In sharp contrast to the atmosphere that greeted the PPP/C on Thursday night, the residents of Buxton last evening warmly embraced opposition coalition APNU whose leaders promised that a David Granger led administration will ensure that the village experiences the healing, reconciliation and justice that it yearns for.
Describing the village as one of the “most abused” and “most insulted” places in Guyana, APNU’s prime ministerial candidate Dr Rupert Roopnaraine said that the village was specifically chosen for last evening’s event as the opposition coalition kicked off its final round of rallies ahead of November 28. “We have come to Buxton tonight because this is where the healing must begin because APNU is on a mission. We are not only on a mission to win the elections in Novem-ber, we are on a mission to reconcile this great country so that Africans and Indians can work together… and play together,” he declared to a few thousands in attendance on the Railway Embankment.
“We want the sideline dams to become dams of friendship. We want Buxton and Annandale to be a free zone – people coming and going freely between the villages. APNU’s mission is a mission of national reconciliation… we are on a crusade and we begin here in Buxton as the most wounded place,” he declared to the approving crowd.
The boos, heckling and rotten eggs of Thursday evening’s crowd were replaced by shouts, chants and even firecrackers as Granger, Roopnaraine and the other speakers had the crowd fully behind them. With several in the crowd dressed in APNU jerseys and waving Granger placards and some even palm leaves, the gathering paid rapt attention to the different speakers and were very vocal in their support. The crowd was most energetic though whenever any of the party’s campaign songs was played.
Volda Lawrence, a crowd favourite, slammed the government for its heavy taxation of its people saying that the income tax and VAT were too high. Appealing especially to female voters, she urged them to vote for a party that respected women and would espouse good family values. This is where she criticized President Bharrat Jagdeo and referred to his ‘marriage’ to Varshnie Singh, which sent sections of the crowds into fits of laughter.
And Roopnaraine, who followed her on stage, promised that APNU would conduct forensic audits into all government departments. “ It is the APNU’s decision following the 28th Novem-ber, that we will conduct a forensic of all the government departments and all the government ministries…we in-tend to find the money and we intend to bring it back to Guyana and put it back where it belongs; in the national treasury…” Roopnaraine said. He also spoke of reforming the judicial system so that there is no difference in the application of the law based on wealth. He urged villagers to go into the polling booths on election day with “revolt” in their hearts against the PPP/C’s regime.
Buxton businessman Morris Wilson said it was time for change saying that the residents of Buxton needed justice for the ills of the past. “Justice for Shaka Blair! Justice for Ronald Waddell! Justice for Donna Herod!..” he said, even as he called for a change in the culture of police brutality. He called on the villagers to vote for APNU since it will ensure that “Buxton will raise again.”
Delivering the feature address, Granger mocked PPP/C Gail Teixeira for her recent statements in Buxton, and said that it was not just enough for her to express “regret” at the crime spree that occurred in the village years ago. He said that the government had refused to conduct investigations into the murders of Buxton residents and the allegations of torture against Buxton residents.
“The same people who tell the police to shoot to kill. The same people who tell the soldiers to bulldoze the farms in ‘Operation Restore Order’ can come here and say Buxton people must forget. Forget what? We will never forget,” Granger said.
He accused the PPP/C of leaving Buxton with a stigma. “In Buxton, you asked for protection and they gave you a phantom squad. You asked for food and they bulldozed your farms. You asked for equality and they gave you contempt …” Granger said.
Saying that he seldom agreed with the PPP/C presidential candidate Donald Ramotar, Granger told the crowd that he agreed with him that this election was about records, and then he slammed the ruling party for their security record. “As long as there is the PPP they will never investigate narco-trafficking, they will never investigate the Lindo Creek massacre, they will never investigate the murder of Ronald Waddell, they will never investigate the murder of Satyadeo Sawh… they frighten,” he said.
Granger also emphasized that APNU was advocating a government of national unity and indicated that it had not shut its door on the Alliance for Change (AFC).
“I am here to tell you that the PNCR is still alive. It ain dead as yet … I am also here to tell you that the WPA is still alive…” PNCR Leader Robert Corbin said. “I am here to remind you of a few things because Buxton, you know me.
And I was here at 5 o’clock one morning when they shot Shaka Blair and you remember… did you see anybody from the PPP?” he asked to a resounding “no” from the audience. Indicating that he was not the man of the hour, Corbin endorsed the leadership of Granger and Roopnaraine saying that he was confident that they would be able to take Guyana forward.
He also told the crowd that the fact that representatives from the WPA and the PNC could come together in such a cause was very significant.
