The joint political and civic appeal to regional leaders during the recent Heads of Government conference signals the recognition of a need for change in government and the country’s political culture, according to AFC leader Raphael Trotman.
The AFC along with the GAP-ROAR, the WPA, the Unity Party and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) published the letter to Caricom Heads of Government during the hosting of the summit, emphasising the need to “rekindle hope” among the Guyanese people in the face of the continuing disintegration of the society. The letter, published in full-page advertisements in the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News, highlighted the failure of Heads of Government to remain engaged in the country’s reconciliation process, saying that the hopes of the people in the Herdmanston Accord and the St. Lucia Statement had been dashed. It added that the country continues to “haemorrhage,” while the people feel “deeply betrayed” by the process.
While President Bharrat Jagdeo has dismissed the letter as mere “antics” by the AFC, intended to create the impression that Guyana was violating democratic norms, Trotman explained on Friday that the letter was a collaboration that took a lot of work. It follows a similar strategy by the party during the Summit of the Americas in April in Trinidad, where the AFC placed a full page ad in the Trinidad Express highlighting bad governance by the Jagdeo administration.
He explained that while the party intended to employ a similar strategy during the Heads of Government conference, it also decided to reach out to other groups. “The Alliance for Change by its very name is thinking alliances,” Trotman said, explaining that the party is looking to expand, and is starting to look at the possibilities going into 2011 general elections. “And we are finding that there are many willing partners and persons who feel like we do; that we have to have a change, not only in government but [also] in the political culture of the country,” he added.
Trotman said that since the letter was published, the government has targeted the AFC with attacks even though it was a collaborative effort. Nevertheless, he said the party was undaunted and would continue to respond. “The government has to know, and President Jagdeo in particular, that we are prepared to place ads when he least expects them and when he expects them,” he said, adding that the party would not stop.
In addition to the four groups identified by the ad, there were also a number of other supporters, including several prominent businessmen and civil society activists. Trotman explained that it was decided that symbols would serve the purpose rather than names or personalities.
Stabroek News, however, understands that an original plan to publish their names was scrapped because some of the supporters objected when PNCR leader Robert Corbin affixed his name to the letter. This newspaper was told that senior members of PNCR did have input in the content of the letter before objections to Corbin.
He has continued to face questions about his stewardship of the main opposition party as well as calls from some members to step down since the party recorded its worst election defeat at the last general elections. An attempt by the party to form a broad-based coalition in the run up to those polls was derailed by Corbin’s insistence on being the presidential candidate, a position that did not find much support among potential partners.
Meanwhile, the open letter referred to a “movement” that is under way to restore hope and reopen the doors of opportunity in country. Such a movement, it noted, begins with the belief that Guyanese in and out of Guyana have a duty to remove the blight that has settled over the land. In this regard, it noted the importance of the right of citizens to control their affairs, as enshrined in Article 13 of the Constitution which speaks to the establishment of an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organizations in the management and decision-making processes of the state. “It will not be easy. But the work of national revival must begin now. In order to ensure success, it needs the involvement of all Guyanese throughout Guyana and the Diaspora, regardless of race, class or religious belief,” it added.
According to the letter, the Guyanese society is in the process of disintegration. “Lawlessness stalks the land. Rape and murder of women and girls are on the rise. Guyana is not alone in the region with the growth of violent gun crimes, including extra-judicial murder by elements of the security forces and by private armies of drug lords, protected and cosseted by sections of the state. Well documented instances of torture by elements of the army and police are dismissed as ‘roughing up,’” the letter said.
It identified “cronyism and financial skulduggery” as major issues within the country and referred to “the looting of the public purse” confirmed year after year by the Auditor General. The collapse of the country’s education system and the “terminal decline” of the administration of justice were two other issues that were also highlighted.
Further, the state of the trade union movement was also lamented in the letter, which said its impotence is on show with every passing day as it has been bludgeoned into submission in the face of blatant union-busting and subversion of the industrial relations process. Additionally, the government was accused of seeking to increase its control of the minds of its citizens by extending its domination over as many sources of information as possible, while restricting the right of citizens to free access to information by owning and controlling the single radio monopoly in the country and stymieing freedom of information legislation. (Andre Haynes)
