There is no Civic in the PPP

Aug 04, 2012 Letters

Dear Editor,
The statements by Peeping Tom in your August 2 edition concerning the Civic component of the PPP/Civic is very interesting and revealing. Especially at the end of the article, when Mr. Tom says it all – that if a Civic person is not in the government then that person is “out like south”. This ends his doctoral delivery on the analysis, diagnosis and prognosis of the Civic and President Cheddi’s prognostication on the Civic- all made up and twisted to suit his subjective view and to peddle propaganda intended to fool the supporters of the PPP/Civic.
Mr. Tom does not even begin to understand the politics of President Cheddi if he thinks that , after years of trying to work on real political coalitions in our country, he would formulate a Civic in 1990-1992 in order that it just be a paper entity and only in alliance with the PPP in Government as individuals and not as a potent and dynamic group.
President Cheddi’s policies of reaching out to people who might not want to join the Marxist PPP but might want to work with the PPP to bring betterment to our people is clear to understand because the historical context is there and Dr. Jagan, as a Marxist who had studied the history of Marxist methodology in a manifest way, would have understood that with the changing times after the Soviet collapse, he had to change and accept coalition politics.
Also, because of the racial factor in Guyanese politics, President Cheddi understood the need to draw into alliances, people of different ethnic and ideological backgrounds as many perceive the PPP as an East Indian party.
Mr. Tom can say what he likes but Jagan was a serious politician and a man committed to the active participation of new, young activists to play a part in the politics of this country; he would never accept a loose arrangement of individuals who could only function as a part of the government. But who could play an active role in community, local and regional affairs, while organizing themselves into a Civic component to support and strengthen the PPP while bringing new ideas, opening new avenues for a unified and vibrant movement and bringing vibrant new personalities to the forefront of politics.
Jagan always pushed for group meetings of the Civic when he was alive and never thought of the Civic as individuals which Peeping Tom would have the public believe.
The failure of the Civic to take hold and expand is Mr. Sam Hinds’ fault as he dithered away all those years, making no effort whatsoever to follow the wishes of Jagan and as the leaders of the PPP pushed their own agenda of majoritarian rule after Jagan died, Hinds went along, enjoying the PM’s position and doing nothing much to carry out the mandate of a strong Civic.
Peeping Tom in his article is trying to denigrate President Cheddi’s efforts to find common ground with patriotic Guyanese who could work with and within a PPP-centered government as a first step in a process to find national unity and a better Guyana and the public needs to understand that Jagan was not a half-stepping politician – his whole political life was dedicated to organizing people into working teams and functioning groups; he never saw politics as individualistic but as a collective force.
Since my letter on the Civic and the destructive influences of Sam Hinds was published the day before, I have to assume that Mr. Tom was targeting my point of view and since I am not allowed into the PPP party, what he’s saying in the last line of his propaganda piece, is that since I’m not part of the government, then I’m a phantom, existing only to be on a candidate’s list . There is no Civic. As far, as I am concerned and all the talk from Mr. (Donad) Ramotar before the elections of 2011, committing himself to a strong Civic component, was just talk- there is no Civic-just the PPP, closed off to a communist agenda of state control, undemocratic intra-party relationships, bullyism and cronyism, all shrouded in secret deals which leaves a bad smell behind.
Cheddi(Joey) Jagan(Jr.)

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News