We owe a Debt of Gratitude to Owen Arthur

Jul 29, 2020 Letters

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Dear Editor,

In Owen Arthur’s death, Guyana has lost a champion of free and fair elections and an avid fan and promoter of Guyanese cuisine. In Arthur, I never saw such a person stand up so courageously against electoral bullyism and an attempt to ‘tief’ an election. And he read the Guyanese papers. I saw him with a copy of Kaieteur News and other papers in his hands probably wanting to know how the media reported the fraud or his statements. We owe him a debt of gratitude.

When Guyana first experienced electoral fraud, Arthur was just a young man. He must have read about electoral frauds in Guyana between 1966 and 1992 and probably did not believe it could happen in such bold-faced manner. He finally witnessed fraud in March 2020, and he condemned it aggressively and vociferously, not mincing words even in the presence of government officials and security forces. He was deeply concerned about democratic governance in Guyana and was not going to be a party to fraud. He was diplomatic and undiplomatic in his tone signaling to the government and GECOM that he was no pushover, and that he meant business. He was a small man but a giant in standing up for principles pertaining to democracy. He was not prepared to compromise his integrity in support of fraud. His credibility as an observer, Head of the Commonwealth Mission, was on the line. He was not prepared to trade it for perks or to yield to threatening and intimidation tactics.

He stood tall when he condemned the flagrant tabulation irregularities. In conversations with others, he felt the hurt of Guyanese when elements at GECOM, at the behest of the incumbent coalition, attempted to rob them of a democratically elected government. Arthur really as few others did in standing up for Guyanese against the fraud.

Owen Arthur and I met in passing at CARICOM summits but never interacted even when I visited Barbados in several trips when he was PM. I was present in Guyana during attempts to manipulate the vote count in the presence of international observers and we had brief exchanges. He was very friendly and never came across as someone who would pick up a fight or back down if right. The former PM and I exchanged pleasantries several times at Cara Lodge, Pegasus, and GECOM’s central counting station at Ashmin’s. He knew of my name through my countless polls and voluminous writings, and he would place the face with the name. I listened to him carefully when I was in the thick of the media coverage attending several press conferences.

Arthur was present several times at Cara Lodge at breakfasts, having tea, and engaging in conversations with other observers. He interacted closely with the former Prime Minister of Senegal, Aminata Toure, the Co-Chair of the Carter Center Observer Team, and several other eminent observers from around the Commonwealth, Europe, Americas and Caribbean. They spoke endlessly trading observations and comments about the fraud perpetrated by GECOM officers. They reminisced about experiences in Guyana and their encounter with Minister Karen Cummings. There were unforgettable scenes with the Minister and with the observers interacting at Cara Lodge, Pegasus, and elsewhere. Arthur showered praises on the Commonwealth technical observers for guiding GECOM in holding a free and fair election. In appealing to GECOM to conduct a correct count, he noted that it would reflect badly on the two technical advisors (one from India and one from Ghana) if the count were to be rigged. He wished that the Chair would do the honourable thing.
I would wait around long after press conferences to listen to conversations among observers on what they think about my country and Guyanese. At times, Arthur didn’t care about what he said when interacting with colleagues outside of official press conferences. He didn’t seem to mind my presence perhaps viewing me as ‘friendly territory’ since I was among credible observers. He did not have pleasant things to say about our President, the government, and the Foreign Minister. He indicted all of them for fraud and even some in GECOM (whose names I won’t reveal). He could not believe that riggers would be so boldfaced about the fraud.
He was most courageous in speaking out against the electoral fraud of March 4 and 6 even when he was threatened with cancellation of his accreditation and deportation. I would never forget the scene where he took out his accreditation ID and hand it to our Foreign Minister. He stood tall in that exchange. That scene would remain etched in the nation’s history. Arthur regretted he could not prevent the fraudulent tabulation in Guyana. He apologized to those of us he spoke with for his inability to stop it.
I found Arthur to be warm and kind-hearted. Though a former PM, he was “down-to-earth” and humble not like some Guyanese politicians. He shared his meals and seemed at times to acquire lunches for others because I saw him distributing bags with foods. He loved Guyanese food and spoke highly of our chowmein, dhal puri, pepperpot, curried chicken, and other cuisine. He binged on pepperpot. He was always jovial. Even when upset, as with the electoral fraud, he smiled. I will never forget this man. Vivid images of his interactions in Guyana kept popping up in my brain. He really batted for Guyanese against electoral fraud.
The nation is grateful that he had the courage to speak the truth about what happened at GECOM. Will GECOM honour him by quickly declaring the results or do we wait have to continue to wait for a declaration long after he is buried? For Arthur, GECOM is responsible for the election stalemate.

Yours truly
Vishnu Bisram

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