Two East Indian politicians and the PNC leadership

Jun 06, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

This is the conclusion of the column published on Wednesday, captioned, “Ganja law: African Guyanese and their political leadership.” I indicated that part two of the argument was forthcoming. This is it.
The contestation in that article was that there are things that are of deep concern to African Guyanese that historically, their Black government deliberately neglected. I trace the syndrome from the Burnham regime and ended with the attitude of David Granger, Joe Harmon and Basil Williams on the amendment to the drug law to lessen the penalty for possession of small amounts of ganja.
The leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan, had championed the amendment and in late 2015, it was worked on and ready for presentation to Parliament. It was placed on the order paper in 2016. Mr. Ramjattan is currently the Chairman of the AFC and at his presentation two weeks ago at his party’s Press Conference; he again voiced strong disapproval of the mandatory jail term for conviction of a few grams of the grass.
He assured the nation that the Bill would be put to the National Assembly this month. After that, Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo held his Press Conference and promised that the Opposition will vote for the changes in the sentence structure that the amendment carries. So here, you have two East Indian politicians wanting to change a law that victimizes young Guyanese and the top leader is against the changes. This is not only amazing, it is horrible. And a poll should be done to ascertain how African Guyanese feel about this enigmatic betrayal.
What is unfolding in Guyana is a transfer nihilistic mechanism of ethnic suicide. There are incidents you never forget in your praxis. They just implant themselves on the walls on your mind and they stay with you.
I will never forget that woman from Berbice. Her husband and brother-in-law were killed by errant drivers, on separate occasions; there were no prosecutions. She was going blind from diabetes and I helped to get her state assistance to go to Trinidad. She told me the PPP’s Berbice representative was cruelly disinterested.
In the 2015 election campaign, she knew I was doing work for the AFC. I didn’t want to request her vote for the AFC but inquired politely how she will vote. Without any movement in her eyes on any emotion on her face, she told me there is only one way to vote. She meant for the PPP. I never saw her again and I don’t think I can recognize her if we meet in the future but she personified the permanent tragedy of Guyana.
African Guyanese are now personifying this tragedy. David Granger said he went to Trinidad for a medical check up to get it out of the way so he can concentrate on the local government elections.
He will campaign for reelection of the PNC councillors. Granger, Basil Williams and Joe Harmon who oppose the changes in the marijuana legislation will ask African Guyanese to vote for the PNC in 2020. Why after such tsunamic incompetence at City Hall would African Guyanese vote back for those councillors? Why would African youths root for Granger, Williams and Harmon given their inflexible opposition to the change in the marijuana law?
Why would Black people vote for the PNC after what happened with David Hinds and Lincoln Lewis at the Chronicle?
The answer is the transfer nihilistic mechanism of ethnic suicide. Guyanese Indians embodied it for twenty-three years. They stood silent as the PPP leaders enriched themselves to billions of dollars while the country’s only university became a donkey stable. They supported the PPP for ethnic reasons while getting a passport for a Berbician was nightmare.
They voted solidly for the PPP while they borrowed money to send their children to private schools. They refused to part with their leaders while Berbicians were easy victims of rampaging killing criminals.
They turned a blind eye to the atrocities and abominations of the PPP while running to Caribbean countries that had African leaders. They ran to the US that had for eight years an African president. But they didn’t want an African ruler in Guyana. Caught in such a drowning pool, they didn’t care about twenty-three years of PPP failures.
They voted once more for their party in 2015. This psychic damage, African Guyanese are happy to borrow from their Indian counterparts. So in 2020, the mother whose son is in prison serving three years for eight grams of cocaine, will take breakfast for him in jail then go off to vote for the PNC.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News