Violence and intimidation again unleashed against PPP supporters
THE frightening implications of the destruction of PPP/C campaign material, the threats made against PPP/C supporters and leaders in certain communities that the Opposition considers their private property that forces the ruling party to call off public meetings, escalating adversarial encounters between PPP/C and APNU/AFC supporters, precipitated by Opposition members, portend fearful things to come.Young Charles Ramson reported a confrontation where Freddie Kissoon allegedly had to be restrained from physically attacking him, after abusing him.
The heightened crime wave targeting mainly members of one community is not a coincidence, because it provides an election platform for presidential candidates to promise reduced crime if elected. These persons have in the past proven that they are not averse to brutally taking innocent lives, without any compunction or mercy whatsoever, in their quest for power, a past they are vehemently denying and trying to suppress.
During an interview with the Guyana Chronicle immediately prior to elections of 2011, then PPP General-Secretary, Donald Ramotar spoke at length of the struggles of that party pre and post-independence to achieve freedom for Guyana and the Guyanese people, in which he played a pivotal part. However, he disclaimed any heroism on his part, because he said that every party member braved the violent Opposition of the day. He admitted to being afraid, but still helped to organise and attended political meetings, while knowing that the meetings would inevitably attract attacks by what he terms “PNC goons”, mainly operating through the House of Israel and US criminal Rabbi Washington.
He said that PPP meetings were almost always violently broken up. He recalled the 1973 period when he was in one really dangerous situation at Golden Grove on the East Coast, where the thugs badly beat some members and smashed members’ vehicles. He was not seriously injured enough to cause hospitalisation, but Harrinarine Nawbatt and some others were very badly beaten up, and this was a normal occurrence at PPP meetings.
“Dr. Jagan himself was injured during an invasion by “PNC thugs” on a platform at the Parade Ground, where he had been invited to speak in protest of the expulsion from Jamaica of Clive Thomas and other academics from the West Indies”, Ramotar reminisced.
“We were afraid but we were engaged in a struggle that we realised could not have been abandoned. I was a boy when a bomb killed Michael Forde at Freedom House, but somehow Dr. Jagan had this ability to inspire the confidence of his supporters in his vision and persons to pursue the goals he aspired to for the country, and although we knew that the situations that existed at times were life-threatening, we had unswerving faith in him, because his message was a national one, and he always appealed for national unity. Somehow I always was convinced that we would prevail in our struggles, despite many supporters eventually giving up and migrating. I had many such opportunities, but I could not abandon this dream of a better Guyana where all Guyanese could live in unity and achieve prosperity. I have never had any doubt that Dr. Jagan’s dream of peace and prosperity for this nation would one day prevail, or I would never have remained in Guyana, or in the PPP.”
But that dream and the emerging peace and prosperity of this nation that has catapulted socio-economic growth in the face of a global financial meltdown could once more be derailed if the hate-mongers could once more have their way and successfully unleash their dogs of war in the nation.
PPP/C leaders are adamant that the PPP leadership will, as it has done in the past, reject any suggestion of retaliation against its attackers, opting instead to carry a constant message of unity in the nation as the only pathway to progress. Although the violence perpetrated against the PPP/C and that partnership’s members were sometimes overwhelming, party leaders stress that retaliation is never considered an option, because Dr. Jagan felt that would have defeated the purpose that he intended and the course pursued by the PPP in its unrelenting struggles for justice, equality and unity in Guyana. He is convinced that Dr. Jagan’s dream of uniting Guyana and achieving prosperity for the Guyanese people is well on the way to fructifying, despite the best efforts of the Opposition elements to cast doubts on the PPP/C Government’s commitment to this ideal, and its strategies and programmes planned and initiated to achieve this eventuality.
President Donald Ramotar and what he calls legions of others had absolute faith and were inspired by Dr. Jagan’s passion and conviction that they will be able to overcome the hatred and bring people together, because the party’s unwavering message was always a national one – an appeal for unity in the nation and a bridging of all the divides so that the country can achieve its optimum potential for growth and development. He stated “… and again I say that I am not against power-sharing if this will heal the nation, but I am convinced that the current protagonists have no good intentions because of their track record, of which I am fully knowledgeable; and trust is an essential prerequisite for such a partnership.
“We have shared power with political opponents who have formerly strongly opposed us and they became part of the original PPP/C, with more joining the Government as they begin to let go of their misconceptions and share the PPP visions for a peaceful and united Guyana.”
He stressed, “Being in Government is not merely about being in power, but it is primarily about taking the nation forward through development and growth that will benefit all the people of the country; and the PPP/C has been achieving much progress in incremental stages as money and resources become available. We had to rebuild this country practically from scratch. This young generation who walk the streets in freedom and could dress properly, buy anything they want from any store with freedom, and pursue tertiary education without the inconvenience and fear of breaking their studies midway to suffer in the Guyana National Service are mainly unconscious of the sacrifices some brave and committed people made to pave the way and enable them these freedoms. We can only hope that they choose wisely in the next elections so as to continue this programme of progress that this Government is facilitating, propagating and implementing in every area, every sector, and every community of this country.
“Apart from the crime wave, and the constant attacks on innocent persons, we have had some degree of relative peace in the recent past, and this has allowed our growth indices to climb and the economic configurations to stabilise, and even grow. Unlike many first-world countries, Guyana’s macro-economic fundamentals are sound,” stressed Ramotar.
“They are promising improved security, and it is said that ‘he who owns the dog can call off the dog’, but the dogs may be bulldogs, and once trained to attack, can run amok and not even listen to its masters, which we have experienced a lot in this country.”
Decrying this strategy as being foolhardy, PPP/C leaders say that they cannot be threatened by those tactics, in the first instance; and in the second instance, they are convinced that there can be no successful power-sharing that arises from blackmail to destroy the country. “Our position is very clear,” Ramotar clarified, “and I reiterate, that power-sharing can only succeed if we break down suspicion and build trust in the society. That is the only basis for power-sharing. It cannot be otherwise, but unfortunately the PNC’s track-record leaves little room for the build-up of trust.”
Guyanese want peace, and only the foolhardy would support violent strategies to displace the PPP/C from the administrative corridors of the country, because the wise knows that bombs and bullets do not have names of victims, and that the bodies lying on the streets, if the violent elements have their way, could very well be their own, or that of their children; and the destroyed properties could just be their own homes; so it is incumbent upon the architects of the escalating adversarial encounters to desist from instigating their supporters into unlawful, even criminal actions so that peace could prevail and development could continue in the nation.
