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Nagamootoo’s forced ouster may be bad news for PPP

Oct 31, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
The relentless vilification of Moses Nagamootoo by the Chronicle, without doubt the government’s main propaganda mouthpiece, after he announced his resignation from the PPP, is eerily reminiscent of the modus operandi of the dictatorial regimes of Burnham and Hoyte. Coming from a bunch of Johnny-come-latelies, press statements like “good riddance” and the owing of an apology, aimed at someone who was a known stalwart of the PPP for at least four decades, fighting in the trenches against tremendous odds during brutal crackdowns by Burnham and his henchmen, are only meant to poison the minds of the Guyanese electorate.
But it may all be for naught, considering Nagamootoo enjoys widespread support among his fellow Guyanese, particularly the young; and it is this fact that obviously is deeply troubling to the folks who are calling the shots at Freedom House, hence their efforts to smear him.
Contrary to the vitriolic messages, Nagamootoo is a politician of unimpeachable integrity and a true Guyanese patriot, second to none, and certainly is undeserving of all the invectives hurled his way. His new allegiance, this time with the AFC, is likely to prove the greatest headache for the PPP, considering a possible split of the vote and likely shifting of the PPP to the other side of the aisle in Parliament.
The PPP has a long history of shoving to the sidelines anyone they deem not to be toeing the line, but, too often, the marginalizations have been extreme reactions to situations amenable to discussion and resolution. Their dumping of Balram Singh Rai in the sixties was probably the most glaring example of such intolerance and likely was a seminal moment in the party’s history, leading to the 1964 ouster of Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
The hierarchy of the party tolerated no one with any ideas they deem to be veering away from their mindset. Casualties of such intolerance included, to name just a few, Ranji Chandisingh, Vincent Teekah, Halim Majeed, Prakash Ramjattan, Lionel Peters, and Richard Ramkirpaul. Many others suffered similar fates and saw their political aspirations blown to the wind.
The choosing of the PPP’s candidate for the upcoming elections exposed the hypocrisy rampant among the party’s hierarchy. It seems that, to them, it was OK to cry “rigged elections” during the tenures of Burnham and Hoyte, yet making the vote to choose their candidate secret to facilitate rigging. Nagamootoo obviously posed too much of a threat, so abandoning transparency and manipulating that intra-party vote was OK to them.
The political winds have been changing rapidly across the globe, and Guyana is no exception. It is a truism that the PPP has remained in power since 1992 (and even before 1965) largely because of a racial pattern of voting, while the PNC, which never won an election, drew the bulk of its support from Afro Guyanese. (Burnham, for all his baggage and iniquities, was the quintessential political pragmatist, and, recognizing he would always lose because of a lopsided electoral racial imbalance, resorted to hold on to power the only way possible – rigged elections.)
But, with the departure of Burnham, Hoyte and Dr. and Mrs. Jagan, that dynamic has undergone drastic changes. The electorate, particularly the young, are no longer robotically inclined to follow the older folks and waste their ballots based on race.
To them, to quote Bill Clinton, “it’s the economy, stupid!” People’s minds are now concentrated on jobs and meeting the daily needs of their struggling families, with prices, including gasoline and basic food and household products, at astronomical levels.
November 28 is likely to prove pivotal in Guyana’s checkered history, with the nudging out of Moses Nagamootoo from the PPP a possible decisive factor. And if the PPP ends up in the opposition, they will have only themselves and their secret machinations to blame.
Whatever the outcome, one would hope that the voting and its aftermath would be free of the tension and violence that have plagued past elections. Responsible leadership involving all the contesting parties would go a far way in insuring acceptance of the will of the electorate and a smooth return to governing for the people.
Abel Peters

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