Jagdeo should debate Granger

Mar 10, 2011 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
President Jagdeo, in launching his party’s election campaign at Port Mourant on 03-06-11, showed an interest in history when he analogized David Granger to a fossil. Of course he was hiding behind his supporters when he was “busing out.” I am sure his supporters would love to see President Jagdeo “manners” Granger in a face to face match up.
I am therefore challenging President Jagdeo to debate David Granger at UG, and to have the government media broadcast it live and uncensored. President Jagdeo has an opportunity here to humiliate Granger nationally, after all the President is a PhD in literature, whilst Granger is just a fossil.
I wonder if President Jagdeo realised the intellectual absurdity of his utterances. There he was, a young President of over 10 years, standing over the cremation site of Dr Jagan to bolster his credibility and legitimacy, yet referring to an outstanding scholar as fossil?
Since President Jagdeo was so interested in David Granger’s military career and the 1973 elections, I suggest that he be given time to interrogate Granger on the subject.
In return Granger gets to quiz President Jagdeo on his splendid economic and social achievements, such as no abundant cheap reliable electricity, no new lawful industries generating employment, destruction of the sugar industry, the growing prostitution of little girls, money laundering, narco trafficking, narco death squads, and the acquisition of multi million dollars (US) real estate by some ministers and government officials. I know President Jagdeo will win, and I encourage PPP supporters to call for such a debate.
President Jagdeo urged, “Older party faithful to educate younger persons.” I think I do qualify since I was a PPP/PYO activist in the late 1970’s. As a courtesy to the President I will start with him. President Jagdeo said, “The people in Berbice; just here – the people who were killed, protecting ballot boxes.” The President meant here in Port Mourant. However, the shooting took place at 64 Village Corentyne. He also said, “People were being beaten on the streets while lining up for basic food item.” Actually we were beaten when we protested with the WPA.
Okay young people, it is true that we had a PNC dictatorship in those days. But it was not the PPP who struggled against the PNC. It was the WPA. We young PPP guns were ordered not to march and protest with the WPA. Why? Well you see the PPP’s real objective in Guyana was to build a communist state patterned after Cuba and the USSR. And since Burnham’s PNC had declared itself socialist, the PPP supported the PNC, and even held secret power sharing talks with the PNC to merge into one party, and to form a one party dictatorship of the proletariat in Guyana.
We Indians who have always supported the PPP were deceived by that party. The PPP and its leaders never had our interests at heart. Their only interest was building communism. In the 1970’s the PPP was very anti American. On many Saturdays the party took us to picket the US embassy to protest against America. Dr Jagan was very pro USSR. He supported the USSR invasion of Afghanistan. In 1978 he admitted in parliament that he was proud to be a Soviet stooge. He said that Burnham was an imperialist lackey.
Under such circumstances the US would not let him return to power. He was banned from the US in the late 70’s and early 80’s for his anti-American crusading. Jagan and the PPP were greatly responsibly for the 28 years of PNC rule.
With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and world communism, Dr Jagan and his PPP were no longer a threat to US interests. And so PNC President Hoyte was made to hold free and fair elections in 1992, and Indian votes returned the PPP to office.
Now to be fair to President Hoyte, who succeeded Burnham, Hoyte undid some of the PNC unpopular policies, and he greatly curbed party and government excesses and abuses. Hoyte prosecuted and jailed several African PNC supporters. Hoyte had turned Guyana away from Burnham’s socialism and Jagan’s communism.
The PPP has been in power for 19 years and we have to judge it by its performance in those 19 years. In the late 1990’s scores of Indian businessmen were killed. The Commissioner of Police told the PPP that they were involved in drugs. The PPP leaders went to NY and repeated that slander. In the early 2000’s armed criminals took Buxton hostage and waged war on Indians, and also on Africans. The police could not cope.
The lawful course of action for the PPP to take was to call in UN peace keeping troops but it did not. UN involvement would have led to the ethnic balancing of our security forces which the PPP opposes.
If the forces are balanced the PPP cannot exploit us racially to win votes. Secondly UN involvement would have led to interdiction of major drug lords. Instead the PPP allowed the narco death squads to subdue the gunmen in Buxton. But today we are still fearful of Africans. This is what the PPP wants. It wants us to always be afraid so they can exploit our fear at election time.
We saw such racist politics when President Jagdeo brought up Brig David Granger’s military past as an issue. He was really stirring up our racial insecurities. Just imagine after 19 years in power and they still have to resort to race politics. What an indictment. The PPP thinks we are stupid, but we are not. They think we will stifle our conscience. They want us to give up our moral and religious values. They want us to be evil. They want to compromise our integrity and dignity. They want us to be racist like them. They want us to reject David Granger just because he is African.
Whilst they still practice dictatorship in the PPP, the PNC has begun to transform itself into a democratic party. The PNC held free and fair elections to choose a presidential candidate. David Granger won the election. We need a leader like Granger. He is the opposite of the PPP leaders. Granger is man of moral and religious values. He is a disciplinarian. He will restore public security. Granger will not tolerate corruption and debauchery. He is also an academic and intellectual. He is a perfect example to young people. We must all support David Granger.
Malcolm Harripaul

---

---