Dear Editor,
There is not much in the columns and letters written over the past months by Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran and others on facts and conclusions that does not invite a contradictory response, which has now become necessary for the public record. This statement is being released by the Working People Alliance Overseas Associates since the majority of those who were eyewitnesses to the events of 1992 are now active in the WPAOA.
The Working Peoples Alliance on the advice of then Co-Leader, Brother Eusi Kwayana proposed in 1992 that we should not speak on these issues at the time, since in his words “we should do nothing to endanger a government that came to power after 28 years of rigged elections.” For the historical record we now break our silence on crucial matters.
For the moment we comment on two principal issues: first, on the discussions which took place in the PCD post 1992; secondly, on the meetings (post 1992 elections) between Dr Jagan and the WPA on an offer from the newly elected President to Dr Clive Thomas for a position in the government. It must be mentioned that the PNC had expressed a willingness to engage in talks towards the formation of a post 1992 caretaker government.
Discussions in the pre-1992 PCD
From public accounts, the cardinal sin the WPA committed for the PPP historians is that the party rejected the PPP General Secretary as the presidential candidate to take the country into the 1992 elections. This is as far from the truth as one can get. Yes, at the beginning stages the WPA did publicly state that it would not be in the best interest of the country for someone like Dr Jagan to lead the joint opposition as its presidential candidate in 1992. The WPA had an immediate fear and a long term view to shift the electoral contest away from the destructive image of a PPP (Indian Guyanese)/PNC (African Guyanese) confrontation and go past the era of associating the presidency with one particular ethnic community. After the conflicts of the sixties the WPA was also wary of the effect of one of the symbols of those times personally in charge without a transitional period of public discussion. The WPA was not (never) concerned about sharing seats and ministries. The WPA did not ever promote itself. Self-promotion is not our culture, and is not part of the new political culture we strive for.
The WPA’s view, presented from the inception, was that the presidential candidate should not be chosen from any of the constituent members of the PCD but should be an independent. The Democratic Labour Movement (DLM) led by Paul Tennassee held the same position. Instead, the WPA proposed Ashton Chase. The WPA did not pull Chase’s name out of a hat. The party thought the PPP was serious when it proposed Ashton Chase to be the first President when Guyana was being declared a Republic in February 1970. The DLM’s choice was Senior Counsel Doodnauth Singh. Over the course of the life of the PCD, several names featured in the discussion regarding the presidential candidate; these included, but were not limited to the following: Bishop Randolph George, Doodnauth Singh, Roger Luncheon, and Aubrey Armstrong. Throughout the course of these discussions the PPP kept throwing and withdrawing names but always came back with a single candidate, Cheddi Jagan. This was the stumbling block. The WPA was always of the view that the proposed electoral alliance was transitional, to be followed in reasonable time (not more than two years) by a democratically organized election, perhaps under a reformed constitution, at which all parties would be free to field their full slate of candidates. The PPP from the start and throughout the discussion was crudely and disrespectfully intransigent. Their delegation opened their presentation with the startling declaration of a non-negotiable position: Dr Cheddi Jagan, General Secretary of the PPP must be the presidential candidate. This attitude stifled the spirit of the negotiations. The PPP was the only party with a non-negotiable position.
With this as the starting and ending point of the PPP, the talks drifted toward a stalemate. In this intransigent climate one senior PPP delegate attempted to arrest this tendency, by making an offhand remark (more an aside) to Rupert Roopnaraine suggesting that Clive Thomas might take the prime ministerial slot. This person clearly did not understand how uncomfortable we would feel about the PPP naming one of our members for a position (particularly since we deliberately refrained from entering the name of anyone). We were never prepared for engaging in horse trading of this sort.
As the 1992 elections approached, the WPA took into consideration the likelihood that the talks may collapse and decided not to close the door on any arrangement that may yield a mutually acceptable slate. In the interest of unity we dropped our objection to Dr Jagan as the presidential candidate, and grudgingly agreed to the PPP’s suggestion that Clive Thomas become the prime ministerial running mate. Rupert Roopnaraine duly met Dr Jagan at the PPP headquarters with the authorization to communicate the WPA’s position. As he was entering Dr Jagan’s office, Dr Hughley Hanoman was seen leaving. On the desk in the office where Roopnaraine met Dr Jagan was a huge stack of cash. In any event Roopnaraine informed Dr Jagan that the WPA had agreed to the PPP’s suggestion, that is, for Dr Jagan to be the presidential candidate with Clive Thomas as his running mate. Dr Jagan promptly informed Roopnaraine that the PPP was going to the elections alone, and that very important supporters of the PPP, including a group of prominent Indo-Guyanese businessmen with whom he was in consultation did not approve of the candidacy of Clive Thomas, with one of the reasons proffered being that the latter was a Marxist. These are the facts. If the appointment of Clive Thomas was the critical issue in the derailment of the PCD talks then on the basis of these facts Mr Ralph Ramkarran et al may wish to locate culpability somewhere else than in the WPA. It is apparent that Ralph Ramkarran and others fell victim to falsified reports from PPP historians on the pre-1992 election negotiations. Their fuzziness derived from their absolute reliance on the trustworthiness of PPP sources and this stands out in their account about the meetings relating to offers to Clive Thomas.
Jagan’s invitation to Clive Thomas to join the government after 1992
Mr Ramkarran in his column is also ambiguous on the facts with regard to why Clive Thomas did not join the government after the 1992 elections. The simple fact is that Dr Jagan made an offer to Clive Thomas which he subsequently withdrew. Here are the facts: Immediately after the elections of 1992, Clive Thomas received an offer from the President to serve as a Minister of Economic Development or in some undefined capacity in the PPP/Civic government. Clive Thomas brought this matter to the WPA executive, which ultimately sent this matter for discussion and decision to the Committee of Conference (the WPA Central Committee).
The Committee of Conference was deeply divided on whether or not to respond positively to Dr Jagan’s initiative, with the main stumbling block being the PPP and Dr Jagan’s arrogant disregard of principle. But in spite of these reservations, the WPA Committee of Conference, by majority vote, agreed to accept the offer for Clive Thomas to join the government. A WPA delegation comprising three of its co-leaders, Wazir Mohamed, then Chairman of the WPA CC, Clive Thomas and Moses Bhagwan were mandated to communicate our agreement to the offer to Dr Jagan. The WPA at its CC meeting decided that it should not stand in the way of making the expertise of Clive Thomas available to the nation and the delegation was authorized to communicate this decision to the President.
At the entrance to the President’s office we were greeted by Messrs Moses Nagamootoo and Kellawan Lall. Mr Nagamootoo expressed the hope that the WPA “would come on board.”
At the meeting before we could communicate our decision, Dr Jagan abruptly informed our delegation that there were more “ministers than ministries” and that he was mindful of the recommendation of an advisory body of experts (from UK or UN) against a large Cabinet. He told our delegation that all the ministerial positions were filled. He was quite right, as while he was in Trinidad there was a public announcement of the allocation of ministries. It was quite a dramatic end to the brief accommodation of the WPA delegation in the Office of the President.
This meeting ended a process of discussion and consultations that began immediately following the 1992 elections. Within the scope of the discussions which were ongoing before Dr Jagan left on a visit to Trinidad and Tobago were the staffing of state boards and the establishment of a joint government at the regional level in Region 8 to guarantee the PPP a majority of seats in the National Assembly. Our decision to join our votes with the PPP in Region 8 was based on a recommendation to the WPA executive from Brother Eusi Kwayana who at the time argued that although we would have held the balance of power in the parliament, we should not stand in the way of the new government. His exact words were “we should do nothing to endanger a government that came to power after 28 years of rigged elections, the government should not be held to ransom.” The WPA was also being magnanimous – as per our political culture. It was in this spirit that we had proposed a caretaker government in 1990 to take the country into elections to which the PNC agreed and with which the PPP disagreed.
Yours faithfully,
Keith Branch
Press Secretary
WPAOA
