The AFC Column – TRANSCENDING ETHNIC GRAVITATIONS WILL DETER ELECTED DICTATORSHIPS

Jul 20, 2008 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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By Khemraj Ramjattan

Ravi Dev’s “Elected Dictatorship?” article last week was critical of Eusi Kwayana’s description of the present PPP/C Government as an elected dictatorship.

I, like so many others, have described this Government exactly in such terms for sometime now although another characterisation – “control-freakism” – is more well-known in Parliamentary circles.

More significantly, whilst still a member of the PPP/C, I had begun arguing that unless this “creeping dictatorship under Jagdeo’s Presidency” was halted, difficult times lay ahead.  This more than anything else hastened my expulsion by a core group of …yes…internal party dictators.

I want to urge that there is nothing un-intellectual about Kwayana’s description. Indeed, the PPP/C was duly elected; and, indeed its behaviour is dictatorial.  So elected dictatorship is apt because it is an honest, truthful description as one can get.

That Ravi feels such a description will justify confrontational and violent tactics and hence his basis for the rejection of such a description is what may be regarded as un-intellectual.

Let us assume for one moment that such a description is deleted from Guyana’s political radar. With all the arrogance, corruption, authoritarianism which runs riot in our political landscape, would we still not have seen confrontational violent politics emerging today?   Most certainly! This Government’s behaviour in office inevitably causes massive frustration and alienation which then give reason especially to the disaffected intelligentsia to fight against the State.

So whether we hide this description of “elected dictatorship” from our political lexicon and/or use its equivalent “the tyranny of the majority”, the dangers of confrontation and violent politics will surely arise to attempt a counter of the Government’s political misbehaviour.

But what causes this elected dictatorship or tyranny of the majority in a political community such as ours?  It is, primarily, bad leadership, and secondarily, an unreasoning followership.

I seriously doubt that an elected dictatorship, such as the one that exists in Guyana today, can be prevented from coming into existence through the mechanism of a written constitution. No matter how perfectly drafted, such a constitution cannot exclude this possibility because men are not angels. Even in homogenous societies this can happen, as has happened when their political leadership begins to rot. One cannot legislate against bad leadership.

Ravi, however, makes the argument that this tyranny of the majority, this elected dictatorship which results in confrontational and violent politics can go away: firstly, in the short run by a temporary shared Executive; and, secondly, in the long run by federalism.  These two solutions comprise the more peaceful, fruitful avenues available. This we all know has been his argument from the inception.  It is premised, he argues, on the fact that Guyana has an intractable problem – “ethnic/racial factions, a twin Ethnic security dilemma precipitated by our particular constellation of demographics and power resources”.

So no matter what we in Guyana seek to do, this intractable ethnic/racial problem will remain with us unless and until, as he posits, a federalist constitution is established. 

Thus he steers his argument into federalism.  He even chastises the political actors – Government and Opposition – for not walking this federalist course in 2000.

But should an effort into a federalist project again be renewed?  I think not.  There is hardly any support for it.  Like the PPP/C’s socialist construct which it will resurrect and restate at its next Congress but will never care to attend to because its commanding cabal loves the bourgeoisie lifestyles.

“Federalism”, as some of its main intellectual proponents have conceded, “is not cheap.  It involves duplication of facilities, functions, personal and infrastructure.”  Often it entails jurisdictional disputes which brings on the question of how will the demarcation lines be drawn up?  Who will do so?  It would be semi-partition of Guyana in my forecast.  And how are we so certain we will not have the tyranny of the majority within each State so subdivided?  We are too small and too poor.  Moreover, as has happened, our local political actors did not support it.  And I have grave doubts whether the main external influencers will.

I have argued that our present constitution may not be perfect (surely none will ever be), but the wrongs of our society must not be placed on our 2000 Constitution.  The wrongs must squarely be situated in the laps of the PPP/C Government’s bad governance and immoral and corrupt leadership which began since the demise of Dr. Jagan in 1997.

This decline has been permitted to continue up to today because of an unreasoning followership made up of largely an East Indian voting block which persists with its support for the PPP/C in the face of these indicting ills mentioned. 

The Party’s mantra at elections time, especially at bottom houses, also inflames passions towards this result – the mantra being: “Alyou want blackman deh?” Many right thinking East Indians get persuaded with this illogic and fall prey to it.

This was exactly the approach (and even worse) used by the PNC when in office in getting Afro Guyanese from not quitting its camp notwithstanding that Party’s leadership committing excesses which passed certain thresholds to reach the even more despicable level of “unelected dictatorship”.  Today the PNC makes the subtle ethnic plea to a somewhat less numerically but still strong unreasoning followership in the Afro Guyanese block with the mantra: “Come back home……. you all see who bad now?”

These tactics resonate, and politicians invoke them at elections campaign.  But will it always be so?  Could there not be a transcending of ethnic gravitations?

To these two questions my answer is: “I believe that it will not always be so.  And indeed there can be a transcendence of ethnic gravitations in Guyana.” 

Our turbulent political history may falsely suggest that ethnic conflict is inevitable.  But it is not inevitable!  Moreover, I have learnt that when races cannot or seem not to want to live together they continue to live together.  There is no visceral hatred for each other in our races/ethnicities here in Guyana. 

So what is needed is a deconstruction of the unreasoning follower to a construction of the reasoning subject. 

This is our modern day challenge and will be realised with hard experiences which educate the unreasoning on both sides of the divide.  Such a platform too will launch good leadership and will penalize bad leadership.

This is an aspect of the AFC’s reconciliation and healing project which we carry around the country. Intellects like Ravi Dev must push for an education of the masses in this direction for it will be far more peaceful and acceptable an alternative.

Let us give that a try.  This way we will solve tomorrow what appears to be today’s intractable problem.

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