Caricom countries etc, wanted to invalidate more that 30% of the electorate? That would be unthinkable.
Probably his actions are governed by some unseen devil’s hand, or he has lost complete control of his faculties. However, it is my opinion that he has more likely lost his spine and has let his party and government be hijacked by the power-hungry Joseph Harmon and his cabal from the old PNC days, along with the outcasts Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan of the PPP party from decades ago.
I grew up in Guyana in the old PNC days, when stoking the fire of racial tension was the only way to cling to power. Guyana and the world have come a long way since then, and the younger Guyanese will not know about the days under PNC rule when you had to line up to get basic food items like oil, sugar, rice etc. It was such a disgrace and was so dehumanising. The irony of it all is the APNU party is basically hijacked by these old crooks from the PNC days. To top it off, they joined hands with the outcasts from the PPP party of the same era, Mr Khemraj Ramjattan and Mr Moses Nagamootoo. These people Mr Harmon, Mr Granger, Mr Mingo and Mr Lowefield are a disgrace to the fair-minded Afro-Guyanese and Afro-Caribbean community, and Mr Ramjattan and Mr Nagamootoo are an obscenity to the Indo- Guyanese population.
Why — I must ask of my Guyanese countrymen, whether you are Black, Indian, Portuguese, Amerindian etc – would you want your promising country to be run by these old bigots and crooks that now compose the AFC/APNU, who are willing to lie, cheat and steal an election they clearly lost. Open your eyes! They are willing to destroy the country and foment racial animosity just so they can stay in power and get their hands on some oil money. These are bunch of bottom feeders and parasites, who care about no one but themselves, and they will turn Guyana into a Banana Republic, another Venezuela or Zimbabwe. They are basically behaving like modern day Pirates of the Caribbean.
Funny thing is Mr Moses Nagamootoo is now calling for government of national unity, so he can stay in power. Well, Mr Nagamooto should realise that the bus has already left the station and he is not on it.
To Guyanese from all walks of life, no matter your race or ethnicity: don’t let these old politicians ruin your future. Just stand up for democracy and the rightful winner of the 2020 election, Mr Irfaan Ali. At least Mr. Irfaan Ali is young and fresh and does not have the baggage of these old crooks, and we all hope he will represent all Guyanese equally.
So, I say to President Granger: sometimes you win and sometimes you learn, and failure is an opportunity to learn again. Besides, a regime that has lost its legitimacy will also lose its power. Act like a President should, and in short, be Presidential and concede the election to the rightful winner. Your countrymen and the entire world are watching, so don’t embarrass yourself any further.
Sincerely,
Azeem Khan MD, FACP,
FACG
Gastroenterologist
Assistant Professor Clinical
Medicine /Weil Cornell
Medical College
