No amount of lies and half truths will rewrite the history of the PCD’s negotiations

Sep 18, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
I wish to make a brief response to Mr. Vishnu Bisram’s letter published in Kaieteur News on Tuesday September 14th, 2010 captioned, “Dev is not inaccurate on collapse on PCD talks”.
Bisram was responding to my letter – “Dev is conveniently engaging in outright and sensationalism” – in Kaieteur News of September 12, 2010.
I am not at all surprised by Mr. Bisram’s spirited defence of his friend and comrade, Ravi Dev. In his support of Dev’s erroneous claim that the WPA in the PCD talks demanded that the PPP accept the minority position on the PCD slate. In so doing Bisram has challenged the accuracy of my defence of the WPA and the historic record on this important national political event.
Let me state at the outset that in my discourse on this matter I am speaking from the perspective of a person who has firsthand knowledge of what took place.
I was there, and unlike Bisram, I am not dependant on hearsay information to support the positions I have advanced. I want to reiterate that the WPA never demanded that the PPP accept a minority position on the PCD’s slate during the course of those negotiations. It did not do so either in writing or in its verbal communication to the group.
Many years ago in dealing with PCD polemics in the public media I have had cause to point out that the PCD records are still in the possession of the then Secretary, Ms. Gail Teixeira. By extension this means that those records are in the PPP/C’s possession.
At the time I made that point I had called for them to be made available to the public. I am today repeating my call to the PPP to make the PCD records in its possession available for public scrutiny.
I am not positioned to confirm or deny Bisram’s contention of what he alleges was said to him by nameless WPA leaders/officials during the period he cited 1980-1991. What I am defending is what took place in the PCD talks and not what was allegedly said outside of the formal negotiations.
Bisram now tells the nation that “…but Cheddi, the conciliator he was, had actually caved into the demands that he forego the presidency”. I am not questioning this claim by Bisram since it was his impression coming out of his conversation with Dr. Jagan.
However, I can say categorically that neither Dr. Jagan nor the PPP ‘caved in’ during the PCD negotiations.
They held fast to their position on Dr. Jagan’s right to the candidacy for the presidential position throughout that period of the discussions. Readers should note that Bisram is cleverly inserting his private discussions into the PCD negotiations.
He said “however, he insisted in his conversations with me, that the PPP get a majority of MPs and Cabinet positions. I believe that was one of, if not, the sticking point that led to the collapse of the negotiations for a consensus PCD candidate”.
Here Bisram is clearly expressing his opinion on the developments, which coming from a person who was not part of the process is merely conjecture and not factual.
The reality was the PPP was very strong on its position that Dr. Jagan must be the presidential candidate and the PPP must dominate the slate.
For the historical record the PCD negotiations never reached the point where the issue of cabinet positions was ever considered. After Dr. Jagan’s withdrawal from the formal discussions Mr. Moses Nagamootoo became the party’s major spokes person and negotiator.
This may not be the best time to press Mr. Nagamootoo to speak in detail on these matters when one considers the fact that he is contending for the party’s presidential candidacy in 2011.
However, I think it will be helpful if Mr. Nagamootoo will voluntarily offer his opinion as to whether or not Dr. Jagan or the PPP ever caved in to the alleged demands of the WPA at any point in the PCD negotiations.
By the way I am grateful to Mr. Nagamootoo for informing the Guyanese public about his conversation with Walter Rodney on working with the PNC.
His comments were made on Yesu Persaud’s TV Programme – Issues in the News that is usually aired on WRHM TV Channel 7, on Sunday nights. Readers should note that the position which Nagamootoo attributed to Rodney was the exact position taken by the WPA years after Rodney’s death.
Finally, no amount of lies, half truths and misrepresentation will rewrite the history of the PCD’s negotiations. Neither will the skilful pens of Ravi Dev and Bisram suffice for this purpose.
Tacuma Ogunseye

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No amount of lies and half truths will rewrite the history of the PCD’s negotiations

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