President Irfaan Ali on Friday evening at an Emancipation celebration at State House urged those gathered to value their freedom which he said means not abusing it.
Backed by the ‘drums of freedom’, Ali stated, “Valuing your freedom is not abusing your freedom, whether it is press freedom, whether it is political freedom, whether it is sports freedom, there is a delicate balance, because when you overstep the boundary of freedom and abuse the freedom you have then you are not paying homage to that freedom, then you are not attributing the true values that that freedom comes with.”
Several West Indies cricketers including Captain Rovman Powell were present for the celebration as the team is set to take on India today at the Guyana National Stadium. Also present at the function was legendary Guyanese and West Indies cricketer Carl Hooper.
With an audience that included members of the diplomatic corps and government officials, Ali said that the values of freedom must be protected and secured – as such he asked those gathered to recommit to each other, their communities, and their countries that the freedom that was fought for and won will never be taken for granted “and we as a collective would use that freedom to speak out against injustices wherever they exist in the upliftment in all of humanity.”
The President said that if homage is to be paid to the sacrifices of the ancestors then “we cannot close our eyes to the inequality and injustice that exist in the world, as a country we must do our part to ensure that such injustice and inequality are removed and all of humanity can live in peace, can enjoy peaceful existence with each other.”
He told those gathered, that they have a responsibility to build a “collective future” stressing that the resources “we are blessed with must be utilized to build a collective future that brings prosperity to people in every single region and every corner of the world.”
According to him, the country’s wealth and the strength of character of its people must be blended to ensure that the blessing is for all of humanity. “If we fail in this responsibility, we will be just like those who sought to extract wealth without thinking about the collective upliftment about humanity.”
President Ali said that that must never be the position Guyana finds itself in as a people or a country. “That is why we are leading aggressively on the international front in the fight against climate change, today we call for climate justice, many persons they’re losing their freedom, their freedom to live in a secure environment as a result of climate change.”
He pointed out that Guyana has presented the world with one of the largest standing forests storing 19.5 gigatons of carbon with the lowest deforestation rate of 0.036% – something which he said must be celebrated.
“It is our collective responsibility as a people and as a country that secured this forest for the world, part of the Amazon forest that stores 20% of all the oxygen that is produced in the world”, he said.
Ali stressed that the country is committed to keeping the forest in service to humanity, “keeping this forest is keeping lives and saving lives, that is why we are pursuing a low carbon development strategy towards our development path.”
According to Ali, Guyana will also contribute significantly to energy security. “We have wars around the world, around energy, people’s freedom taken away in the fight for energy, wars of the future will be around fresh water, people’s freedom will be threatened in both of these areas we have been presented a natural gift and a blessing that we must utilize in the interest of humanity and the interest of people.”
In terms of the food crisis that the world is facing, Ali said that Guyana is working hard every day to build the food production sector which will ensure that Guyana is at the centre of food production in the Caribbean and Latin America.
“We are unfolding a plan that will ensure the discussions around the food crisis in the world, that discussion will not and cannot take place without Guyana being mentioned, that is the leadership, that is the responsibility that we are taking collectively and this is done in recognition of the sacrifice, in recognition of the freedom our ancestors fought for”, he declared.
Today in Guyana and around the world, the question of how to make freedom a way of life must be confronted, he noted. He said it must be understood what is the characteristic of freedom – democracy, the rule of law, ensuring equitable development, the upliftment of all our people, protection of women’s rights, protection of our children, protection of the vulnerable in our society – “this is making freedom a way of life.”
Stressing that August will see a prolonged celebration as Guyana will also be observing the 200th anniversary of the Demerara Revolt, he stated that the younger population must be embedded with the history so that they would understand the sacrifice and the selflessness of their ancestors “the giving of life, the flowing of blood that secured the future and freedom that we have today.”
“For this reason, we as a people who are the inheritors of such sacrifice, have a great responsibility and duty in the world today to ensure that wherever there is injustice, wherever there is the oppression of people, wherever the dignity of people is challenged that we stand on the right side of history, we stand for those oppressed and we fight with them to lead them out of oppression and into their own freedom”, Ali added.
Political colleague
Meanwhile, Dr Richard Van West-Charles – a former PNC minister of health and representative of the West Africa and South Africa Alliance Inc., also spoke at the celebrations at State House where he stated that before the function he had a meeting with President Ali “his friend” and “political colleague” who asked that he say a few words. “Well those of us who have been in the political realm for a very long time know when the President asks you to do something you comply”, he said.
The appearance at the event of Van West-Charles, the son-in-law of the late President Forbes Burnham, the nemesis of the PPP, will raise eyebrows as the former health minister has long been associated with various sections of the opposition including the PNCR, the AFC and APNU.
Noting that he had nothing prepared, Van West-Charles said he wanted to share something from the heart stressing that it is good to see the celebration in culture to mark the observance of another Emancipation from slavery.
Van West-Charles added that it is also “good to reflect on the barbarous nature and the violence meted out to our ancestors and as the Jews do because we are a part of humanity we have to ensure that this is not repeated again.”
He pointed out that Guyana has multiple ethnicities with the country’s motto being ‘One people, One nation, One destiny’ and with Ali’s programmatic framework being ‘One Guyana’, “that it is important for us because it’s building a nation, it’s saying who we are and so as we mark 185th anniversary of the abolition, we also are making the 200th anniversary of the rebellion of 1823, all together with that of Barbados in 1816, together of that Jamaica in 1831…”
Van West-Charles urged that as Guyana goes forward with its new-found resources and with a president such as Ali committed to “our development” then not only must they celebrate but be “soldiers” in the field, in the office, in the factory “to say that we all must work hard to ensure that we benefit from the resources which our government is putting forward at this time.”
He stated that is important that the government has put forward a number of programmes that are “directed to all of us.”
“It is not only about marking the issue of the abolition of slavery, it is about how collectively we can create wealth for us as a country, create wealth for us as a family, create wealth as individuals and that is the direction we have to go because the development of this country is important in also leading the development of other nations who are close to us.”
Van West-Charles then encouraged that as Guyana goes forward “we work together to ensure that we build a country that is for all and I am sure my friend and my colleague Dr. Ali will provide us with the leadership as we go forward.”
In closing, Charles asked those in the gathering to turn to the person next to them and shake each other’s hand “and say there is nothing wrong in shaking my hand, let us move forward.”
At last year’s Emancipation Day celebration in New Amsterdam, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton declined to shake President Ali’s hand. The incident was captured in a video that was being live-streamed by President Ali’s Facebook page. The video began with Ali arriving at the New Amsterdam location and greeting those present with handshakes and hugs.
However, when he extended his hand to Norton and three others standing close to the Opposition Leader, they all refused to reciprocate. Instead, Norton made a quick nod to the President who then turned and went to his seat.
Last year, Van West-Charles who was appointed advisor to the Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Norton, had seemed set to pull out from that post over concerns about poor communication and lack of consultation.
“I have therefore concluded that until the role of, and the process by which the Advisor can function in a meaningful manner, critical to bringing value to our Party is clarified, I have no other option than to offer to withdraw from the named position of Advisor. I do wish to make a positive and effective contribution to the work of the Party, but not as a casual or optional appendage,” Van West-Charles was reported to have said in his April 14, 2022 letter to the PNCR Leader.
