Some policemen rekindling party paramountcy

THE AFC+APNU coalition is chanting the mantra of forgetting the past but the past actions of the PNC is very much evident in Berbice and some members of the Guyana Police Force is bent on ensuring that the legacy of the PNC remains intact. They are now rekindling the party paramountcy principles even before the advent of the ‘Second Coming of Burnham’. Remember the days when the GPF used to do the biddings of the leaders of the PNC?

On Good Friday, a group of Afro-Guyanese policemen literally destroyed the ‘good’ on that day by arresting a group of nine villagers of Chesney Village whose only crime was playing a game of cards under some trees. This patrol was from the Whim Police Station and this incident took place at Chesney, Albion at around 5.15 pm in the afternoon. This game of cards is the regular pastime for these hard working Guysuco workers. They were not gambling. The policemen bundled these respectable family men into the vehicle and drove off in the direction of the police station.
These men were then abused and reviled by the Corporal in charge of the patrol for not attending an AFC/APNU meeting that was to be held earlier in the week. That AFC+APNU meeting was cancelled. I wrote about the cancellation of this meeting in one of my letters a few days ago. I said that the carload of policemen was there but no AFC/APNU speakers were present. This letter was published in the Guyana Times, in which I unambiguously stated that the residents of Chesney boycotted that meeting and wanted nothing to do with the coalition since they see it as betrayal by Nagamootoo and the AFC. The police corporal told these men that, “all yu have time to play cards but yu don’t have time to attend APNU/AFC meetings”. A few minutes later he released the men and they had to walk back to the village. These men were severely traumatised and were shaking with fear, but they had a taste of what was a regular feature during the PNC dictatorship. These men had no previous problems with the law but was racially profiled and targeted simply because they were residents of Chesney who boycotted an AFC/APNU public meeting. Is this the way APNU+AFC intends to run their election campaign? They are asking Guyanese to forget the past, but they themselves have not the capacity to forget and erase their past misdeeds. It is embedded in their hearts and souls and no amount of rhetoric and denial will ever erase that from their actions. It is indelible! It will last forever!
What was the crime that these villagers committed? They were merely indulging in a game of cards under some trees. They cannot afford to visit expensive clubs. These are family who lead respectable lives. They sweat and toil in the cane fields. They do not take bribes and become involved in corrupt practices. They have the democratic right to attend any public meeting they choose and they have the democratic right to vote for a party of their choice.
But this is a result of the direct racial incitement of Ramayya, Charrandass, Marl Ross, Ramjattan and Nagamootoo, who have been continuously making racist remarks against the Indians and have been telling Berbicians especially, that they do not want a Blackman to rule then. Three or four times a week Indians in Berbice have been hearing and viewing this on DTV 8. I have also written about this in the press but to date it seems that the authorities are incapable of handling this. But I have warned them that this race baiting will escalate in violence if nothing is done. We have now seen that some members of the GPF are willing to take this race baiting to a higher level. Force and threats are now being used to get Indians to vote for the AFC+APNU coalition.

Should we now blame Minister Rohee for this? The AFC presenters on DTV8 see it fit to always target MrRohee whenever members of the Guyana Police Force commit infractions and are involve in alleged criminal activities. I wonder if Rohee instructed these policemen to threaten Indians to vote for the Coalition? How do we reconcile him in this equation? This goes to show the ridiculous nature of those accusations and false allegations against the Minister. There are rogue elements in the GPF who are making it clear which political party they belong to and it is evident that many of these will do everything possible to tarnish the GPF in order for the Government to look bad and to usher the PNC into power once again. This is a fact and it is time we face the truth. The same is happening in the health sector and other sectors as well.
It is ‘time for change’ indeed and it is time to put an end to this type of racial politics which is propagated and practiced by AFC+APNU.
Lastly, I am pleading to the Commissioner of Police to thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure that those responsible will face the full brunt of the law since the action of those policemen are criminal in nature. I call on all civil society to condemn what was done to my villagers. Their freedom of choice, their liberty and their democratic right were snatched away from them! ‘It is time’ indeed, to ensure that the PNC, in whatever disguise, should not be returned to power. This is a review of the past and a preview of what is to come should voters make a ‘wrong turn’!
HASEEF YUSUF