The slightly late start may have blurred Mr. John’s sense of appreciation

Sep 03, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
As an invitee to the opening session of the PNCR Congress, I felt affronted when I read the letter written by E. B. John and printed in SN on 30th August, edition, under the caption, “There is no declared mechanism for healing the fracture in the PNCR”.
His letter appears so churlish, condescending and laced with snobbery that one is forced to ask why he accepted the invitation in the first place. It’s like accepting a dinner invitation and spending the next day publicly condemning your host’s dinner menu, the unwholesomeness of the food and, worst of all, his dinner speech.
That the guest could find nothing admirable to comment on raises questions as to the motives for his acceptance of the invitation, especially with the admission that it was his first observation of this, “ceremonial”. Is it that no invitations were issued to him in the past or is it that this is the first time that John condescended to accept?
Unlike Mr. John, it was not my first observation of this ceremonial and I would like to express my appreciation to the organisers for once again inviting me to the opening session. I owe my hosts a duty to publicly congratulate the PNCR for an excellent and well produced Congress opening programme.
It is a pity that the slightly late start could have blurred Mr. John’s sense of appreciation of the rich display of culture that afternoon or the commendable efforts by those young people who co-chaired the proceedings.
That he could castigate as inarticulate another youth who spoke eloquently, but mispronounced an unfamiliar word twice, speaks volumes of the writer. His crabby reference to a fellow septuagenarian also exposes his petty disposition.
In my opinion, all the artistes, starting with gospel singer, Miriam Williams, Eze Rockliffe of the Yoruba Singers, the Crystallite Dancers, the Indian Classical Dancer and the Callistro brother provided excellent performances that were of an international standard.
The Congress theme song, composed and sung by Guyana’s famous Lord Canary, was the proverbial icing on the cake of the proceedings.
There is no doubt that the audience, both special invitees and delegates, shared my view as was obvious in their thunderous applauses and their demands for encore presentations.
I cannot speak for Mr. John’s expectations of the Congress Speech. He is also entitled to his opinion, albeit mine differs from his.
I believe that the PNCR Leader dealt with the issues that his critics used in efforts to disunite his supporters over the past few months. It was, therefore, important for him as Leader to address those matters frontally. From my perspective, he did an excellent job and I know of many others who share this view. Mr. Corbin also addressed what are obviously critical national and Party issues.
I also heard him identify the critical solution to both Party and Nation as one of unity: Unity at the level of the Party and unity at the level of the opposition parties and civil society. If, however, Mr. John, as his letter suggests, wants to become a participant, there is another course of action open to him.
If he wants to remain a guest, like me, perhaps he can show respect for his hosts and send them a private letter sharing his suggestions on appropriate mechanisms for healing the fracture in the PNCR, rather than contributing to it. It is the least he can do, having accepted their invitation.
Fred Isaacs

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