Government has rescheduled the official launch of the International Year for People of African Descent (IYPAD) observances in the wake of concerns raised by several major African groups about the approved agenda, but the issues remain unresolved.
Reports are that the commemorative calendar of events for IYPAD would be made public at the official launch on January 19, and that the line-up of speakers includes President Bharrat Jagdeo, City Mayor Hamilton Green and the acting Secretary General of CARICOM Lolita Applewhaite, among others.
The Committee of African groups, which aired concerns about the government approved programme, is still waiting to meet with Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony. It had pressed for the launch to be postponed from January 16 to facilitate further discussions on the agenda.
Eric Phillips of African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) said yesterday that the Culture Minister has merely acknowledged receipt of the Committee’s letter, while noting that the launch will likely go ahead without any input from the major African groups.
Phillips said that the government agenda “violates the spirit of the UN” by launching the year without the inclusion of any key African speaker, and by failing to address the critical issue of the current status of Africans in the country. “How do you launch a year of observances for African descended people without addressing what their status is in this country?” Phillips asked.
He told Stabroek News that the Committee of African groups are set to meet today to discuss the issue before making public its own programme, “which we believe reflects the spirit of the event.” Phillips maintained that they were shut out of the consultations on the national agenda for the observances this year. “I can tell you that their agenda is narrow-minded and government driven,” Phillips said, adding that they are still interested in engaging the minister and/ or Culture Director Dr James Rose.
And in its second statement on the issue, the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) on Thursday condemned the actions of the government with respect to the planned agenda for IYPAD.
Opposition leader, Robert Corbin, speaking from a prepared statement recalled that the party had put government on notice with its first statement. In that statement, he said, the PNCR asserted that, “the actions of the PPP/C regime have clearly demonstrated that Jagdeo and his party are seeking to use the Year for People of African Descent for political and electioneering purposes, rather than in the interest of the people for whom the year has been dedicated.”
The party, he said, had pointed out that, as a major political party in Guyana with acknowledged African support, it was never been formally invited to participate in the planning of the programme while the PPP has sought to exercise control to engineer the outcome.
“The party also referred to the shocking report of the planned state launching of this event where it is proposed to place the main oppressor of African Guyanese over the past nineteen years to dominate to the extent that no prominent African Guyanese who holds different views from that of the ruling party would appear on the opening programme at which President Jagdeo was scheduled to make the feature presentation,” Corbin recalled.
Referring to the statement issued by the Ministry of Culture on the issue, Corbin said it was “a garbled response,” and that it failed to address the issues raised by the party. He said the ministry sought to confuse the public by outlining meetings held, listing the names of participants of African descent and placing the name of the organisation to which it presumed they were members, next to their names.
“The response, however, confirms the PNCR’s assertions since the statement failed to refer to any initiative to invite the acknowledged organisations of African Guyanese to participate in the planning of the programme,” Corbin stated. He said also that fact that the statement claimed not to know of the existence of the All African Council of African Organizations further “exposes the farce of involvement.”
Corbin added that the statement also failed to address the content of the statement made by 12 authentic African organizations, one of which represents 16 groups, which categorically stated their non-involvement and expressed displeasure at the process used by the government to create its programme of observance. “One would have expected that any responsible and concerned committee would have positively addressed these concerns and sought to meet urgently with this group rather than engage in futile exchanges,” he said.
Additionally, Corbin said that the PNCR does not propose to engage in exchanges which are intended to distract from the essential issue, but is more concerned that the year’s programme fulfils the mandate of the United Nations in every respect.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Rastafari Council (GRC) issued a statement on Thursday expressing concern over its non-representation on the national planning committee for IYPAD. GRC called for full disclosure of all plans and programmes that have been arranged so far to commemorate IYPAD. It insisted that it should be briefed on funding for the intended programmes and projects, along with full disclosure, disbursement, transparency and accountability of funds from the Guyana government or UN agencies.
Further, the body said it hopes to represent the Rastafari community on any government-facilitated programme of activities for the IYPAD, adding, “I and I are a peculiar nation of people descended from our African ancestors; and as such issues pertaining to the recognition, justice and development of this dispossessed and marginalized section of the Guyanese society are crucially needed to be addressed.”
