No concessions on unity when criminals executing a political programme

-Ramotar

The PPP cannot give in to demands for political unity in an atmosphere in which it is widely believed that criminals are executing a political programme, PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar said.

He also said that the issue of a presidential candidate will not be decided in the press.

Delivering the Central Committee Report of the People’s Progressive Party at its two day 29th Congress at the Diamond Secondary School, East Bank Demerara yesterday, Ramotar said that “one of the main obstacles that we face in Guyana, which has a big impact on our politics, is the crime situation.”

The Central Committee Report was one of yesterday’s agenda items which followed the opening of the conference attended by over 1,500 local and overseas delegates and observers.

The opening ceremony featured an address by President Bharrat Jagdeo, and brief remarks by PPP Founder Member and former President, Mrs Janet Jagan, as well as by Ramotar.

Also on the agenda was the election of 35 members to the Central Committee of the party and five candidate members. Even as the opening ceremony was taking place in the auditorium of the school to which journalists except for photographers were not given access, a few persons were busy canvassing support for a number of persons they felt should be on the committee. These included Ralph Ramkarran, Moses Nagamootoo, Kwame McCoy, Clinton Collymore and Vanburn Brown.

In presenting the report on behalf of the Central Committee, Ramotar alluded to the negative effects the narco-trade had had on countries like Guyana, but said that another dimension to criminal enterprises which should concern the party, was the linkage of politics and crime.

While the PPP had often been criticized for making this connection, he continued, now many were saying that the brutal murders at Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek had a political linkage, and a few had even suggested negotiations with the criminals. The change in the commentators’ approach, he posited, was due to the fact that the victims in the latest blood-letting were persons of very modest means, and robbery could not have been the motive.

The intention had clearly been to create fear and to terrorise the population in general, but more particularly the Indo-Guyanese population. The idea he told the congress, could have also been to bait the Indo-Guyanese into some form of tit-for-tat and unleash full-scale “racial reactions” reminiscent of the 1960s. “This is a prospect we had to avoid,” he said.

He said that the criminals and their “intellectual authors” were becoming desperate having seen their attempts to instigate hostility to the government encountering a weak response and that the race hate they propagated was losing its appeal. Evidence of that, he went on, could be seen in the failure to mobilise people to protest against the government on several issues.

Security crisis

Tracing the history of the opposition forces to create a security crisis, and the strategy to make the country ungovernable since 1997, Ramotar said that having failed to get the police not to respond to the lawlessness, the PNC began to target the police more aggressively speaking about extra-judicial killings and later the murder of young black men whenever bandits or criminals “were confronted by the police and were killed.”

Ramotar then went on to claim that the media “that were influenced by the PNCR” worked hard to demonise the Target Special Squad which had been trained to deal with “dangerous elements,” while at the same time PNC propaganda, “was geared to link the government to narco-criminals” with a view first to trying to turn the police against the administration then to get the international community against it.

The General Secretary said the situation was further complicated by the PNCR’s inner party struggle in which elements in alliance with radical Black nationalists outside the party seemed determined to destabilise the regime and foster political instability. “The crime situation,” he told his audience, “is now being used as an instrument to achieve their political goals.

Continuing in this vein, he said, “the mainstream PNC does not feel confident that it can buck the extremists. They allowed the monster to get out of control. That is why they are now appeasing the criminals. So while the PNC expresses regret at the brutal killings they are never categorical in their condemnation.”

Stating also that inevitably they blame the security forces, he said that when the back lands of Buxton was being cleared to remove the hiding places for criminals, it became an issue in which the security forces were accused of excesses. “Clearly, (PNCR Leader Robert) Corbin is making concessions to this group to protect his leadership. This is a reflection of the strength of the criminals,” he said.

Stating that the AFC’s position approximates with that of the PNCR, the Central Committee report said that this was not surprising since AFC Leader Raphael Trotman had been one of the early PNCR leaders to visit Buxton during the period when the five prison escapees in 2002 were hiding there.

He said that “Now that it is widely believed that the criminals are also executing a political programme it is legitimate to ask who are the beneficiaries of such an action.” He asked rhetorically whether those who were calling for a political solution were implying that it was the PNC which would be gaining from this, and if so “then it is surely not a good condition for political unity,” adding, “We cannot give into such demands in this type of atmosphere.”

To deal with the issue of crime, the report said that there was urgent need to establish a squad similar to the defunct “Tactical Service Unit” (Target Special Squad) since the use of the army was temporary and there was need for a permanent crack unit with specialized training and adequate equipment to counter criminal enterprises.

Apart from the parliamentary opposition parties attacking the government, the report said that there was a continuous barrage on a daily basis from certain media houses.

“Leading the pack at this time is, without, doubt, the ‘Stabroek News’ the supposedly ‘independent’ media,” followed by the ‘Kaieteur News.’ The Stabroek News’ editorial and letter columns, said the General Secretary, existed mainly to criticize the government “trying to make a case of incompetence; corruption and poor governance.” The Kaieteur News was described as a “hodge-podge of views with a few favourable expressions to government but balanced off by some vicious attacks not only on the administration, but also the Party and even our history.” Some TV station also “throw in their lot” opposing the government.

The report went on to say that the media had grown under the PPP government, but “rights and responsibilities must go together.”

Commenting on the political situation in the country, Ramotar reported that following the 2006 elections, the PPP/C had a parliamentary representative in every region, the only party in the country to achieve this.

Of significance, he said, was the fact that the PPP was breaking down the racial barriers first erected by the colonial masters and which was subsequently used by the PNC and other forces opposed to the PPP.

The achievement, he said, was rooted in policies the government has pursued consistently  – conducting business without discrimination , without fear or favour, and ensuring governance in the interest of the people in spite of charges of discrimination from the opposition and nothing specific being brought forward.

Since 1992, he noted that the party had enjoyed support from all segments of society and since the 2006 elections, the major opposition PNCR was left “weaker than before.”

He continued, “The problems and divisions which the PNCR is experiencing may be more deep-seated than what readily meets the eye. They cannot be seen as stemming from mere personality clashes. There are obviously serious undercurrents at play to which the substantial loss of electoral support attest. Time will tell if that party will overcome their difficulties or they will be aggravated.”

Raphael Trotman’s split from the PNCR did not solve the leadership problem within that party, said Ramotar, and the issue still remained open as seen with the challenge and defeat of Vincent Alexander’s group to oust PNCR Leader Robert Corbin as leader of the party in July 2007.

Noting that the WPA was no longer in parliament, he said that the party’s leaders seemed to have withdrawn from politics and those driven by Black nationalism had found accommodation with the PNCR and seemed to be satisfied with writing letters to the newspapers making wild and unsupported claims of racial discrimination.

ROAR, he said appeared to have been “effectively dissolved” while GAP too had “almost disappeared”; it now appeared “as though Paul Hardy (GAP’s Leader) is moving closer to the AFC for political survival.”

The AFC’s approach in appealing to the two main racial groups in the country in defeating the PPP and the PNC, Ramotar said, was doomed to failure and adverted to earlier failed attempts along the same lines.

Acknowledging, however, that the AFC had made some gains, mainly in the PNC’s traditional stronghold, Ramotar said that it may be true that many PNCR supporters were fed up with the violence that the party so often used as a political tool and many had gone to the PPP while others “who are still in transition, have stopped at the AFC.”

Having failed to hold the balance of power between the PPP and the PNCR, he said that with hard work the PPP could attract many who had supported the AFC into its ranks.

Regions

Having TUF in Cabinet and supporting government’s policies had allowed “us to take the positions of Chair-man and Vice Chairman of Region Nine (Upper Essequibo/Upper Takutu).” But he noted that the PPP must work to win the majority in the hinterland regions at the 2011 elections, although with the work of the government in the interior the party had confidence that it would continue to make gains politically in Amerindian communities.

According to Ramotar consensus building and alliances were the main planks of the party’s political work and the PPP/C administration had been consulting civil society stakeholders as well as improving conditions in parliament making parliament “a truly deliberative body.” The creation of parliamentary committees and the tabling of the Auditor General’s report to parliament, he said all showed that Guyana was one of the leading democracies in the world.

The report said that the gains of the party was as a direct result of the consistency of the party in the fight for unity rooted in scientific analysis over the years. The PPP/Civic alliance has been most successful and was rated as the most successful and enduring of all alliances made.

Former president and founder leader of the party Dr Cheddi Jagan was credited for this.

The report cited Dr Jagan as saying at the 25th Congress held in George-town in 1994 that the alliance provided for racial/ ethnic and class balance and ideological pluralism in a national democratic state. He predicted that “…in time with the PPP/Civic government’s commitment to an attainment of further economic growth and human development, fears of racial/ethnic insecurity will disappear and the ground will be prepared not only for national unity but also for racial/ethnic and working class unity…”

In consolidating and advancing unity and solidarity of the people, the report said that the PPP/C remained the most important vehicle in this cause.

Ramotar said that the PPP/C victory at the elections was also due to the fact that the government had performed magnificently. “Our President, Cde Bharrat Jagdeo, has grown in stature both nationally and internationally,” he reported.

On the issue of a presidential candidate for the 2011 general elections, Ramotar noted that there had been much talk in the public as to who it would be.

“Much speculation is going on in the press and all kinds of scenarios are being created. We have even seen talk about front runners etc. in the press,” he said adding that he sometimes got the impression that a lot of what was appearing was designed to create confusion, mischief and probably division in the ranks.

He said the discussions would go on in the public by both friends and foes of the party and this was only natural because it was a very important issue. This is President Jagdeo’s last term in office and in his remarks at the opening session of the conference, he said it would be his last time addressing the party at its highest forum as President unless another such congress was held before the next general elections.

On the issue of the candidate, Ramotar, who has expressed an interest in running for the presidency, said, “let me make it clear that the decision will not be made in the press. It will not be made prematurely to satisfy any speculation.

“The party will discuss this issue and it is the party that will choose the time, the place and the method of deciding this matter.” He added, “We are fortunate that our party has talent and we have many comrades that are capable of taking on such responsibilities.”