Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo last night stood by statements he had made in New York about discrimination against Indo-Guyanese which the APNU+AFC government has described as race-baiting.
In a statement he also levelled several barbs at Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo
The statement by Jagdeo follows:
A statement, tainted by traces of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, seeks to condemn my international exposure of actions advanced by the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition – actions that affect all our people.
And I find it strange that a Government would release a lengthy statement based on a short clip of a section of the comments I made in New York. What is stranger is that the comments I made in New York were no different to the ones I have made in Guyana – at press conferences and on the campaign trail in the lead up to the March 2016 Local Government elections. I spoke to the issues of racial and political discrimination, the lack of an economic plan, the taxation policies, as well as the repressive laws that have been advanced and the threats to local democracy under the APNU+AFC Coalition.
Despite the charges made, my record on bolstering racial harmony and advancing equal development across the country, regardless of race, speaks for itself. That is not a position I need to defend. However, I have spoken out and will continue to speak out about the injustices against our people.
I am inclined to believe that the Nagamootoo-styled statement has more to do with the reception given to me by thousands of people, representing the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) – in contrast to the small crowd and protest actions that greeted him.
While Nagamootoo claims that the Coalition’s policies are geared to deliver the ‘good life’ to all Guyanese and touts social cohesion, he ignores the reality of many of our Guyanese people – the thousands of young Amerindians who were fired, the many Indo-Guyanese removed from their jobs, the assault on the sugar industry and the non-support of the rice and mining sectors.
No spin by Nagamootoo can hide these facts, in the same way that the fig leaf of social cohesion cannot hide the actions of the Coalition Government.
The Prime Minister talks up what Jaganites would do, but he – as a hypocritically ‘self-professed Jaganite’ – has positioned himself to defend the murder of Dr Walter Rodney, years of rigged elections and denial of democracy in Guyana for years under the People’s National Congress (PNC) – the same PNC that is the majority partner of the Coalition.
The only thing in the Prime Minister’s portfolio, as evidenced recently, seems to be making statements to attack the PPP. Further this ‘self-professed Jaganite’ only issues press releases, while he enjoys the luxuries of $20M of renovations to his residence, $45M in furnishings, $22M for a new vehicle, a $1.7M salary and another $8M per month for security and other costs – contrast that with the plight of our people.
The Coalition Government fails to recognise that its policies and actions do not only hurt people perceived to be supportive of the political Opposition, but all Guyanese across the country.
Jagan’s party is strong and will defend the rights of the Guyanese people.