Dear Editor,

I listened to a recording of the speech made by President Donald Ramotar at Rose Hall, Canje to pay tribute to people who were killed by the colonialists at Rose Hall Estate over one hundred years ago. The occasion was the unveiling of the Rose Hall Estate Martyrs’ Memorial.

In attendance were persons who were bussed in from all parts of the country as well as pure innocent schoolchildren who were, at the last minute, taken to listen to the circumstances surrounding the death of sugar workers. The programme, as all such programmes have been, was aired on NCN – a PPP/C station, although they want to describe it as a national radio station and want a subsidy for the running of it.

I left the gathering after about six minutes into the President’s speech because he started his election campaign and the poor children were lost. The man was delving into what the PPP/C does best – propaganda – at a memorial service. Is there no dignity in our quest for political dominance? The President also spoke at the World Peace and Understanding Day, an event sponsored by the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam, and even there the occasion was contaminated by the attack on the opposition parties for not passing the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill.

Rotary is an international organization which is non-secular, non-political and non-discriminatory. Why dabble in politics when at a Rotary function? It is because the distinction cannot be made by the PPP/C and the party is hustling to get political mileage. The same reasons can be inferred from the fact that almost an hour was spent by the President talking about the achievements of the PPP/C government and how the opposition (with a one seat majority) is stifling development. Will they ever learn that five minutes of talking about the greatness and/or the accomplishments of a person at a memorial service would be more beneficial to the speaker than to delve into the nastiness of politics because there is a crowd?

Then the Rose Hall Martyrs were originally brought to the fore by Dr Fred Sookdeo and Radhay Evan Persaud and lo and behold it has become the platform for the PPP/C to hustle political mileage. Where were all these dedicated and concerned Guyanese for the past 20 years when they were enjoying political dominance of the Guyanese people? There was no time to notice that our very foreparents were killed by the ‘massa.’

I would say that they are in election mode and have started a rigorous campaign. I beg the President to leave the grades 5 and 6 out of his political ramblings. Do not believe what Dr Ashni Singh said when he related that a nine-year-old asked if Guyana is going to be blacklisted. I will bet money that 99% of the nine-year-olds in our schools do not know what the word remotely means, let alone are concerned about the effect it will have on the country. In conclusion I will say this: we will be heading into another election soon. Please let us be civil about our campaign.

Yours faithfully, 
Charrandass Persaud