PPP blasts racially charged APNU+AFC campaign launch …to lodge formal complaint with GECOM today

THE ruling Peoples Progressive Party/Civic is expected to today lodge a formal complaint with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) over what it calls racially charged overtones peddled particularly by the Alliance For Change (AFC), and again peddled during the coalition’s launch yesterday.This publication was reliably informed that up to last evening, party executives were drafting its formal complaint to be lodged with GECOM.

The party is expected to cite the AFC’s Prime Ministerial Candidate, Moses Nagamootoo, who during his presentation at the coalition’s launch said, “We shall defeat the monster of racism.”
Senior members of the ruling party have since taken this to mean that Nagamootoo was making reference to the ruling party practicing racism, a charge it intends to take up with the elections body.
The party has also reportedly taken umbrage to statements made by the coalesced Opposition’s Presidential Candidate, David Granger, who spoke of a nasty, brutish future should the PPP be re-elected to office and not the APNU+AFC.
Granger told those gathered for the launch that a united Opposition front will stand a better chance at succeeding but, “divided, we fall to the divisive tactics of the PPP which could return to office.”
According to the Presidential Candidate,” Life in Guyana could become more nasty and brutish for the majority…The truth is that we are weary.”
The move by the PPP comes a day after a public missive by AFC Councillor, Haseef Yusuf, who has accused his party of inciting racial strife among Indians and Afro-Guyanese in Berbice.
Yusuf alleges that on a weekly basis, AFC’s Executive Member, Dr. Veerasammy Ramayya, has been telling viewers in Berbice that the Indians do not want a ‘Blackman’ to rule over them but they are going to the USA, ‘a Blackman country’, and they are going to Barbados, ‘a Blackman’country.”
According to the AFC Councillor, “this is a wicked and racist statement since the Indians in this country are not against the Afro-Guyanese but they are against the PNC (Peoples N
ational Congress) which destroyed this country not only from 1964, but they had stymied development since 1961.”
Yusuf recalled that during 1961 to 1964, strikes and strife, civil unrest, burning, looting, murder and mayhem were orchestrated by the PNC under Forbes Burnham and the United Force under Peter D’Auigar and the CIA.
“This is no secret…The PNC has been systematically destroying this country since 1961,”
The AFC Counselor is of the opinion that the people of this country do not want a return of the PNC and “that has nothing to do with the Afro-Guyanese.”
Yusuf recalled too that on 28th February, 2015, Dr. Ramayya again attacked the people of Black Bush Polder and called them racist.
“He repeatedly told Berbicians that the people in Black Bush do not want a Blackman to rule them but they are carrying their greens to Georgetown for the black people to buy them in Georgetown…he angrily told them that they should sell their produce at Port Mourant Market…He concluded that the Black people are assisting Indians to live by buying their fish, rice and greens, and therefore Indians should vote for Granger as President,” according to Yusuf.
“Ramayya has now realised that their AFC members and supporters are moving back to the PPP, so he is now getting desperate.”
Yusuf drew reference too, to the ad hominem attacks on Sixtus Edwards and Balwant Persaud, two AFC stalwarts that resigned as a result of the coalition with APNU.
According to Yusuf, Dr. Ramaya told Berbicians that Mr. Edwards lost his position as General Secretary and that is the reason why he was in Berbice exposing the lies and corruption of the AFC .
“What Ramayya needs to understand is that Mr. Edwards was replaced by David Patterson in a rigged election since 2012, and that the ex-General Secretary only resigned a month ago…Is it reasonable to suggest that Mr Edwards took over two years to resign and attack the AFC because he lost his position?”
According to Yusuf, the former general Secretary of the party resigned because of the coalition with the PNC/APNU- “it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.”
The AFC Councillor has since called on “the Ethnic Relations Commission and related organisations to investigate the racist statements made by the AFC executive members before it is too late…We cannot afford a replay of the 1961-1964 period.”