RPA Head, Dharamkumar Seeraj

THE General-Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (RPA), Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj in an interview with this newspaper blasted the Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, for a statement he dubbed as “misleading” that was made in the National Assembly on Thursday.

He made it clear that the AFC Leader’s comments clearly indicates that his reasoning is “clouded” by his party’s drive to “secure political mileage” from an issue that the party’s own Regional Councillor, Mr. Naith Ram, exacerbated.

‘Mr. Ramjattan does not have an appreciation of what is the reality…obviously Ramjattan is being misleading the house unless he was misled by his people in Essequibo, it is a deliberate act. The AFC seems clouded by their drive to gain political mileage from everything.’ — RPA General-Secretary, Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj

“Mr. Ramjattan does not have an appreciation of what is the reality. The AFC seems clouded by their drive to gain political mileage from everything,” Seeraj said.

APNU Councillor Mr. Wazir Latif

Ram, last Friday led a protest in Region 2 (Pomeroon/ Supenaam) and also incited violence afterwards that resulted in the blockage of the main roadway in the region. The police report on the matter stated that Ram mobilised farmers who had been consuming alcohol after what was a peaceful protest march. He and 18 others were arrested and have since been indicted on several charges, including riotous assembly.

Meanwhile, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Region 2 councillor, Wazir Latiff at a recent meeting of the Regional Democratic Council vehemently condemned the AFC instigated protest.

Khemraj Ramjattan

He told the meeting that the shameless and disgraceful protest and blocking of the roadway should never have been allowed to take place.

DEMANDS
He also made three demands of the Government, following the protest in Region 2 last Friday: the release of the vehicles impounded by the police; that police drop charges against those arrested for their riotous assembly and the establishment of a revolving fund to address the challenges of timely payments to rice farmers by millers.

He informed the House that the protest was based on the fact that aggrieved farmers could not secure an audience with senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), nor the RPA.

“It (the protest) ended up that members involved in the protest were stripped, some were tear-gassed and some were locked up…I have to go there to ensure that these men were granted bail. It is a matter of public importance,” Ramjattan said.

The AFC Leader’s statements to the House attracted the ire of Government Members of Parliament (MPs) and Seeraj, during his presentation, rose in the House to point out the “misleading” comments being peddled by Ramjattan.

However, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Raphael Trotman, informed Seeraj that he will not be allowed to respond, as the matter is a statement, not a debate.

Trotman proceeded to inform Ramjattan that his demands would be best communicated by bringing a motion to the National Assembly.

MISLEADING
After the uproar over Ramjattan’s statement, the RPA General-Secretary told the Guyana Chronicle that the AFC Leader is either misinformed or deliberately misleading the House.

“It is completely unacceptable that a Member of Parliament can stand in the National Assembly and make such assertions. It is misleading,” he said.

Referencing the three demands, Seeraj stated that the revolving fund that is being called for is already in place, with ongoing negotiations to expand the fund.

He said: “The crop recently harvested is over $23B and almost $20B has been paid out. Where is the money coming from? We still have 60 per cent of the crop in store to be exported, so the money has to be coming from somewhere.

“There is a revolving fund and there are two sides to this fund; one is from the established commercial banks, which makes loans available and the other is through support from the Government….there is something in place….this is a dead call because this is already in place.

“We are also engaged to expand this. We are talking to the Bankers Association to make additional funds to the industry.”

Seeraj added that as it relates to the dropping of charges and the release of the impounded vehicles, this is a matter for the police and the courts, particularly considering that the men have been charged in the courts already.

The RPA head said: “The Essequibo situation is one where this guy Naith Ram obviously was the leader… the afternoon’s actions was an illegal protest, because they blocked the road, and they caused discomfort for many people and they even abuse police officers.

“The whole day they were allowed to do the protest and they did so peacefully, but after the drinks took over, after these farmers had liquor bought for them, they went and blocked up the place and Mr. Naith Ram even stripped himself.

“It shows how desperate he is for attention. It shows how desperate they were to make the news and to make some kind of impact. But obviously they chose the wrong way to make an impact.”

Seeraj made clear that the AFC Leader has a responsibility to be honest with the National Assembly and not mislead the members of the House.

“We have been working fairly with everyone to address the concerns of all farmers and millers. No one in the industry can accuse the RPA of any favouritism. This talk of favouritism has never been an issue and I have been with the RPA for 20 years now,” he stressed.

Seeraj reiterated that the AFC’s actions and Ramjattan’s statement to the National Assembly represent cheap political tricks that ought not to be employed, the reasons having already been evidence by the consequent ramifications.

OFFICIAL ACCOUNT
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has said that the protest march and meeting, for which approval was sought and given, commenced at 10:00hrs, and proceeded peacefully with about 200 persons, including farmers.

The Force, in a statement after the fact, added that at the conclusion of the protest march and meeting, at about 12.30hrs, most of the participants of the march had left, but some remained and began consuming alcohol.

The report stated too that at about 17.15hrs, those who were imbibing and others, including Ram, boarded their motor vehicles, tractors and trailers, and proceeded to drive along the middle of the main roadway in the vicinity of the villages of Reliance and Land of Plenty, Essequibo Coast, at a very slow rate. On reaching a short distance before the Land of Plenty Bridge, at about 18.00hrs, the men continued breaching the laws by proceeding to block the entire roadway with the use of their motor vehicles, tractors and trailers, and to set fire to tyres and other debris that had been thrown on the roadway. A utility pole was also used to block the roadway.

By this time, the crowd had increased to over 400 persons, and efforts by the police to get them to remove the vehicles from across the roadway proved futile.

Missiles comprising bricks, bottles and other articles were thrown at police ranks who attempted to remove the burning obstacles from the roadway, causing the police to cease efforts in that regard.

The GPF was also emphatic in its denial of reports, in some sections of the media, that police ranks “stripped” Ram, who is also the chairman of the Essequibo Paddy Farmers’ Association, during their confrontation with the protestors.

According to the police, Ram, after a peaceful protest action which was approved by the police, stripped himself of his clothing, posed for photos and left the scene, returning soon after in a change of clothes.

The police continued to appeal to the persons who had blocked the roadway, but to no avail. Tear gas was then used to disperse the crowd; and the vehicles involved in blocking the road were impounded, and 19 persons, including Ram were arrested.

Ramjattan, in his tirade, however, dismissed the police’s account of the violence.