Is the AFC advocating communism and race politics?

Feb 24, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
It seems that the Alliance For Change (AFC) is advocating communism and race politics. How else can you justify calls by AFC General Secretary Sixtus Edwards for a return to Jagan’s ideals in his letter, “In Animal Farm terminology some pigs are more equal than others,” (Kaieteur News 02-19-11), and Sasenarine Singh’s letter, “There’s a lot to hide Peeping Tom,” (Kaieteur News 02-18-11) in which he wrote , “I ask the members of the sugar belt and rice belt, would you allow these Stalins in the PPP to ruin Jagan’s legacy? Five more years of the Jagdeoites and Jagan will be no more. It is time to give a true son of the Jagan principles, a chance to rekindle the Cheddi Jagan legacy by voting for the key and vote AFC. Mr Khemraj Ramjattan a true son of Jagan.” Many Indians, such as Sase, has often written about Jagan’s legacy, Jagan’s ideals, and Jagan’s principles, but none of them has ever tried to define exactly what they mean and I now challenge Sase to publicly explain what is Jagan’s legacy.
I have my own views of what Jagan’s legacy is, and it is based on his history, and not on racial emotionalism. Dr Jagan spent his entire life espousing communism and promoting the communist dictatorships of the Soviet Union and Cuba as the model for Guyana’s development. One only has to peruse all the PPP’s Congress Reports, all the editions of the PPP’s official organ Thunder, and the Mirror newspaper, to confirm that Dr Jagan was a self-avowed die hard communist.
In 1978 in Parliament in response to Burnham’s taunt, “you are a Soviet stooge,” Jagan retorted, “Yes! I am proud to be a Soviet Stooge!” So clearly, one aspect of his “legacy” was his pure unadulterated communism. This begs the question how did a communist hold the support of Indians?
Indians by culture are far removed from communist beliefs as the north pole is separated from the south pole. Indians are religious, capitalistic, and democratic. So why would they support Jagan and the PPP? Initially Indians supported Jagan in the 1940’s and 1950’s because he was a charismatic leader who led the struggle for independence and better working conditions.
After he was removed from office in 1964 Indians realised that his leadership was intellectually flawed due to his obsession with communism and that he had misled them. Jagan was in danger of losing his Indian base.
This caused the Jagans to accelerate a bottom house campaign to demonise Africans and the PNC in order to hold Indian support. The Wismar Burnings of May 1964 when Indians were forced out of that area was exploited to fan race politics. The rape of Indian women and girls was the focus of the PPP’s race politics indoctrination of Indians. Subsequently many unpopular policies of Burnham’s PNC were always given a racial twist.
For example the PPP told Indians that the purpose of National Service was so Africans could rape Indian girls. It helped the PPP’s cause when kick down the door bandits were unleashed on Indians in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s by some PNC elements in an effort to break up growing Indian/African unity under Walter Rodney. This also helped the PPP regain the Indian support it lost to the WPA. Jagan had earlier said that Rodney should organise Africans whilst the PPP would organise “sugar workers.”
The attacks on Indians in the latter 1990’s and early 2000’s also caused Indians to huddle around the PPP, never mind that the PPP refused to call in UN peace keeping troops to protect all Guyanese. It is this period that clearly showed that the Jagan/PPP racial indoctrination of Indians had succeeded. It is natural for all racial groups to support their own party when that party is governing in their interests. It is also true that racial groups move away from their own party if it does not govern in their interests.
That the PPP has not governed in Indian interests is evidenced in the destruction of the sugar industry, the stagnation of the rice industry, the impoverishment of small farmers, and the violence meted out to Indians. Contrast this with the lot of the PPP elite who have amassed mansions and fortunes. I have to conclude that the Jagan/PPP race politics worked on Indians. So the other aspect of Jagan’s legacy is race politics.
So the legacy of Jagan is really communism and race politics. When the PPP invokes Jagan’s name it is really appealing for racial loyalty. That the AFC is also advocating a return to Jagan’s legacy is, like the PPP, an appeal to racial solidarity. No leadership is being offered to Indians. The AFC seems to be just like the PPP. It will keep Indians perpetually in a prison of racial fear.
When will Indian political aspirants start educating Indians rather than exploit their insecurities? I call on Indians not to be misled by the PPP and AFC in the upcoming election. I urge Indians to think for themselves. How come the PPP “Stalinist” leaders are now super wealthy, but the bulk of Indians, and other Guyanese, remain super poor? How come Jagan’s “party children” have acquired mansions, but sugar workers still live in shacks? Why did the PPP allow Indians to be beaten and killed? Why did the PPP refuse British aid to reform the Police Force? Why does the PPP prefer the narco death squads to the British Police?
Guyana needs a very special leader who is so intellectually and spiritually developed that he can transcend race, address the concerns of all racial groups, and take constitutional reforms to address our racial fears so we can all live in peace and harmony. Such a leader must be steeped in religious values, morality, and ethics, so that he can be a just president and empower all racial groups. That leader is Brig David Granger, and I urge all voters, especially young first time voters, to support him.
Malcolm Harripaul

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