…race under the rug
Your Eyewitness would like to continue the discussion from yesterday on the Government’s charge that the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo was “race baiting” in New York. It’s important we state the former President’s claim specifically since these things have a habit of morphing degeneratively on repetition: “Guyana needs a spirit of community to ensure that we defend our people through these dark times. There is an assault on democracy, on the people of Indian origin and there is an assault on the supporters of the PPP…”
Now, your Eyewitness had assumed the parties in the present Government – APNU/AFC – had acknowledged race was the line of cleavage in Guyana along which folks vote. Why else would APNU – with PNC as the overweening and overwhelmingly dominant partner – decide to give the AFC 40% of the spoils for bringing in 11% Indians? So when the PPP mentions race in describing the political landscape, can we automatically jump all over them for “race baiting”?
In your Eyewitness’s estimation, this is an extremely dangerous development – since it seeks to silence the PPP from articulating the concerns of the bulk of their supporters. We can pick just one instance to illustrate our point. When the APNU/AFC coalition took over and announced their Cabinet, Red Thread – not an “Indian Rights” organisation – objected to the dearth of Indians. Was this “race baiting”. Well, they certainly weren’t pilloried by the Government as Jagdeo was.
A bit later when the Boards to Government corporations were announced, the Government didn’t consult with the Opposition as had been agreed to back in 2001. A non-Indian letter writer to the press, Gordon Forte, pointed out “only 7 out of 37 members of Boards were Indian Guyanese”. He said this “look bad” and “I find it intensely painful that in my country – indeed in my world – qualifications of personal worth and potential contribution have to include racial division, and that responsible people would actually make a count like that.” Was that “race baiting”? Well, Mr Forte wasn’t pilloried by the Government.
Your Eyewitness can point to dozens of subsequent letters to the press that detailed discrimination against Indian Guyanese on “racial” grounds. While he would in no way say it amounted to “ethnic cleansing”, he doesn’t feel “assault” is over the top. Especially when those early claims were acknowledged by the Government, but the later ones were left unaddressed with the unbalanced optics continuing in appointments and other official activities.
Now some may say with Jagdeo being a politician, his words carry greater force. But the question is, “Are those words true?”
And truth cannot be silenced.
…Hillary’s dirt under the podium
Hillary Rodham Clinton was nominated by the Democratic Convention as their party’s candidate at the upcoming November presidential elections. She becomes the first woman in the 240-year history of the US to receive that honour. But is she going to become President? A month ago, your Eyewitness would’ve said it was a slam dunk. But now…even a three-pointer wouldn’t do it. Her hiring of the Chairman of the National Democratic Committee – after the latter had been dismissed for actively sabotaging her opponent Bernie Sanders’ campaign – just further justified the disgust a substantial chunk of Democratic voters feel for her. And this disgust isn’t confined to partisans of Sanders who even refused his call for them not to boo her from the floor of the Convention. It’s spread wider than the blood from a Tarantino film shooting!!
So the Democrats will go into overdrive to sweep Hillary’s consummate “insider” proclivities under the podium while she continues with the same ole, same ole.
And it’ll just backfire come November.
…climate change under the ocean
The Republican Congressional Chair of its Science Committee doesn’t believe in Climate Change and is subpoenaing NY’s AG to reveal Exxon’s cover-up of its evidence.
And evolution is also a myth!
