I was never a beneficiary of any government— PPP or PNC

Mar 23, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

Freddie Kissoon is right (KN Mar 22) that historians take a holistic view of historical events or the role of an individual or entity when making an assessment. They don’t just choose to evaluate the positive aspects or one segment of the entity’s existence and ignore the rest of its history and the other (negative or questionable) aspects. Dr Bertrand Ramcharran (March 18) is right that GHRA played a significant role in combating electoral fraud in Guyana during the 1970s thru 1992. Freddie is equally right that GHRA did not condemn the rigging of 2020. Why?

Freddie argues that the ethnic and class characteristics of the GHRA defined its position in election 2020 — anti Indian and anti PPP which is also the position of the creole middle class. There were and are many prominent individuals who were and are opposed to the PPP returning to power. Why did the same GHRA oppose the PNC and advocated for free and for election in the 1970s thru 1992 if it were indeed anti PPP and anti-Indian? It could be that the GHRA didn’t expect PPP to win in 1992 and thus opposed the PNC. In fact, there were many who told me they didn’t think PPP would win in 1992 even though separate opinion polls conducted by Dr Ramharack and myself showed PPP winning.

In my interactions with GHRA during the late 1980s, when I was deeply and militantly involved in the struggle against the dictatorship, I came away with a feeling that it was anti-Indian and anti PPP. I didn’t get a sense that Dr Jagan was favored as President. Other non-Indian names came up as preferred presidential candidates.

Freddie is right that several individuals who fought against rigged elections prior to 1992 incredibly supported rigged elections in 2020. I can’t say if GHRA associates fall under this category as they did not make their position public. Silence could be interpreted as supporting fraud. Several individuals who were beneficiaries of coalition rule between May 2015 and 2020 endorsed rigged elections in 2020. I was never a beneficiary of any government— PPP or PNC.

I fought against electoral fraud since 1968 and remained consistently so till this day even when I was a foreign student at American universities. The entities I have been associated with in the USA since 1977 have also consistently opposed electoral fraud. For those who were denied benefits or positions during the term of the coalition, would they have opposed rigging if they were beneficiaries of the regime?

As someone who did a PhD in history, I agree with Freddie that the GHRA record must be evaluated in its entirety not just the selective positive aspects of its role. But I do believe that the positives override the negatives. I do think this is the point that Dr Ramcharran was making about the organization.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram

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