Dear Editor,
Mr. Tacuma Ogunseye’s recent speech in Buxton of which excerpts are reported in the Stabroek News editorial of March 12, 2023 under the caption, “Hate-speech” has caused upset and discomfort to Indo-Guyanese members of the PNC/APNU. A long standing dilemma facing the leadership of this party has now come to the fore, i.e. how to appease the militant Afro-Guyanese supporters of the party while at the same time appeal to Indo-Guyanese cross-over voters from the PPP.
In an article “APNU elected officials distance themselves from remarks at WPA meeting; Private Sector slams WPA” (Demerara Waves of March 12, 2023), Dennis Chabrol reports “Several elected officials from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-dominated A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Satur-day said they did not endorse offensive remarks about Indo-Guyanese at a Working People’s Alliance (WPA) public meeting”. The article continues, “Opposition parliamentarians, Ganesh Mahipaul and Natasha Singh-Lewis, as well as Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Chairman, Daniel Seeram, and City Mayor, Ubraj Narine, criticised an unnamed speaker on the WPA platform for making unsavoury statements about Indo-Guyanese”.
Also, former General Secretary of the PNC, Ms. Greta Chandan is reported as distancing herself from Mr. Ogunseye’s statement and is quoted as saying “Some of the speakers communicated sentiments which must be strongly condemned since they can lead to public disorder and anarchy in an already ethnically-inflamed environment. As Guyanese, we must move swiftly to initiate mature dialogue aimed at promoting harmony, tolerance and trust… I wish to publicly disassociate myself from the inflammatory statements and call for responsible actions and commentaries, from politicians, civil society and activists alike. There must be stronger national effort to build a unified nation.”
While the WPA is no longer a part of APNU, Mr. Ogunseye was a senior employee in the office of President Granger during the latter’s term as head of the APNU-AFC coalition government. Also, Dr Asquith Rose, in his book, ‘Dependency and Socialism in the Modern Caribbean’, states that the impact of the policies of the PNC government in the late 1970s “was severely felt among the regime’s strategic black and coloured middle class supporters who abandoned the PNC for the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) party”. Thus, the connection between the WPA and the PNC/APNU is hard to dismiss.
Current leader of the PNC/APNU, Mr. Aubrey Norton, who was in attendance at the meeting where Mr. Ogunseye spoke, did not disassociate himself from Mr. Ogunseye’s remarks. Mr. Norton now faces the challenge of having to pacify the Indo-Guyanese members of his party while continuing to stand by Mr. Ogunseye. With national elections roughly two years away, he has to try also to win over potential cross-over voters from the PPP if he is hoping to have any chance of becoming the next President through the electoral process, a task which is now likely to be even more difficult.
As for the Government, there is a need for clearer commitment to and greater demonstration of inclusivity. Every voter, irrespective of party affiliation, has a right for his/her voice to be heard through his/her elected representative. Government cannot be tone deaf to legitimate criticisms. It must be reminded that a one seat majority in parliament does not mean there is no room for negotiation and compromise. All parties should heed the words of the late British statesman and colonial master, Sir Winston Churchill, “To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war”.
Sincerely,
Harry Hergash
