A sympathetic interpretation of Mr. Bynoe’s position

Oct 23, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
It was with astonishment that I read – and hoped that I misunderstood – Mr. Phillip Bynoe’s, “All Guyana should pause and reflect on what this democracy is all about” (Kaieteur News, 21/10/10).
There are many things that are questionable about Mr. Bynoe’s position, but I will refrain from dealing with them all for fear of obscuring the most important one.
Mr. Bynoe claimed that Guyanese society “is still generally divided along ethnic lines…where elections are still regarded as ethnic accounting…Guyana has had a terrible history of ethnic cleavage and sub-societal internecine warfare.
Twenty-eight years of pro-black PNC Administration and 18 years of pro-Indian PPP Administration have left Guyana with some burdensome and negative political stereo types. Listening to the current multitudinous, disparate and un-coordinated rallying cries of the opposition parties, one gets an uncanny feeling of déjà vu. It is an identical replay of the cries of the opposition political groups in the 70’s and 80’s.”
In other words, Mr. Bynoe claims that both the PNC and PPP regimes were/are racist in the sense that they ran/run the state “pro” (for or in favour of) one racial group.
Yet he also claimed that: “If I were to conceive, plan and implement a political campaign for the re-election of the Jagdeo Administration in 2011, I will do so effectively using the three above named projects [see below] as the main planks for my manifesto and campaign. The histrionics, mobilization along ethnic lines and negative name calling will take a backseat or no seat at all in this upcoming electioneering season.”
Thus, although, according to Mr. Bynoe, the present PPP/C government is “pro-Indian,” he will not only support it to govern Guyana for “the next five years”, but also thinks it legitimate and possible to run an election campaign in 2011 without reference to race. Even Barrack Obama could not accomplish such a feat!
The three projects Mr. Bynoe would base his nonracial campaign around are the proposed hydro-electric project, the Low Carbon Development Strategy and the government’s intention to harness our hydro-carbon resources.
Most of us would agree that the PNC regime also had some good policies but that they did little to reduce “the cries (of racism) of the opposition political groups in the 70’s and 80’s.”
A sympathetic interpretation of Mr. Bynoe’s position would be that he does not fully appreciate the implications of what he has said, namely that in supporting a government which he claims is “pro-Indian,” implies his acceptance of the inequitable allocation of the benefits of the developments he foresees!
Henry B. Jeffrey

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