Dear Editor,
For reasons best known to myself I have been keeping away from engaging in the ongoing debates on national issues in spite of the urgings of many citizens to re-enter the process. In responding to those persons who are of the view that mine is a valuable input in these debates I have had cause to point out to them that I am neither a columnist nor a habitual letter writer, but I am a political activist who engages in public debate only for political reasons/objectives. In the absence of a goal I do not write.
I do believe that it is important at times for one to make a tactical withdrawal from public discussions with the aim of dispassionately assessing the situation in the country, in an attempt to sharpen one’s sense of where the balance of forces are located in the political, economic and social spectra. I propose to address some important developments in the political sphere. It also represents my emergence from my self-imposed silence.
A few months ago after an intense discussion on the political situation in the country the WPA Executive concluded that there was a need for a national response, in the form of opposition political unity to deal with the pending local government elections and the revelations in the US courts in relation to the Robert Simels and Roger Khan trials. In those discussions, I reluctantly gave my support for the WPA to take the initiative to get the opposition political parties to come together.
My reluctance to the WPA’s involvement in the process was premised on the following: (1) Given the regime’s history on these matters and the experience of the People‘s Movement for Justice (PMJ) which led the struggle for an international inquiry into former Minister of Home Affairs Ronald Gajraj’s involvement with phantom killers in the period following the 2002 Mashramani jailbreak, I was aware that the struggle for an inquiry into the revelations at the Simels’trial would be protracted and therefore, run the risk of becoming victim to the imperatives of the 2011 general elections; and (2) at that time I had also looked at the present state of the WPA in terms of resources, both human and financial, and I concluded that the party’s contribution to the collective would be limited primarily to the areas of ideas and coordination of efforts – and, as valuable as these were to the efforts of the collective, I believed that it was not the ideal position for the party which was playing the lead role, to be in.
However, in spite of and notwithstanding the reservations I held, I threw my full support behind the efforts to form the Joint Opposition Political Parties (JOPP) and worked in the organization for the achievement of its objectives. It is important to point out that unlike what many believed, the JOPP was not and is not an electoral alliance. Its main objective has always been to fight for an international inquiry into extra-judicial killings and torture. If the truth be known, many Guyanese were then and presently are very optimistic that it can become a vehicle for meaningful political change and are pinning their hopes on what they believe is an inevitable development. On that score only time will provide the answer.
JOPP has delivered on its promise to produce a comprehensive dossier on extra-judicial killings, torture and human rights abuses in the country. The dossier is now a public document of historical significance, so much so that the rulers and their propaganda agents and spin doctors have worked and continue to work overtime, in a futile attempt to discredit the dossier.
Another significant political development which I want to refer to is ACDA’s recently sponsored forum involving a number of African organizations and individuals to discuss the urgent need for African organizations and the masses to intensify the struggle for shared governance/ executive power sharing as the only just solution to resolve the growing political crisis in the country. Three important resolutions were adopted at that forum. This development is important and should not be squandered by inaction. ACDA and JOPP’s initiatives, if pursued collectively and/or individually with the necessary energies and resources, can result in a major transformation of the political situation in the country.
The year 2009 ended with some significant developments which placed President Jagdeo on the defensive, politically. He returned from the Copenhagen summit virtually empty handed, with only dubious promises and without the advantages he had hoped to gain over his opponents in the PPP in the race for the presidential candidacy of that party which would have flowed from a successful conference.
He is forced to confront the situation of his government reeling from the condemnations, local and international, of the torture of the fifteen-year-old child, the irrefutable revelations coming out of the Simels trial and from the indictment by the Joint Opposition Political Parties in their dossier which is seeking an international judicial inquiry into extra-judicial killings. Additionally there is the growing internal struggle in the ruling party over his future as President, his government’s betrayal of workers as exemplified in the crisis in the sugar and bauxite industries and the public service, his government’s collaboration with RUSAL to exploit the strike by the bauxite workers and destroy their union, the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union, (GB&GWU), the rape of the industrial relations process and the continued arbitrary imposition of wages and salaries increases to public sector workers in clear violation of the constitution and of the ILO Convention to which it is a signatory.
The resistance of workers in the sugar and bauxite industries has created a political dilemma for Mr Jagdeo, but more so for the PPP/C. The party has no choice but to stand up and defend the workers, and its core principle of being a party of the working class if it is to regain its credibility. Failure to do so would be to betray the Jagans’ legacy. To all appearances Mr Jagedo, at this point of his political career, seems to care very little if at all, about the preservation of the Jagans’ legacy. His main concern is to hold on to power as long as he can and at any cost. Hence the well orchestrated thrust for a third term in violation of the constitution.
It must be noted that President Jagdeo’s efforts on the home front are to do everything, and I emphasise everything, in his power to consolidate his dictatorship. On the international front he has invested heavily, in time and national resources, in his attempts to promote himself as a leader in the ongoing climate change debates. It is clear that recognition and acceptance at the international level is for him more important than to be seen as a progressive and just leader by the Guyanese people. As the above contradictions mature and the PPP seeks to re-establish its authority, there is a real possibility that Mr Jagdeo will be left with no choice but to come to terms with a future as a climate change activist and a ‘seeker’ of an elusive Nobel Prize.
The attempts by the elite supporters of Jagdeo to market him as the only suitable PPP presidential candidate while attempting to advocate a third term for him, is an abomination, which must be rejected by the nation. These supporters, who are benefactors of his rule, have a vested interest in having him rule for an additional five years and maybe for the rest of his life. But, to achieve this he will have to first ride roughshod over and bully into submission his party comrades in Freedom House. It is unlikely that his more politically experienced comrades will allow him to have his way and submit to his dictates. If and only if Freedom House capitulates to Mr Jagdeo’s demands to be made the PPP’s presidential candidate would he be able in earnest to begin a campaign of bullying the nation into acquiescing to the violation of the constitution. This would be a high-risk political move with unpredictable consequences.
I wish to reiterate here that notwithstanding his public denial of not being interested in a third term, the President’s love for power is more than likely to further adversely affect his already warped judgment. These objective pressures will be big factors in his political adventurism. We must not underestimate Mr Jagdeo’s resolve in this matter since what is at stake for him is very personal as well as political, and he has a history so far of being a successful ‘political gambler.’ The odds are that he is more likely to take a chance rather than step back. He will dare his comrades in Freedom House and the political opposition to stop him. Decisive action by the political opposition has in the past being lacking.
This is a glaring weakness in present day Guyanese political culture which Mr Jagdeo believes he will once again be able to exploit for his benefit.
Recently, the PPP/C through its General Secretary Donald Ramotar, announced that the search for a presidential candidate to take the party into the 2011 general elections had begun. He has publicly put on record that he would accept the job if asked. The die has now been cast and the battle of wills has started both in the PPP/C and the nation. Whether or not the President will have his way rests on the resolve of his comrades in the PPP/C, the PNCR leadership and those of other political parties, civil society, cultural and religious organisations and the masses of the Guyanese people.
Yours faithfully,
Tacuma Ogunseye
