…bares real (PNC) fangs
A week ago, a video of Minister Simona “I is” Broomes – who clearly has “a thing” for microphones – no Freudian message intended! – circulated over the blogsphere, she’d imitated a “working girl” to “boom out” in the National Assembly and gave a shout out about “Judas” after Charrandas’ “yes, yes, yes” vote in the same Assembly etc. But she’s mum on how the (Granger) promised PNC hearing on her harassment of two poor security guards – who kept her from her fried rice – turned out!
Well, back to her latest “boom out” from Congress Place after a fundraising event, when Broomes grabbed the mike to offer her own special cover to the Bob Marley classic, “WAR!” To appreciate Broomes’ manoeuvre, you’ve got to understand the context the particular song she picked to rally the PNC troops – from the millions of songs out there.
Marley released the song in 1976 when the oppression of Africans was especially hideous under apartheid and its clones. His words resonated in the Caribbean under the philosophy of Rastafari and Black Power, which called for ‘war” to free people of African origin everywhere. “And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes/ that hold our brothers in Angola,/ In Mozambique,/ South Africa/ Sub-human bondage/ Have been toppled,/ Utterly destroyed/ – Well, everywhere is war – / Me say war. ‘War in the East,/ War in the West,/ War up North,/ War down South – / War – war – … – And we know we shall win/ As we are confident/ In the victory/ Of good over evil./
Now when Broomes boomed out: “No house-to-house, No election/ Don’t -play with the APNU/AFC/ Jagdeo we coming/ We gonna beat you/ War in Region Seven/ War in Region Six/ War in Region 10 [etc]/ War we ready”, we have to understand her intent within the context of the PNC’s major campaign message to its overwhelmingly African Guyanese constituency. To wit that the PPP subjugated them for 23 years through blatantly racist policies and for this reason, they must not be allowed to return to office – BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!
For us in Guyana, this is not a figurative “call to arms”. We know it was the same calls that led to Hoyte’s “slow fyaah; mo’ fyaah” which morphed into the PLA and the “Buxton Resistance Fighters” who vowed to “liberate” African Guyanese from PPP “tyranny”. But ended up with hundreds of Guyanese of all races killed.
All skin teeth na laugh, And as the Chronic warned: “Violence must not pass as entertainment”.
…and AFC’s “raring to go”
If you want to know what’s the AFC’s position on the burning issues of the day, it’ll depend on which leader – Trotman (Leader); Ramjattan (Chairman), Nagamootoo (Elder Statesman!) or (suddenly) Marlon Williams (General Secretary) is holding forth!! According to Williams, notwithstanding its humiliation at the LGE, they’re “raring to go” into the next General Elections!
They’ve already formed their “election campaign committee”, the GS said. So does this mean they’re going it alone on the hustings even though the other three leaders have latched onto the PNC coattails like leeches? Or was it those leaders were only interested on the PM spot going to Nagamootoo (Trotman and Nagamootoo) or Ramjattan (Ramjattan and Ramjattan!)?
On elections Williams rides two horses – It all depends on “GECOM timelines; yet it’s OK to picket GECOM to demand house-to-house registration – which means another nine months!!
All your Eyewitness can conclude from the AFC’s gymnastics is that they’re a pretty schizophrenic bunch!!
But once you’ve gotten 50 per cent salary increases and all those SUV’s and outriders, you can’t go back, can you?!!
…and “understudying”
Cussing out Jagdeo like there was no tomorrow, a bunch of “concerned citizens” in the Chronic, warned him: “We have understudied you and your behaviour.”
“Understudied”!! Like practicing to take over Jagdeo’s role!! Oh Moses!!
