Dear Editor,
Guyanese are now faced with the revival of the Burnham era- not by the PNC, but by the Alliance for Change, a political party whom the electorate had placed their trust and confidence to make ‘the right turn’ away from corruption, cronyism, racial discrimination and vendetta politics. The AFC were supposed to bring in a new political culture which would herald peace and harmony among Guyanese, but since coalescing, it has continued to make all the wrong turns!
Moreover, whatever miniscule shred of respectability had remained in the AFC is now gone forever, and there is not even a glimmer of hope that it can be regained. The curse is now complete, and the AFC is ‘dead meat’. But what is ironic is the fact that the same man who prognosticated that the AFC will be ‘dead meat’ if it coalesces with the APNU is the same man who was instrumental in fulfilling his own prophecy!
I had written to the media, through a TV station in Berbice, with regards to the veiled threats issued by the Minister of Public Security, Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, where he claimed on the Alliance on the Move program that PPP supporters were intimidating people from putting their names on the AFC’s candidate list. He further said that the Guyana Police Force will be called in to deal with these PPP supporters.
However, it was later found that people were tricked into signing the AFC’s backers’ lists at Whim/Bloomfield, 51/Good Hope, and many other LAAs. This matter was subjected to a High Court hearing and the Public Security Minister again made a statement on television that he would deal with the person who filed that petition. That person was Safraz Beekam, a PPP candidate from the Whim Bloomfield LAA.
Unfortunately, the fact that the case went in favor of the AFC did nothing to allay the insecurity of the AFC. It was time for vendetta politics and to promote a campaign to get voters’ sympathy and to up its smear campaign against the PPP. This is the only way it can swing some votes in its favor. It must be noted that the AFC was thrown into the deep by the APNU and it is now a make or break situation. The AFC must deliver votes to retain its place in the Coalition, failing which, it will be disgraced and unceremoniously kicked out of the partnership and mark the end of the Cummingsburg Accord as it is. It must be noted that the AFC got a bigger share of the pie than they should have gotten and that must now be rectified by the APNU.
Fortunately, the melodrama now playing at Whim will not serve the purpose intended and the hasty press release by the AFC which states that, “The AFC views this as a terror attack both on Ms Permaul and the lives of her children and father and her home. This act is consistent with the old political tactics of fear which is resorted to by certain political entities” clearly implicates the People’s Progressive Party. Why would the AFC go to such a length when the police had not even initiated an investigation into the alleged arson? It is also too suspect when it is considered that it was the alleged victim who actually posed as a GECOM staff and tricked Beekam to sign the backers form, and it was Beekam, a PPP candidate who filed the petition in the High Court.
The AFC must understand that the accusation it is now making against the PPP marked a period when Nagamootoo and Ramjattan were executive members of the PPP, therefore, if they are correct in their conclusion then there should be a commission of inquiry wherein these two former PPP stalwarts must testify to these allegedly nefarious criminal activities. Furthermore, they are now accountable to the Guyanese people to give examples of these ‘acts of terrorism’ alluded to in the press release. In addition, it can also be assumed that these two former PPP members can now be deemed experts in the use of ‘threats and terror’ and therefore have the competence and the power (one is the prime Minister and one is the Minister of Public Security) to unleash these as is evidenced by Ramjattan’s threat to ‘fix’ Beekam.
Mr Nagamotoo and Ramjattan should focus on the trickery which is now being perpetrated within the AFC against its own members. At the 51/Good Hope LAA, a pastor who is an AFC member filled out a backers form with 30 names as the constituency candidate but his Form 13 was scrapped and his backers’ list was attached to the From 13 of a woman who was holidaying overseas and came into the country after nomination was long closed. The pastor has since engaged the leaders of the party but was told that it was GECOM’s ‘error’. It is sad and disappointing that the AFC has no qualms and moral scruples and would resort to even trick and deceive its own!
The AFC seems to have now perfected the art of deceit and trickery!
