The Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) of the Guyana Elections Commission says controversial remarks by President Bharrat Jagdeo at Port Mourant on March 8 were racially divisive.

In its first report on the media’s coverage of the election campaign, the MMU yesterday addressed the public outcry over the remarks by Jagdeo at a commemoration ceremony for late President, Dr Cheddi Jagan.

Noting that the entire speech by Jagdeo had been broadcast by state television, NCN, the MMU said that this opened the way for it to address the matter.

It noted that the controversial section of the speech went as follows:

“…but they consistently, they shout about racism of the PPP, but they practise racism. They whisper campaigns. In the last elections they went to some of the Afro- Guyanese villages and beat some drums at 6 O’clock in the morning and say let us throw out these coolie people. Get up, go out and vote, throw out the coolie people. That’s the kind of language they use. Anybody from our party who uses that sort of language, we will kick them out. This is our approach.” [Source: NCN TV, March 9, 2015].

After reviewing the remarks made, the MMU said it took the position that it was obvious that. Jagdeo “was using a racial mobilization incident that allegedly occurred during the 2011 elections [which, for the record, was the first time such details were ever publicly disclosed by anyone from the ruling PPP/C, the opposition political parties, local civil society, international elections observers, or the media] to make the point that racism will not be tolerated by his political party, the PPP/C. On the face of it, this is salutary. However, what was palpably disconcerting about the remarks made, is where they were uttered, the occasion on which they were stated, and the immediate receptors of the message.”

It said that Jagdeo’s comments could not be viewed in isolation from the environment in which they were uttered, noting that he was speaking in a known PPP/C stronghold, before a predominantly East Indian audience, and in a highly-charged political and ethnic environment.

“Taking into consideration the historically and politically influenced divisions that persists up to now between Africans and East Indians in this country, and which are usually more pronounced during elections periods, the Unit came to the conclusion that the anecdotal illustration used by Dr. Jagdeo to make his point about racism, boomeranged disastrously, since it came over as a calculated exploitation, for political purposes, of the known fears and insecurities of one section of the population – East Indians.

“It is within the foregoing context that the Unit verily concluded that the remarks made by Dr. Jagdeo were racially divisive (probably, not intentionally), and should have been edited by all sections of the media that broadcast or printed the remarks verbatim. The airing/publication of the comments as is, was a breach of Section B (1) of the MCC, which states inter alia, that the media should `…refrain from publishing or broadcasting any matter with the potential for, or likelihood of promoting or inciting hatred of any kind (including ethnic and political hatred)…’”

The unit noted that two television stations aired Jagdeo’s speech in- extenso, whilst one newspaper and some on-line news sites carried only the excerpted part as quoted above. At the same time, the MMU observed that many media houses from both the state and private media shied away from reproducing the full speech or the contentious part thereof. It said that the actions of these media houses should not go unmentioned and it commended them for this.

Despite the widespread criticism of his remarks, at a press conference on March 10, Jagdeo defended his presentation, saying that he was “proud” of raising the issue of race.

He said that by using a derogatory term for Indo-Guyanese, he was bringing light to “whisper campaigns” utilised by the opposition. He said that media entities were misguided in inferring that he was implying that the People’s Progressive Party is a race-oriented party.

When asked by Stabroek News for proof of racial incitements by the opposition in the 2011 general election, Jagdeo could provide none. He said that the evidence was there and his claim that opposition leaders ventured into villages beating drums and making racial remarks could be substantiated. The former president blamed the opposition for initially engaging in race-baiting citing his unsubstantiated claims of drum beating in villages prior to the 2011 general elections.

He said “They did it in South (Ruimveldt). I hope this doesn’t happen these elections because they did the last elections. We know racism exists we know they use that language to campaign but if we use it we are exacerbating it?

“You should really go after the people who used it in a derogatory way not me who is trying to fight this… Now when I want to fight that you are saying it’s some evidence of some divisiveness …

“I believe that the mere fact we are talking about it here today gives hope that everybody will be vigilant on the campaign, that we don’t use that language. And you as well as me will keep your ears open also for the whisper campaign.

“From the last election to now I can bring maybe five persons who can say we have heard this in our homes or heard that, the drum beating people walking to their homes and saying and shouting this. Would that be enough for you? Or does the Stabroek News want me to sign it and have it notarized and stuff like that?”

A number of ex-senior military and police officers have slammed former president Bharrat Jagdeo over his statements that the police and defence forces would be compromised should the coalition win next month’s general elections.

Speaking at a People’s Progressive Party campaign rally at Albion Berbice on Sunday, Jagdeo told attendees that if they voted for the APNU+AFC coalition and that party won they ran the risk of having their homes invaded by the military.

“When they link up with the military, as they have done, and come into your homes and start kicking the doors down and when they come after you, who is going to be there?” Jagdeo said.

“They are going to subvert the professionalism of the army and police because there will be no professional army or police. The entire executive is dominated by senior ex-policemen and ex-soldiers there can be no professionalism as was done in the past. So there are lots of things we have to be fearful about and lots of things we have to do in the future. I urge you when you go home think on these things,” he added.

He also said that his party has asked for international observers to witness the May 11 elections as it believes that if it wins marginally there would be unrest fuelled by the opposition.

To this end he called on voters, to turn out to give his party a resounding victory pleading with his party supporters to not “drink rum” on the eve of or on polling day to impair their voting.

“Go to every home in your village, whether they voted AFC or PPP… You must be more hyped up than Freedom House. We need to demonstrate decisively because they are already questioning the list… If the victory is narrow they may want to create violence,” he said.

His comments did not go down well with current and past hierarchy of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force and Jagdeo was accused of scaremongering to being “downright insulting” to the men and women who have or are serving in both disciplines.

“These comments serve to criminalize the military and put our soldiers at the risk of being attacked by persons who believe they will kick down their doors and bring them harm. I strongly condemn these statements as divisive and race baiting,” former Rear Admiral of the GDF Gary Best told Stabroek News.

“The remarks made by former and current government officials at several political rallies to the effect that an APNU+AFC victory would result in the militarization of Guyana and a link up with the military to enter the homes and kick down the doors of Guyanese citizens and such other comments are an insult to the citizens of this country, an insult to the service of former military ranks and an insult to the current military men and women who are serving this country,” Best also stated.

Best in his condemnation of Jagdeo’s comments labelled them as divisive and race baiting.

He believes that the presence of former military ranks, now civilians, within the APNU+AFC political structure serves to provide this nation with a disciplined level of their service as citizens.

“I have every confidence that our past military will continue to develop this nation in the best way possible and those who chose politics present no danger to the nation but rather a wealth of experience and talent that out nation badly needs at this hour,” he stressed. “The Guyana Defence Force subscribes to the values and standards that include duty, integrity, respect for others and appropriate military conduct which servers to reinforce its professional standards. These values and standards are taught at every level in the force …I have every confidence that the Guyana Defence Force will continue to execute its duties to the nation in the professional manner it has adopted since inception, notwithstanding, insulting and unfounded attacks on its integrity.”

Former Commissioner of Police and APNU+AFC executive Winston Felix also denounced Jagdeo statements saying that his party believes it’s a psychological electioneering tactic used by the PPP to create fear in its supporters and thus influence their voting choices.

“It part of scaremongering and much ado about nothing because professional people deal differently … They are trying to whip up hysteria in their constituency unnecessarily,” he said.

“There is nothing to fear from an ex-military man getting involved in the politics, absolutely nothing. How he conducts himself [you] judge him on that. When your career is over as military or police you are free to choose any other career and there is no barrier. If you check history a number of US presidents have had military careers. They are creating an unfavourable opinion against former military and police in the APNU and AFC,” he added.

However he does not believe that scaremongering will influence the voting populace as he said persons are smarter and will see the statements as “dehumanizing” and will focus on issues as they know that many ex-military persons have diversified their careers upon leaving the disciplined forces.

He assured voters that ex-military in the coalition are there to help to build the country and they have nothing to fear. “We mean no harm we consider our input service to the development of this country,” he said.

Felix’s views were echoed by a current high ranking officer of the GDF who said he took offence to Jagdeo’s comments. He too assured that the GDF will continue to be professional in the execution of its duties and will not be influenced by the politics of the country.

“It is a slap in the face of our brave men and women who have and are serving this country with dignity… Voters have to have more sense than to allow anyone to put any fear into them to pull their votes,” the officer said.

“We will not be pulled into the muckraking politics that seeks to dehumanize our servicemen and women,” he added.