Guyanese on every side of the divide must not tolerate this eye-pass

May 19, 2020 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

What a fascinating place to belong to. What a stressful environment for us Guyanese to live in. What with the global pandemic Covid-19. We must cope with the 2020 Elections virus – sometimes we feel that only Divine intervention can save us from going under.
I must not be a pessimist. We must be strong and optimistic because our slave and indentured ancestors survived the discrimination, and humiliation of the hay days of imperialism and colonialism.
But to not be a pessimist, in the present environment requires that we dig deeply into human history.
This will allow all of us to learn from past mis-steps and mis-guided notions.
It is only this that will allow us to produce a wholesome environment in order to bequeath to our children, and our children’s children a good, great land of Guyana, where we make a reality of that slogan of “One People, One Nation, One Destiny.”
A place where all of us can be the beneficiaries of the creator’s generosity, a country with no natural disasters but with minerals, timber, agricultural lands, marine resources, now including oil.
However, we must know that success requires statesmanship, wisdom and above all, genuine patriots at the helm of the ship of state.
Earlier, I cautioned that oil in developing countries such as ours, offers the Triple ‘C,” – Corruption, Confusion and Coups D’Etat.
Recently, protests about the Carter Centre, statements by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding and conflicting reports about the recount all add to the stress and strain of a tired and fed-up citizenship.
Our people deserve better than this tragedy, or if we prefer comedy.
Before I deal with the Carter Centre and the insinuation of race in our national situation, I wish to make it clear that I am not and could not be racist.
As a child, I grew up in Albouystown-Charlestown Community where I experienced love, liberty and laughter with the Sues, the Chungs, the Younges, (Chinese origin), the Ramsarups, the Singhs, the Hanomans, the Mohameds (Indo), the Da’Guiars, the Rodrigues and Texeiras (Portuguese).
At college, my best friends were Wilmot Chan (half Chinese) Wyatt Balgobin (Indo), Stafford Chung and the Late Anthony Houston (Portuguese).
As an adult, my closest and most trusted colleague was Carl D’Aguiar (Linden), the Kissoons, Gafoors and others.
Beyond that, I’ve cherished the affection and regard I have for the leadership and people of the United States of America and in my recent travels and living with close family members, I have found Caucasians and other Americans courteous and helpful and when I held public office shared cordial and productive relationship with the Ambassadors and High Commissioners of US, Canada, United Kingdom and the EU, finding them friendly, while observing protocol on both sides.
Now, for the three matters I mentioned, the Coalition and the President have replied to a request by the US Ambassador for the re-entry of the Carter Centre citing the challenges of the pandemic Covid – 19.
I congratulate the President for his politeness.
For me, my attitude to Carter Centre is at variance with expressed courtesy and correctness contained in the Government’s reply to the request of the US Ambassador for the return of the Carter Centre.
When the Carter Centre and Mr. Carter were first introduced to Guyana in the early 1990s, I expressed, in no uncertain terms, my concern to their involvement, in what I considered our internal affairs.
On the question for Elections and internal affairs I have always and still hold the view that the contending political parties must be able to sit and talk things through, taking into account the reality of race, class and the lingering wounds as a result of an earlier colonial divide to rule policy.
Before the sudden death of President Forbes Burnham, Elvin Mc David and I initiated secret talks intended to bring a rapprochement between Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham.
Both men indicated their willingness to set aside the past and work together to achieve that united mass enthusiastic support, which characterized the 1952-53 political era.
For some reason, Desmond Hoyte did not subscribe to an engagement with Dr. Jagan and the PPP.
Dr. Joey Jagan can confirm that he brought his father to my home where I had hoped to reignite talks for a political solution.
Elections were due in 1990 but there was a general concern for us to change our laws and regulations governing the electoral procedures.
Enter President Jimmy Carter and the Carter Centre.
It was clear to me that the Carter Centre role was not advisory but to manage or manipulate our political – electoral machinery.
Mr. Hoyte was persuaded to change many aspects of our electoral laws, including denying the rights of Guyanese living abroad to vote.
It was Mr. Jimmy Carter with Hoyte sitting next to him who announced several new features that would be put in place for next Elections 1992.
Jimmy Carter telling this Nation what will happen in a matter that I consider purely internal made me furious and I made no secret about this apparent brutalization of our sovereignty.
Mr. Carter also met with Leaders in the Security Services and others. In all this, Mr. Hoyte ensured that I, as Prime Minister, never met with Mr. Carter, since I made no secret of my chagrin.
Now, let me confess my bias and prejudice, all due to the influence of my mother. She lived in the US, in the 20s and early 30s and daily she would tell us of the discrimination she and black people experienced, particularly in the Southern States of the US.
For example, travelling in a train and when crossing the Maison Dixon line, burly white conductors would announce, “Niggas get behind.”
In my mind, I knew that the American Civil War 1861-1865 was really the disagreement about whether slaves should be freed or kept in bondage.
The Northern States were anxious to follow the pattern of the British who freed the slaves in 1834.
The Southern States wanted to maintain the inhuman practice of African bondage.
So, the end of slavery came the same year that the civil war came to an end.
I remain apprehensive of a unit established and headquartered in the deep south of United States, Georgia.
Hoyte and others thought that my views were out of order and discounted the fact that the Carter Centre Mantra seem to be “regime-change.”
Further, Carter and the Carter Centre seem obsessed with producing democracy in other countries.
Recall, that Jimmy Carter in 1989, was one of the Election Observers (note my emphasis ‘Observers”) in the Panama Election.
Thanks to functioning beyond being an Observer, Jimmy Carter was placed under house arrest by Noriega’s Force to prevent him from speaking to the Press.
Events in Panama are of course another matter.
At a later press conference, he called for an international response to the alleged stolen Elections, in Panama.
He then addressed the Manuel Antonio Noreiga’s Administration directly asking “Are you honest people, or are you thieves?”
Guyanese everywhere must learn and understand that for the big powers, you’re only a friend when you can support their cause.
Stealing of course, is not the word when the mighty take over countries, installations and institutions.
During the Cold War, it was either to stop the spread of communism or to promote the advancement of communism.
The big nations, when it suits them, support devils and dictators.
They can exploit the people and their patrimony whether right or wrong; they are correct.
The Carter Centre was established and headquartered in Georgia, a deep-south State, where certain attitudes to Blacks linger on.
Recently, in 2018, a very rounded and respected and popular Afro- American Lady, Stacy Abrams, was denied the Governorship of Georgia.
Thanks to the practice of “voter suppression,” – voters turning up and finding polling places close, Afro-Americans in certain communities having to travel long distances to cast their votes, etc.
Up to this day, Stacy Abrams, and many others have not accepted that she lost the Elections for the Governorship of Georgia.
Not a word from the Carter Centre.
Democracy, it seems is one of those chameleon terms like love, that mean different things to different people, but used and exploited by all of us all of the time.
We must avoid encouraging people of groups outside of the intimacy of the family meddling too much in our affairs.
Our family is the CARICOM Leaders. We must show reverence to the three ‘B’s,’ who planted the seed for CARICOM, when before Independence, the three big ‘B’s’ met at Dickinson Bay, in Antigua – Vere Cornwall Bird, Errol (Dipper) Barrow and Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
We must enhance and not diminish their courage and vision for a solid Caribbean Community.
The next issue is the strident remarks made by Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Hon. Bruce Golding.
Like all of us, we have our good days and bad days.
Bruce Golding is admired by many Jamaicans and Caribbean citizens. When in office, he had his bad days by supporting certain folks, which led a Jamaican journal to describe Golding as a pathological liar.
Those were bad days.
His statement on an unfinished electoral voting process in Guyana is another bad day for him, quoting from figures that are not official, nor certified.
Further, having attended a PPP Election rally and stayed at the home of the PPP Top Brass, he should have the good sense to recluse himself from the cut and trust of Guyanese politics.
Further, he must know that the OAS he represented has lost its luster since its establishment on the 30th April, 1948.
In fact, one commentator refers to its discord that the OAS is about the few and not the many.
Golding will be well advised to follow the example and perspicacity of another Jamaican Prime Minister, Hon. Percival James Patterson, O.E.
In an article by Sir Ronald Sanders titled “Tied to no one’s Apron Strings, the Caribbean in an emerging New world,” quoted the Hon. Percival J. Patterson, O.E as follows: -“ the interest of the less developed, less powerful and must vulnerable will not be taken into account unless we take the decisions to make our collective voices heard and our interest reflected in the New World Order.”
It is at this level, we expect a former Prime Minister to operate from and not descend and dabble into the murky waters of Guyana’s political rivers.
Of concern, is the apparent freedom and boldness of certain Diplomats and representatives of sections of our society, who seem to think that Guyana is some backward place where they can spit and sputter on us.
Guyanese on every side of the divide must not tolerate this eye-pass.
Remember the PPP’s Presidential representative, hostile and uncharacteristic attack on the US Ambassador, when instead of apologizing for the PPP’s vicious, verbal assault, the PPP Head of the Presidential Secretariat described the attack as a ‘ferrel blast.’
I end by posting below the motto of the Chivalric Order, which is the most noble Order of the Garter, “Honi soit qui mal y pense,” which for generations appeared prominently on the front of Parliament and other major buildings in the British empire.
It simply means “Evil to him who evil thinks.”

Hamilton Green

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