From the Diaspora…NIGEL HUGHES AND AFC MAKE IT EASY FOR PPP TO WIN THE NEXT ELECTION
By Ralph Seeram, October 21, 2012
By KNews | Filed Under News -- Source
There is no question whether that the PPP will call a snap election; it’s just a matter of time. The PPP is most likely reviewing that time table in view of recent actions by Nigel Hughes and the AFC. The AFC just made it easier for the PPP to win back its majority status in Parliament.
The collateral damage from its inspired protests in Linden and Agricola, is not sitting well with not only PPP supporters but AFC supporters as well.
Nigel Hughes is using up his “15 minutes of fame very fast”. Not only has he discredited himself, but he is also losing respect very rapidly. The Linden Commission of Inquiry is not going the way he envisages it so far. For all his talk and bluff he still has not proven his allegations against Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee.
One would have thought that for all his bluster and allegations that Rohee gave instructions to the police before the fatal shooting of the three men in Linden, he Hughes will deliver the “goods”. As it turns out so far he was just a big bluff.
The PPP called his bluff and he failed miserably to deliver. The evidence so far revealed that the Home Affairs Minister spoke to the police AFTER the shooting took place. Hughes tried to get Police Officers to admit that they spoke to the Home Affairs Minister before the shooting. He could not elicit the answers he wanted, so he demanded the phone records, which to his disappointment disproved his allegation. Remember Hughes has been using this as one of his main reasons for removing Rohee.
Now he has moved on to other issues as to why Rohee should be removed. Sensing that the Inquiry is not going the way he anticipated he is now setting up an excuse for his failure by questioning why Rohee does not have an attorney representing him. He had to be reminded by the Commission of Inquiry that the Rohee so far has not been implicated.
After that failure he then gave the Government an ultimatum to remove Rohee and that he considers the Rohee office vacant. What arrogance!! Hughes needs to be reminded that his AFC has only seven seats in Parliament and that he does not have a large constituency. He is making a play for the PNC votes, working up traditional PNC supporters in Linden and now Agricola.
I am no defender of Rohee. In fact, I called for his removal for different reasons in an article before the last elections. However, I strongly disagree with the allegations being used against him for his removal.
How is Hughes making it easier for the PPP? He accuses the PPP of racism in the shooting deaths of Shaquille Grant and Dameon Belgrave. Before going further I would like to make it very clear that I do not condone the police shooting innocent civilians. My personal opinion is that those rogue cops carried out their illegal actions because they think they can get away with it.
There needs to be a drastic change in the culture in the GPF but that’s a topic for another day. What Hughes is trying to do is exploit the deaths of the youths who happened to be Afro Guyanese for political purposes, shifting the blame to the PPP Government and deeming it racist. It was Hughes who is quoted as using the term” black youths “. Why not youths or Guyanese youths?
It does not call for much intelligence to figure out why he injected the word ‘black’ in his diatribe against the government. What he fails to tell the public is the race of the police officer who shot Grant. What he should have told the public is that in the aftermath of the Agricola protest was the race of the majority of the commuters who were robbed and beaten by his “protesters”.
If you advocate civil disobedience you must also take the credit for the collateral damage. The AFC created the protest then blames the PPP for scaremongering.
Does the AFC think those thousands of commuters who were affected by the Agricola protest will now vote for the party? The AFC is claiming that the PPP is scaring PPP supporters in Berbice back in the PPP fold. Nigel Hughes needs to wake up. He and the AFC are sending PPP supporters back to the fold. He won’t get the PNC votes he is aiming at, and for those PPP votes that Nagamootoo got in the last election, forget about it; Nagamootoo is finished.
His association with the AFC and its role in Linden and Agricola put an end to that.
Speaking about scaremongering, I am not sure the AFC is aware of the damage it has done to the image of Guyana both internally and externally. I have had people here in the Diaspora calling me about the Agricola events. Now some are afraid to visit Guyana, noting that they have to pass that way from the airport.
The violence and criminality that follows these AFC inspired so called “peaceful protests” affect the ordinary Guyanese workers. Any word of violence and the business community shuts down. Economic activity comes to a standstill. Workers receive less take home pay; some might even be AFC supporters. I saw this happen when I was in Guyana during the last elections.
Some may not notice but APNU leader David Granger has been a little quiet. Granger may be a political novice, but he is an astute politician, I think he can get more cooperation from the PPP if he can control some of the extreme elements in APNU. I personally think if you put Donald Ramotar and David Granger in a room without any political advisors they will agree or compromise on most issues in the interest of the country. Now there’s an idea.