Jagdeo lambastes Stabroek News racist editorial

− says newspaper engages in selective journalism

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

Former president Bharrat Jagdeo has strongly condemned a racist Stabroek News editorial, carried on Monday, April 15, saying the newspaper is engaging in palpably selective and misleading journalism and staunchly defending opposition interests.

The editorial attempted to vilify him for statements made at the funeral service for the late Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud, a former government minister and stalwart in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

At the service, Jagdeo stated that Guyana is a better place now because of the significant contributions made by the late Persaud, as well as the late former president, Dr Cheddi Jagan, toward the development of the country.

Open to everyone

“They were never bigoted; they were warm-minded individuals. That is why the PPP/C remains open to people of all races, to people of all religions… I grew up in the party, I’ve never gone to an official meeting where people’s race or religion was discussed as factors of mobilisation, or for keeping them in the party,” Jagdeo said.

It was within this context that the former president went on to lament the fact that there appears to have been a resurgence of some form of prejudice against Guyanese of East Indian descent, primarily by opposition political parties, which he said are accusing the PPP/C of showing favouritism towards this section of the population.

“What bothers me today is that, in the new politics of Guyana, there seems to be a rebirth of some of these same feelings,” Jagdeo said, speaking with Guyana Times and commenting on the misleading editorial.

The former president reiterated that the period under British colonialism was one in which Africans and East Indians endured brutal attacks at the hands of their slave masters. He referred to a study which concluded that the East Indians were ruled in a manner that caused them not to value education.

Jagdeo again referred to a list of 38 persons, who, because of ethnicity, were used in an ongoing court case to suggest that the PPP/C employed them in the public service purely because of race, and that this was an indication that the current administration is discriminating against other sections of the population. He said the impression that this is creating is that the PPP/C government is giving people of East Indian-origin preferential treatment.

The case involves a lawsuit brought by Jagdeo himself, when he was president, against Kaieteur News columnist Freddie Kissoon, its editor-in-chief Adam Harris, and the National Media and Publishing Company, which publishes the newspaper.

“Now, the truth is, a lot of those people on that list have served either 30 years or more in the public service. Some even joined the public service when we were in the opposition. But the only reason their names were placed on that list is because of their origin, their East Indian origin,” he said.

“What then is the message being sent to the people of East Indian origin? Is it that if you are a supporter of the PPP/C or the People’s National Congress (PNC); if you’re a Christian, Hindu or Muslim; if you’re a sugar worker or a professional; if you’re urban or rural; but once you’re of Indian origin, you should not seek senior positions in the public sector?” asked Jagdeo.

Equal opportunity

The former president instead called for every Guyanese to have equal opportunity and for everyone to be treated with dignity and not be judged because of their ethnicity. He said he believes that the PPP/C, which is currently the single largest party in Guyana, is being taken advantage of.

Jagdeo pointed out that the Stabroek News appeared not to be concerned when the primary statement regarding racism by the PPP/C was made in the courts, but now proceeds to publish a lengthy misleading editorial in which it rushes to the defence of Alliance For Change (AFC) Chairman Nigel Hughes, who presented the list of 38 persons in the court case.

“Most of these people worked even before our tenure in office when we were in the opposition, 30 years service or more in some cases. A lot of them have been there for a very long time. The only reason they got on this list is to prove that their appointment was an act of PPP/C racism and because of their ethnicity,” he said.

“What then is the message? By picking on these people randomly, many of whom do not have any association with the PPP/C – is this implying that once you’re East Indian and in the public service, you not there because of merit?” he asked.

Jagdeo insisted that this form of anti-East Indian sentiment appears to be re-surfacing and taking root among some politicians and sections of the local media, and it must be addressed in the same manner that the PPP/C is being accused of preferential treatment to a particular section of the population.

He said the PPP/C has always been open to all races and religion, pointing out that the people of Guyana must not be judged along these criteria, and that any form of racism must be rejected.

“So when Hughes talks about East Indian people, he is not editorialised by the Stabroek News. Is this not selective journalism?” queried Jagdeo. “My call remains that we need to fight this racism, this new trend in which some people are judging others entirely because of their race,” added Jagdeo.

The editorial also erroneously claimed that Jagdeo was able to “professionalise” himself under the PNC and gain employment at the State Planning Secretariat under the administration of former president Desmond Hoyte. However, Jagdeo’s studies were completed via a PPP scholarship to the Soviet Union, as at that time, most government scholarships were given to the PNC’s favoured ones and were tenable in western countries.