What a shame! Donald Ramotar defended Jagdeo before defending himself!

Sep 27, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The Guyanese people must read between the lines and extract the harsh truths and pivotal questions about this country.
President Ramotar recently held a press conference. Reporters questioned him about whether he will chart his own course instead of being in Jagdeo’s shadow (“President Ramotar will not stop any of Jagdeo’s projects,” – KN, September 23, 2012).There is no more burning question for Donald Ramotar.
In Guyana, the majority of people believe and think Donald Ramotar is nothing more than a Jagdeo puppet and a front for the Jagdeoites. There is no way Donald Ramotar can be unaware of this terrible opinion of him by the general public.
On a personal level, this public view is  demeaning, as it suggests that not only is he impotent and just a front for Jagdeo but that he lacks integrity and decency, his best assets when he came to office. This public view effectively strips Ramotar of his only credible characteristics and now reduces him in the eyes of the public to the level of the Jagdeoites. It basically makes him one of them.
Bharrat Jagdeo’s rule was one of the most corrupt and criminalized in Guyana’s history, rivalling Forbes Burnham’s. Any leader who is seen by the public as a puppet to Jagdeo is being viewed insultingly. A leader must defend himself in that situation when faced with those questions from the media. That leader must distinguish himself. He must distance and separate himself from the stench from that previous leader.
It is not as if any linkage with Jagdeo is a good thing. Ramotar played second fiddle to Jagdeo in the last election and the PPP fell from grace, suffering a loss of majority power, despite spending outrageously. The loss came from PPP supporters rejecting the atrocities of the Jagdeo regime. To continue to tie oneself to Jagdeo in the wake of this electoral rejection is dangerous. More critically than costing Ramotar his legacy, it could cost the PPP the next election.
Despite all of this, we did not see any attempt from Ramotar to distance himself from Jagdeo, not even for the sake of appearance. It was almost as if Ramotar had no choice but had to follow the script given to him by the Jagdeoites. It was as if he could not even lie to the nation that he was prepared to distance himself from Jagdeo.
It seems as if Ramotar had to openly pledge his support to Jagdeo even when questioned by the media whether he was a puppet unable to chart his own course. That can only be deemed demeaning.
It also strongly suggests Ramotar is trapped by the Jagdeoites. It appears Ramotar cut some kind of a deal to get the support of the Jagdeo-controlled PPP Central Committee in order to become the president. Ramotar could not become president without the support of the Jagdeoites.
It seems like he has sold his soul given his pronouncements backing Jagdeo and absurdly claiming that Jagdeo was not a law unto himself despite massive evidence to the contrary.
A man of integrity would stand up and defend himself in this scenario where he is being asked in polite terms if he is a puppet. But Donald Ramotar did nothing of the sort. He defended Jagdeo before defending himself. He hired more Jagdeoites than Jagdeo himself. He told a bevy of reporters Jagdeo was not a law unto himself, a blatant misrepresentation when faced with facts and reality covering 12 years of Jagdeo rule.
Many in this country are now openly wondering how could Ramotar refuse to distance himself from Jagdeo. One has to wonder whether Ramotar had any integrity to begin with. Personal decency is different from political decency. Some are openly thinking Ramotar was targeted by the Jagdeoites because they felt he was easily manipulated and intellectually unsure, which meant he would rely heavily on them for support.
They also believe the Jagdeoites knew Ramotar was a diehard party man who oversaw the descent of the PPP into debauchery and corruption while doing nothing to aggressively fight the wrongdoing because he feared the backlash to the party from its voters if a strong crackdown of wrongdoing took place. They believe Ramotar would not confront the Jagdeoites if he is president because of these inherent traits and because of the restrictions he faces. Ramotar is no Nagamootoo or Ramkarran.
Ramotar’s excuse that Jagdeo was not a law unto himself because he was beholden to the PPP is nonsense. Jagdeo co-opted the PPP of which Ramotar was General Secretary. Jagdeo’s handpicked cronies held prime positions and the majority in the PPP Central Committee.
The Central Committee was hijacked by the Jagdeoites and its mandatory congress suspended to allow for Ramotar to be approved without an election of the members. The Jagdeoites were instrumental in Ramotar getting the presidency. The public sentiment is that Ramotar had to reward the Jagdeoites. It is why Ramotar has appointed more Jagdeoites than Jagdeo himself to Cabinet.
One has to wonder whether Donald Ramotar has dug his own political grave, where he will continue to be in the shadow, directed by the Jagdeoites like he has in the past nine months.
Not only is the public more convinced that he is a puppet and front of the Jagdeoites, he has lost his integrity, the only good thing he had going for him.
Some men will do anything for power even if it means selling their soul. The question is whether this applies to Ramotar? Given Ramotar’s shameful defence of Jagdeo and his refusal to change course from that which Jagdeo had prescribed for him, I suspect Ramotar will likely be president for the next 10 years (two election terms).
The man who many believe is the real power behind the throne can only be happy with Ramotar who is a follower, not a leader. There is no reason why he will not milk it for as long as possible by keeping a leader who follows blindly in power.
The constitution requires the president to demonstrate independence and to act in his own deliberate judgement. The reason for this provision, which is prevalent in democracies, is to prevent puppetry where the people vote for one leader only to get a shell controlled by another who cannot get power legitimately.
That notion is abhorrent to democracy. It is as if the people had not voted. The Guyanese people have to wake up.
M. Maxwell

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