Dear Editor,
Please permit my final word of response in the exchange, which includes Mr Sase Singh’s letter captioned, ‘PPP, PNC are bad news for Guyana,’ (SN, Sept 23).
Mr Singh’s emphasis on partisan politics, personalities and labels, makes no sense in Guyana’s context, where party personalities, including Mr Singh, change allegiances with remarkable agility. Mr Singh’s calls for the public to abandon the PNC and PPP in favour of the AFC, is a waste of column space. It will not happen in the near future. Similarly, his dream of APNU declining to contest elections is not only wishful thinking, but an insult to the coalition’s constituents and supporters.
Given the facts, one wonders if Mr Singh’s transparent efforts to divide the opposition are a result of a disconnect with Guyana’s political reality, or something else.
Patriotic Guyanese will acknowledge that Guyana needs more than a change of government; we need instead, fundamental adjustment to the system itself. Such change includes constitutional and administrative reforms. We cannot continue to exchange one regime for another regime, which will operate under the same flawed system of laws. Given the facts, I am probably not the only Guyanese to be less than impressed by the opposition’s lack of emphasis on fundamental reform.
Instead of touting meaningless party labels, and subscribing to personality cults, Guyanese should focus on promoting the ideas which will move Guyana forward. We live in a plural society. This plurality is reflected in our politics. Therefore, any suggestion of exclusion of political entities, necessarily translates to the sidelining of parts of Guyana’s populace. Obviously, such is not in Guyana’s interest. The ideas which we support should all be conducive to healing Guyana’s wounds and promoting unity, instead of division.
Mr Singh, in spite of being asked, has said nothing about his party’s ideology. Instead, he paints the PPP and APNU with a negative brush. Further, he has publicly rubbished the idea of AFC-APNU cooperation. I submit that Mr Singh’s pronouncements are not helping the AFC to win support; his divisive message may, instead, frighten potential converts. It may therefore be in the AFC’s interest to distance itself from Mr Singh’s notions. If one wants to attract supporters, one must present a positive agenda or philosophy to which persons can relate. APNU’s founding principle of inclusion of all and exclusion of none, is an example of a progressive idea. Incidentally, this philosophy is in sharp contrast to Mr Singh’s exclusionist exhortations.
I remind Mr Singh that no political party has a monopoly on good ideas; everyone has something to contribute. We must therefore support the good planks in party platforms and reject the bad. Blindly touting party labels makes us no better than sheep.
Yours faithfully,
Mark DaCosta
