Dear Editor,
Reference is made to a letter by Mr. Eusi Kwayana, `In the tissues of every general election here are the fibres of communal struggle (SN 7/21),’ in which he says: “Many may wonder at the USA’s high activism in our affairs in the face of a global pandemic of the present scale. However, it is of some relief to some sectors in the US Empire, to find diversion in the affairs of a mini-state when faced at home with a unique uprising of a multi-racial nature in resentment of present day lynching. The US State Department is not part of this uprising.”
He noted his appreciation for the invention of Caribbean officials but cautioned that “what in many Caribbean countries is simply an election among citizens, in Guyana includes other complexities. Here in Guyana, in the tissues of every general election are the fibres of communal struggle resulting from conscious designs of the colonial occupation.”
I respectfully disagree with the idea that the US is meddling in our elections as some kind of “diversion” to race-related protests here in America. Guyana, to my knowledge, is not a current election talking point. There is no news from the Eastern US including Washington, or Middle America, suggesting this. If this is different in the Pacific states—then it would be big news for us. To date, Trump supporters, arguably, have no care about Guyana.
Foreign intervention in elections like colonial remnants in our society is no novel idea. Politicians know this—with each profiting from or objecting to as they saw fit.
In 2020 we again showed that Guyana is incapable of hosting free and fair elections—a basic requirement of a republic, without some level of violence, intimidation, or vote theft. We have had ample time since 1966 to learn how to cast and count ballots. Yet, we fail.
While Guyana has complexities in its electoral process, what continues to transpire currently is hardly due to past colonial designs or imperial occupation. If there is any occupation today, it is a PNC occupation. This may have less to do with colonial constructs and more to do with one party’s blunt refusal to subscribe to democratic tendencies—or a republican form of government.
Arguably, Frantz Fanon may have been baffled with the extent to which our native generals have replaced their colonial masters, whether on horseback in military fatigue in the past, or travelling with a little armada for security detail in the present.
He may have confirmed that some local generals never wear masks. They have mastered the art of mischief with such precision that they make us see masks where none exist. For example, one of the “popular” leaders Mr. Kwayana mentioned never intended, arguably, to comply with any recount agreement. No mask here. People saw what they wanted to see.
As a result, Guyana is facing another PNC occupation—and perhaps this is where a mask metaphor is relevant, because references of “colonial occupation” and foreign interference seem to amount to a collective ploy to justify this treacherous journey to PNC occupation, and the underbelly of a PNC Empire in the making.
Yours faithfully,
Rakesh Rampertab
