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January 7, 2016 Peeping Tom
 

The Working People’s Alliance is well aware of the ease with which the military and the police can be used as a political tool of repression against enemies of PNC government. It should therefore not come as any surprise to the WPA that state agents, including members of the military intelligence, are implicated in the alleged surveillance of civilians.


I use the words “alleged surveillance” because I for one have great difficulty in accepting that cockamamie explanation offered by the Guyana Defence Force as to what one of its officers was doing outside of the home of Winston Brassington, and was engaged in a car chase which ended in the loss of his life, that of his wife and another driver.
Those who wish to believe that version can do so, but at this stage, I find that explanation difficult to swallow for many reasons which I will expound on later after the solider and his wife are buried. I do not wish to disrespect the dead until the dead is interred.


But the truth has to be known and it is incumbent on the government which promised transparency to establish a commission of inquiry into this scandal.

For the time being, I will only say that it is bizarre for surveillance to be undertaken on someone and his family when that person and the members of his family are out of the country and this is known to the authorities.


Winston Brassington was not the target of that operation that took place recently and which ended in a car chase and the death of three persons. But more about that later!

Guyana has now entered the twilight zone. The repressive arm of the State is now being put into action. Agents of the state are being let loose on citizens. APNU, of which the WPA is a part, has brought us full circle.
The majority of Guyanese may not be aware of what took place in this country during the mid-seventies when activists of the Working People’s Alliance were hounded and harassed, when they were beaten, brutalized and killed. The WPA knows what it was like to live in a police state in Guyana and the constant surveillance that was placed on persons from their leadership right down to casual friends of friends of their leaders’ wives.


A young girl was once introduced by a friend to the wife of Walter Rodney.  For this simple introduction, this young lady found herself being followed by agents of the state. One night she discovered this fact and soon after decided that she had enough and left Guyana.
The spies were all around. The intelligence forces were spying on behalf of the ruling party. The Ministry of National Mobilization then located in the compound that also housed Congress Place had spies planted all over. Even school children were being spied upon because it was felt that the WPA had support in certain schools among the young people.


This was the extent of the paranoia that gripped the Burnham state. Even an innocent introduction could see you being placed under the radar of the intelligence forces.
A former senior member of Guyana’s Foreign Service went to school with Rupert Roopnaraine of the Working People’s Alliance. One day this diplomat was coming out from work when he ran into his old school friend, Rupert, and they had a friendly chat. The next day he was summoned to a meeting to explain why he was having a conversation with a leader of the WPA.


This is the level of intimidation to which Guyanese were subject. It was the twilight era.Fear once again stalks the land. Agents of the state are on the prowl. Guyana is now reentering the twilight zone.

Replies sorted oldest to newest

seignet posted:

Anyone on this BB think it is possible for Nagamoottoo and Ramjattan to suffer the fate of Vincent Teekah?

In Guyana at this period of time, anything is possible

FM
asj posted:
seignet posted:

Anyone on this BB think it is possible for Nagamoottoo and Ramjattan to suffer the fate of Vincent Teekah?

In Guyana at this period of time, anything is possible

It feels like we are back in those days. Definitely, both seems to have lost their zeal. It is very obvious in their demeanor.

Indians cannot afford to be complacent, they have define their role in a Guyanese society and not leave it to Jagdeo. He never ever saw the bigger picture. Dominance is his mantra. 

S

If the APNU want to get rid of the AFC, all they have to do is have the keeper of the list take them off the list and fire the whole bunch from the cabinet. 

This matter is of deep concern and added to the continuing militarization of the government and the expansion of the military suggests that the future might be a return to the old PNC days.

Z
seignet posted:
asj posted:
seignet posted:

Anyone on this BB think it is possible for Nagamoottoo and Ramjattan to suffer the fate of Vincent Teekah?

In Guyana at this period of time, anything is possible

It feels like we are back in those days. Definitely, both seems to have lost their zeal. It is very obvious in their demeanor.

Indians cannot afford to be complacent, they have define their role in a Guyanese society and not leave it to Jagdeo. He never ever saw the bigger picture. Dominance is his mantra. 

The feeling of back in the old days by individuals whom have experience that period is a matter of concern,if the PNC thinks they will succeed they are hanging on the wrong branch,it will not be allowed i am sure the ABC countries will intervene.

Django
seignet posted:

Anyone on this BB think it is possible for Nagamoottoo and Ramjattan to suffer the fate of Vincent Teekah?

Interesting BUT Moses and Ramjhattan will be House Slaves forever.  No one harms a faithful House Slave.

Nehru
Django posted:
seignet posted:
asj posted:
seignet posted:

Anyone on this BB think it is possible for Nagamoottoo and Ramjattan to suffer the fate of Vincent Teekah?

In Guyana at this period of time, anything is possible

It feels like we are back in those days. Definitely, both seems to have lost their zeal. It is very obvious in their demeanor.

Indians cannot afford to be complacent, they have define their role in a Guyanese society and not leave it to Jagdeo. He never ever saw the bigger picture. Dominance is his mantra. 

The feeling of back in the old days by individuals whom have experience that period is a matter of concern,if the PNC thinks they will succeed they are hanging on the wrong branch,it will not be allowed i am sure the ABC countries will intervene.

Yes, but how long will it take before they intervene?  The last reign of terror lasted 28 years.  When you install a government and you realize you made a mistake, you don't rush in and change things. The ABC credibility will be called into question and they don't want that. 

Bibi Haniffa
seignet posted:

Anyone on this BB think it is possible for Nagamoottoo and Ramjattan to suffer the fate of Vincent Teekah?

Ramjattan turned out to be a major disgrace.  I never expected anything good from Nagamootoo.  I think the AFC is done.

FM
Amral posted:

Granger is supposed to be President for the first 3 years right?

What will happen after three years? who will take over? or would the coalition dissolve , is more of the latter.

K

Amral, sharing the presidency was not in the accord, that was just talk to allay the fears of those who were worried by Granger's and the PNC's history. Even if it were in the accord, I do not see them relinquishing the presidency. Remember Green on the Mayor agreement for GT.

Those who supported the AFC, Ramjattan and Moses need to think carefully about their position. Many thought that the AFC would have been a check on the excesses of a PNC led government and this is proving to be not so. They have turned out to be gutless and more interested in the superficial trappings of power. They have let down their supporters who were hoping for an independent third force and now many of these supporters are dreading what they have helped to create.

Z
Amral posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:

Cummingsburg Accord is dead and gone.

Is that official or just the talk floating around?

Well the powers that created the accord have not officially said that it is dead and gone because they will look like losers.  But for all intents and purposes, the Cummingsburg Accord is non-existent.  It was violated from day one.  Ralph Ramkarran wrote an article on this.  It's very interesting and is available on the internet.

Bibi Haniffa
Zed posted:

Amral, sharing the presidency was not in the accord, that was just talk to allay the fears of those who were worried by Granger's and the PNC's history. Even if it were in the accord, I do not see them relinquishing the presidency. Remember Green on the Mayor agreement for GT.

Those who supported the AFC, Ramjattan and Moses need to think carefully about their position. Many thought that the AFC would have been a check on the excesses of a PNC led government and this is proving to be not so. They have turned out to be gutless and more interested in the superficial trappings of power. They have let down their supporters who were hoping for an independent third force and now many of these supporters are dreading what they have helped to create.

You are hitting the nail on the center of the head!!

Nehru
Bibi Haniffa posted:
.  When you install a government . 

OK so let us agree on this.  The PPP was installed by the USA in 1992, because there was way more US involvement then than there was in 2015.

The PPP, rather than whining about losing the election, need to be an effective opposition.  The more they whine, and the more they pretend that their reign was perfect, the less credible they will be when they really have reason to voice their opposition to what ever Granger and his crowd might be up to.

The ball is in the PPPs court and screaming "race" isn't going to win them the election. They have an opportunity to win over non Indians who might be increasingly angry at high handedness and arrogance which some elements of the APNU regime are displaying.  THAT will guarantee their victory.

But I see the Indo KKK, as usual, cannot see beyond being "Indian", even when opportunities to build cross ethnic alliances might exist. 

FM

Caribny, the PPP was not "installed" by the US in 1992. The presence of the Carter and others and their intervention ensured that the elections were free and fair, reflected the wishes of the Guyanese electorate and that the  government was th one that people voted for.  Certainly there are defects in the constitution, but that is another discussion. 

 

Regarding the future success of the PPP in returning to office. the present administration is helping in that area by their duplicity, broken promises, inability to see and deal with the broader issues, continued high crime rate, etc. They seem to be tone deaf. I think recent utterances by Jagdeo might indicate some shift in what they see as necessary to first solidify their base and concurrently reach out to the disenchanted from those who voted for the coalition. 

But the bottom line for me is that the present  government is making the PPP's job easier and even if the PPP leadership do not scream race, the populace is wise enough to see it it front of them. I think that part is solidified as of now so  the PPP, as you rightly noted must reach out to the other groups.  Will this happen? I am unsure because many politicians become arrogant and think they know everything, start believing in group think, etc. The PPP needs to become a modern political party, believe in and and sell itself as the party of all the people. 

Z
Bibi Haniffa posted:
Django posted:
seignet posted:
asj posted:
seignet posted:

Anyone on this BB think it is possible for Nagamoottoo and Ramjattan to suffer the fate of Vincent Teekah?

In Guyana at this period of time, anything is possible

It feels like we are back in those days. Definitely, both seems to have lost their zeal. It is very obvious in their demeanor.

Indians cannot afford to be complacent, they have define their role in a Guyanese society and not leave it to Jagdeo. He never ever saw the bigger picture. Dominance is his mantra. 

The feeling of back in the old days by individuals whom have experience that period is a matter of concern,if the PNC thinks they will succeed they are hanging on the wrong branch,it will not be allowed i am sure the ABC countries will intervene.

Yes, but how long will it take before they intervene?  The last reign of terror lasted 28 years.  When you install a government and you realize you made a mistake, you don't rush in and change things. The ABC credibility will be called into question and they don't want that. 

Oii Bibi this is not 1964 to 1992,there is more Guyanese in the diaspora than in the homeland we will let our voices be heard.Let the PNC faction of the coalition try to pull the stunts they did during that period,they will be serious repercussions.They Guyanese today is a different breed,hopefully the better sense prevail.

Django
Last edited by Django

They are already pulling stunts and no one is even acknowledging it.  The diaspora read nonsense in the media and quarrel whole day on GNI and other places and they can't do a thing.  My only hope is Jagdeo.  I don't think he will sit down and let the people be persecuted the way Cheddi did.  That is if they don't kill him first.

Bibi Haniffa
Bibi Haniffa posted:

They are already pulling stunts and no one is even acknowledging it.  The diaspora read nonsense in the media and quarrel whole day on GNI and other places and they can't do a thing.  My only hope is Jagdeo.  I don't think he will sit down and let the people be persecuted the way Cheddi did.  That is if they don't kill him first.

He is the opposition leader in parliament and have to represent the Guyanese people highlighting real issues,any way there are more press freedom today than in the past,nothing will hide.

Django
Django posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:

They are already pulling stunts and no one is even acknowledging it.  The diaspora read nonsense in the media and quarrel whole day on GNI and other places and they can't do a thing.  My only hope is Jagdeo.  I don't think he will sit down and let the people be persecuted the way Cheddi did.  That is if they don't kill him first.

He is the opposition leader in parliament and have to represent the Guyanese people highlighting real issues,any way there are more press freedom today than in the past,nothing will hide.

Django, talk some sense bhai. How can you be opposition in a dictatorship?

 

Guyana has now entered the twilight zone. The repressive arm of the State is now being put into action. Agents of the state are being let loose on citizens. APNU, of which the WPA is a part, has brought us full circle.

FM

Troubling signs in Guyana right now. We all want to see Guyana make progress. Granger has to wake up and live up their election promises.

So far, this administration seems to be going backwards.

I know that they are an inexperienced bunch, but it is now almost a year and they should start showing maturity.

Guyana has a lot of experienced and seasoned civil servants, instead of fighting with them, this administration should consult with them and tap into their talent and experience.

Bringing in more military men in the civil service is not going to help this administration.

 

FM
skeldon_man posted:
Django posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:

They are already pulling stunts and no one is even acknowledging it.  The diaspora read nonsense in the media and quarrel whole day on GNI and other places and they can't do a thing.  My only hope is Jagdeo.  I don't think he will sit down and let the people be persecuted the way Cheddi did.  That is if they don't kill him first.

He is the opposition leader in parliament and have to represent the Guyanese people highlighting real issues,any way there are more press freedom today than in the past,nothing will hide.

Django, talk some sense bhai. How can you be opposition in a dictatorship?

 

Guyana has now entered the twilight zone. The repressive arm of the State is now being put into action. Agents of the state are being let loose on citizens. APNU, of which the WPA is a part, has brought us full circle.

Skelly..i mentioned before this is not the period of 1964 to 1992 ,Guyanese today are different,an effective opposition will hold the Government accountable.

Guyana is not under dictatorship democracy is functioning,people still have a right to choose a government,most of the media are independent,word gets out when there are wrong doing by the govt.

Gone are the the days when we had to make do with Chronicle,New Nation,Mirror,Catholic Standard.

Django

If you really and truly believe that the media will save the people of Guyana, then you are the one living in a twilight zone.  Remember, it was the lies and propaganda of the media that got us in this schitt hole in the first place.  And it will take a lot more than the media to get us out. 

Bibi Haniffa
seignet posted:

Anyone on this BB think it is possible for Nagamoottoo and Ramjattan to suffer the fate of Vincent Teekah?

Who will protest if either Moses or Ramjaat should suffer the same faith as Vincent Teekah, the Indians will celebrate, they are considered as traitor .Granger don't trust them, once a PPP INDIAN, always a PPP. Notice how less and less they are in the public view.

K
caribny posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:
.  When you install a government . 

OK so let us agree on this.  The PPP was installed by the USA in 1992, because there was way more US involvement then than there was in 2015.

The PPP, rather than whining about losing the election, need to be an effective opposition.  The more they whine, and the more they pretend that their reign was perfect, the less credible they will be when they really have reason to voice their opposition to what ever Granger and his crowd might be up to.

The ball is in the PPPs court and screaming "race" isn't going to win them the election. They have an opportunity to win over non Indians who might be increasingly angry at high handedness and arrogance which some elements of the APNU regime are displaying.  THAT will guarantee their victory.

But I see the Indo KKK, as usual, cannot see beyond being "Indian", even when opportunities to build cross ethnic alliances might exist. 

True in every word! I just hilited some areas for added effect and also for the lazy ones.

cain
Last edited by cain
Bibi Haniffa posted:
Amral posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:

Cummingsburg Accord is dead and gone.

Is that official or just the talk floating around?

 It was violated from day one.  Ralph Ramkarran wrote an article on this.  It's very interesting and is available on the internet.

REVISING THE CUMMINGSBURG ACCORD – By Ralph Ramkarran



Both APNU and the AFC appear anxious to amend the Cummingsburg Accord allegedly on the ground that the reality of political office has clashed with the Accord’s constitutionality. A series of interviews over the past two weeks given by President Granger and Prime Minister Nagamootoo suggest that a review of the Accord is underway.

The Cummingburg Accord has two limbs. The first is the number of seats in parliament and ministries in government that each constituent party would be assigned. This apparently went off smoothly.

The second limb provides for the more substantive core of the relationship between the parties, namely, the division of responsibility in the management of the government. The Prime Minister was expected to chair the Cabinet and be responsible for domestic affairs except national security while the President would be responsible for foreign affairs and national security.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has not been given the responsibilities of chairing the Cabinet or of exercising responsibility for domestic affairs. The contents of Minister Harmon’s regular engagements with the press suggest that domestic affairs reside with him and/or the President. In excusing the failure to observe the terms of the Accord, both President Granger and Prime Minister Nagamootoo indicate that there is no dispute arising from the failure to implement the Accord. They pointed to potential violation of the Constitution if the terms of the Accord are fully implemented.

There is and would be no violation of the Constitution if the terms of the Accord are implemented. Various articles of the Constitution allow the President to appoint others to execute his responsibilities. (See “The Cummingsburg Accord does not collide with the Constitution” by M. Maxwell in SN 24.06.15). The President can delegate the purely nominal function of chairing the Cabinet while he is present. The Prime Minister can take charge of domestic affairs in an advisory capacity to the President. The flimsy excuse of constitutional violation is an attempt at a power play by APNU. Supported by a surprisingly subservient AFC, it is not a good sign.

In any event, APNU and AFC are not free to amend the Accord. They are only two parties to the document. The electorate is the third party. It contains the basic terms of their post elections collaboration on the basis of which the electorate supported the coalition. The electorate understood that the AFC would have a distinct, decisive and visible management role in the affairs of governance through the Prime Minister. If the parties now wish to unilaterally tamper with this and consign the AFC, even with its unwise consent, to a vague and amorphous, consultative position, the parties should not be surprised if bitter fruits are harvested five years down the road from the same electorate, their third partner, that they have deceived. If that happens, this is where it would have all begun.

Having regard to the high turnout of voters, the percentage of votes obtained by the PPP/C, the votes received by the AFC in 2011 and the numbers at their meetings, there is no reason to suggest that the PNC obtained more than its usual forty one to forty two percent at the elections. The AFC therefore contributed eight to nine percent of the votes to the victory of the coalition. There could have been no coalition victory without the AFC. Five years from now there would be no coalition victory without the AFC, if the AFC loses its identity and individuality in the governance structure and operations, an individuality which it would never be able to retrieve as a political party with a distinct voice and appeal.

One of the major factors in the AFC sustaining its vote from 2011 was the maintenance of its independent character and campaign strategy, its promise of a fresh approach and youth empowerment. Had it been submerged under APNU, disaffected PPP and PNCR/APNU supporters would not have had the opportunity to identify with a political party other than APNU. Just as how the AFC attracted support by maintaining a clear and distinct presence and individuality in the election campaign, so it needs to maintain an independent political existence and defined authority within the coalition in order to sustain and even expand its support. The Cummingsburg Accord clearly intended to enable the AFC to do this. We do not know the reason that has caused the AFC to lose sight of these realities, or to appear so anxious to be willing to sacrifice the fundamental core of the Accord. This will prove to be its undoing and that of the coalition.

There is no doubt that President Granger is facing enormous pressures from within his own party. All the signs are there. But he has to lead from the front. He cannot succumb to the political culture of dominance spawned by a history of ethnic politics, which the coalition has promised to destroy by the very Accord that it now seeks to defang because it disallows the perpetuation of the culture. President Granger must inculcate in his supporters that APNU alone did not win the elections. They must understand that without the AFC there would have been no President Granger.



This is it right Bibi?

Amral

Correct.  It was written in June when the new government was just taking over the country.  Now the vocabulary of anything pertaining to the cummingsburg accord is non-existent.  I think some people have forgotten about it.

Bibi Haniffa

I don't understand why the AFC never held APNU accountable for violating the accord.  Everyone turned a blind eye.  And one is now left to wonder if that big salary increase that Nagamootoo received was not hush money because the first violation was against him. 

Bibi Haniffa

"If the parties now wish to unilaterally tamper with this and consign the AFC, even with its unwise consent, to a vague and amorphous, consultative position, the parties should not be surprised if bitter fruits are harvested five years down the road from the same electorate, their third partner, that they have deceived. If that happens, this is where it would have all begun."

cain

Furthermore, if my theory above holds water, Nagamootoo first sold out the PPP.  And then he went on to sell out the AFC to APNU.  Remember a certain elderman on this forum once told us that Cheddi said Nagamootoo can sell ice to Iceland.  I think he did!!  Tw-ice!!

Bibi Haniffa
Last edited by Bibi Haniffa

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