Dear Editor,
I refer to attorney Vic Puran’s letter titled: ‘The 1973 elections are a festering sore on the conscience of the nation,’ (SN September 3).
The PNC’s record of stealing elections is thoroughly documented. Read Lord Avebury’s report (1981), Americas Watch report (1990) and numerous locally published reports of the period 1968-1990. The sheer scale of the fraud is astounding.
Now retired Brigadier David Granger says the role of the army was limited to collecting, transporting and securing the ballot boxes. What an incredible statement. It is impossible for the army to escape responsibility for what was done to the ballot boxes. I wish the Brigadier would apologize for the army’s role in those colossally fraudulent elections, and let’s move forward.
What does Mr Puran intend to communicate to the Guyanese people with his concluding sentence, “I admit that he [David Granger] is eminently qualified to lead the PNC”? You cannot fail to notice the loaded irony or the fact that Mr Puran was making a very strong statement about the nature of the PNC.
Is the party not interested in transforming and reinventing itself to play a useful and winning role in a multiracial society? The main purpose of a party is to win elections. Would it not help if the party were to give serious consideration to nominating one of the few outstanding Indians from among its currently serving members of parliament? What’s wrong with Clarissa Riehl or Winston Murray? As leader of the party wouldn’t Clarissa or Winston be helpful to project a new image – a multiracial image – for the party? And, wouldn’t Clarissa help the PNC to win a greater share of the gender vote? And, wouldn’t either one of them help to win a greater share of the Indian vote? Has the party given up on the Indian vote or have the Indian people given up on the PNC?
If the PNC finds itself unable to break out of the mould in which it has been cast over the last 60 years, then it must be seen as a party that has no interest in reinventing itself.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Persaud
