Dear Editor,
Mr. Clement J. Rohee, in his letter captioned Dr Jagan made a decisive contribution to the return of democracy in 1992″ (08.01.03) took umbrage with my letter captioned “Cheddi Jagan was not responsible for restoring democracy in 1992,” (07.12.21), but failed to submit specifics to support his own contention.
I, on the other hand, credited the late Desmond Hoyte with returning Guyana to the fold of nations that practice free and fair elections; despite the fact his PNC rigged elections from 1968 to 1985. I also posited my belief that he caved in under pressure from international lending institutions and their donor governments which, even though they liked his bold initiatives away from socialism and towards a free market economy, ideally preferred to deal with his government if it could pull off the elections.
That Mr. Rohee failed to cite examples or instances of Dr Jagan’s actions that directly forced the Hoyte regime to stop rigging and start playing fair begs for an explanation why he ventured to respond anyway. Who was he trying to impress with his rhetoric?
Mr Editor, I am quite aware of the pivotal role former US President Jimmy Carter played in the 1992 elections, but in the final analysis, control of the political machinery responsible for elections at the time was in Hoyte’s hand, not Mr Carter or Dr Jagan’s. By the way, isn’t Mr Carter eligible for the Order of Liberation award too, or has his frustration with the PPP’s intransigence ruled him ineligible?
Anyway, as far as I can recollect, Dr. Jagan was known as Leader of the PPP and parliamentary Minorty Leader who got paid, along with his party’s MPs, by an illegal government from 1968 to 1992, even when he and his party were boycotting Parliament and not making a difference on the political landscape controlled by the PNC.
Not once during this period can I recall Dr. Jagan leading hundreds or thousands of Guyanese, whether Indians or Africans or both, in street or public demonstrations, whether in Demerara, Essequibo or Berbice, to protest the PNC’s refusal to hold free and fair elections. Nor can I ever recall Dr. Jagan leading delegations of Guyanese, whether Indians or Africans or both, to overseas meetings with either Eastern or Western bloc governments or world renowned institutions to protest the PNC’s refusal to hold free and fair elections. So the onus is on Mr. Rohee to tell us what decisive role exactly Dr. Jagan played in the return of free and fair elections in 1992!
But regardless of what instances or examples Mr. Rohee cites, these will always be undermined by the fact that Dr. Jagan, the so-called champion of the return to democracy in 1992, had undisputedly first suggested and then participated in preliminary discussions with the Burnham regime to form a national unity government in Guyana in 1985.
If these talks had led to an actual PPP-PNC unity government, then what would have happened to free and fair elections for the people? Or are we to believe that free and fair elections are a right reserved for the PPP and PNC and only affects the two?
Mr Rohee said I suggested in my letter that the late Desmond Hoyte should be posthumously given the PPP regime’s Order of Liberation award.
For the record, this is exactly what I wrote: “I don’t know if Hoyte could or should be considered for an Order of Liberation award, nor do I expect this to be forthcoming from the PPP regime, which introduced this new award, but the facts of history should be clearly written so that our posterity doesn’t have to be trying to find the truth the way so many of us are trying to find the truth about the murky fifties and sixties. Hoyte, in a backhanded sense, was responsible for the restoration of democracy in Guyana!”
Does anyone, other than Mr. Rohee, get the impression I suggested, or even implied, that Hoyte be considered for the PPP regime’s O.L. award? I didn’t think so.
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin