Dear Editor,
Mr Mike Persaud in his letter ‘The two main parties should elect a leader from outside their ethnic base,’ SN, September 13, has failed to answer my question that having an Indian leader for the PNC and an African Leader for the PPP can translate into meaningful
change.
In case Mr Persaud missed it, I am interested in “meaningful change.” By meaningful change I mean how change in the racial identity of the leaders brings real change, where there will be democracy, equal opportunity and freedom for all races, respect for the rule of law, discipline in all the security forces and transparency in government business.
Mr Persaud is referring to cosmetic change when he says that with his proposal, “The parties themselves would be perceived differently, not as racial but as multiracial parties. People’s cognition would begin to change, perceiving and thinking differently – not seeing race in everything but beginning to see the merits or demerits of the great issues of the day. And they will begin to vote not on the basis of ethnic loyalty for ethnic parties, but on the basis of issues, parties’ platforms and their self-interest.” In this proposal Mr Persaud has ignored the frailty of human nature and offered nothing to restrain its excesses. There are ruthless leaders from all the races who operate as though they are above the law, take advantage of their own race, think government is theirs to do as they will, abuse their power and treat the people very badly. This country has had too much cosmetic politics, politicians, ‘development’ and people who pretend to care about others but instead are using others to further their own ends. No, people do not want more cosmetic proposals and advisers. They want the real thing and it would help if Mr Persaud stopped taking them for granted. To be taken seriously he must make his case built on something meaningful.
Contrary to what Mr Persaud writes, the PNC and PPP are not race-based parties. The only race-based party is Ravi Dev’s ROAR. Though the AFC and PNC bases are primarily African, the PPP primarily Indian, and GAP primarily Amerindian, all four parties have supporters from all the other racial groups which make them multi-racial parties. These are facts, not fiction.
I wonder why Mr Persuad is spending so much of his time telling the PNC what to do and he is not offering the same advice to the PPP which is in government. He still has not said why he wants Mr Robert Corbin to give up his elected office as Leader of the PNC because he would not be the presidential candidate and has not asked Mr Donald Ramotar, Leader of the PPP, to give up his elected office to President Jagdeo or vice versa. Neither has he answered why he did not go to the Office of the President and ask President Jagdeo to demit office in spite of all the corruption, crimes and destruction under his leadership. Had Mr Persaud answered these questions it would remove the suspicion that his politics was not genuine and was only targeting some Guyanese while he allowed others to get away with wrongdoing.
On Dr Van West-Charles, I again remind Mr Persaud that he, Dr Van West-Charles, did not run for the leadership of the PNC. It was Mr Winston Murray and Mr Robert Corbin who ran against each other, and both have accepted the results, so it makes no sense for Dr Van West-Charles to be behaving as though he ran for the position or that the results are in contention. Dr Van West-Charles’s antics can only be seen as petulant and mischief making. Of course it is understood that some love what he is doing and cheering him on because he is doing to the party what they were hoping to do. It also takes attention away from President Jagdeo’s bad governance and renewing the hope for a third term or the PPP return to office, because the opposition is so busy destroying themselves they do not have time to turn their energies on the PPP. It can only be hoped that Dr Van West-Charles would realize that the worst thing to happen to any man is to allow himself to be used by others.
Yours faithfully,
A Archer
