Dear Editor,
So it is May 11. The time is here for the opposition to display its true mettle. It should have been ready already, prepared for this date, or any date. Is it ready now? Will it be ready then?
There is no question that the governing PPP has tremendous advantages, all the tangible assets. There is the well-oiled, humming machinery already firing on all cylinders; funds in torrential quantities and more to spare; and technological access everywhere to reach, to propagandize, to in-gather the faithful, as well as the obstinate.
The ruling party is in a position to buy; the ranks of sellers are known, and they can grow even more.
On the other hand, the opposition, though severely handicapped in some areas, must demonstrate that it possesses the intangibles: the will, the discipline, the diligence, and the sustained dedication to industry like it has never done before. Like it shrinks from doing now in a true relentless full-court press in all the highways and byways of local society. Is it up to the challenge to work hard, real hard? Time will tell. The opposition does well to remember the example of the North Vietnamese while they were under severe duress; and none more so than the leaders and their indomitable spirit. The local group will be pounded, but it must rise every time and keep going. Can it? Will it?
In the meantime, the Guyanese people, whether religious or not, have all of the Lenten season to pray for deliverance from the monstrosity that stalks this land. Guyana now has waiting its own 5/11. It can prove to be a date with destiny. Then again, it could be the perpetuation of the entrenched domestic social perversities and burgeoning homegrown political terrorism.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
