Dear Editor,
After serving as the eighth US Secretary of State, from 1817 to 1825, John Quincy Adams became the sixth United States President, to preside from 1825 to 1829. Earning the nickname “Old Man Eloquent”, he was known to refer to Nicole Krauss’s quote, “Better to try and fail than fail to try.”
How often have Guyanese not toyed with this quotation while passing the ball around the field in order for the footballer to score? In this process, Guyanese have also succeeded in conveniently shifting the goalpost in order to arrive at a desired destination. Like they say, “Guyanese are never satisfied.” If you do, you die, and if you don’t, you also die. It’s extremely difficult to please some people, while it’s almost impossible to please others.
President Maduro threw down the gauntlet as his sabers rattled, but he ended up showing the white flag when he returned to Venezuela from the Argyle arena. The distant drums did not deter the brave Guyanese President as he boarded his plane to take him to SVG to do battle with the big bad bully, Venezuela’s President.
Passing the buck is an old political game, but the buck stops with the President. President Ali did not walk the rope alone, as his hope was kept alive with the burning but encouraging words of Trinidad and Tobago’s Opposition Leader, Kamla Persaud-Bissessar. Her warning to President Maduro was, “My clear message to Maduro is: ‘You touch one, you touch all!’ We unequivocally support the people of Guyana in this crisis. Stay out of Essequibo…”
While some deliberately dodged the bullet with cosmetic excuses and longed for a certain desire, their pipe dream petered out to be a daydream. The favoured President Ali fearlessly did not throw in the towel, but delivered diplomacy with his dialogue to dent the daring ego of President Maduro and defend democracy in order to save Guyana’s sovereignty. The writing was always on the wall, but President Maduro chose to deny reality and turn a blind eye to the world. The proof is in the pudding, as per the 11-point declaration signed by both Presidents and witnessed by Caricom and UN observers.
There will no annexation of Essequibo, no invasion by intruders, and Latin America and the Caribbean will remain a Peace Zone. What yardstick are Guyanese using to measure success or failure? Some Guyanese should stop clawing the air in order to fabricate illusions, save face, and nurture negativity. President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has the “Midas touch.”
Yours respectfully,
Jai Lall
