Dear Editor,
Simplistic as it may seem, a political party, historically or contemporarily, whose leaders and members were subjected to constant political harassment and intimidation, its leaders jailed, and brutal attacks inflicted on its organization as well as overt and covert acts of destabilization executed when in office; such a party is likely to succeed upon assumption of office. Bitter lessons would have been learnt while in the political wilderness. Observers should take care to not define the PPP/C by its misfortunes and missed opportunities whatever they may have been. Nor should nostalgia and romanticism associated with its past be viewed as its hallmarks. A better option would be to focus on the nation’s future and what role each Guyanese would wish to play in building that future.
What the future held for Guyana twenty years ago is not what the future will hold for the country twenty years from now. By implication, this means that we have to prepare for a much different future, notwithstanding the troubles in the past. The PPP’s and later, the PPP/C’s success in and out of office, should not be premised on any fossilized ideology, but on the vibrancy of its relationship with the working people and farmers, the progressive intelligencia, and the patriotic capitalist class. Of critical importance will be the efficient delivery of goods and services to the populace. Just as the PPP’s struggle to win political power was long and hard, in the same way, efforts to maintain and consolidate that power will demand hard work in view of the high expectations and demands of the populace as a whole.
In the midst of the cut and thrust of social and political life in the country, Guyanese in general, are knowledgeable about the opposition’s sponsored acts, hinged to a strategy that to this day, ignores the progress made on various fronts by successive PPP/C administrations. The APNU+AFC should accept that their removal from office ushered in a change not characterized by fear, political harassment, beating up of their members and supporters, nor jailing or assassination of political opponents. Further, they should not turn a Nelson’s eye to the lack of evidence-based claims about racial and political discrimination and marginalization of any class or social strata in our society. Our own Guyanese experience has shown that whenever a democratically elected party and government perceives its rule to be under threat; when internal political stability is jeopardized; when efforts aimed at deescalating tensions are undermined, the State under such conditions, must, according to law, take such action as is necessary to maintain peace and order.
Despite acting in accordance with the law, it is not uncommon for the political opposition to cast the State’s actions, as unpopular, if not undemocratic. Building and sustaining a democracy is grinding work, and political setbacks for a democratically elected government are inevitable, but notwithstanding sprinklings of criticisms here and there, the PPP/C government continues single-mindedly to provide relief to all and sundry across the political divide in an effort to improve their livelihoods. Under prevailing circumstances, it has become an everyday occurrence for politicians belonging to the democratically elected PPP/C to face a barrage of criticisms usually laced with racial innuendos, claims of discrimination, marginalization and corruption. Opposition sponsored protest actions, including picketing exercises and/or street protests are fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, however those rights must not be abused, trample on the rights of others nor disrupt the peace and good order in society.
As matters stand, it appears that those in the APN+AFC have failed to recognize that upholding democratic politics is a daily grind, worse yet when compounded with internal disunity, lack of popular support, a paucity of manpower and money. Under those conditions, the grind can be even more torturous. A constitutional or liberal democracy allows the political opposition to fulfill its parliamentary and extra-parliamentary roles and, by way of an election, to seek a change in government. Just as the newly elected PPP/C government has five years to deliver on its manifesto promises, in the same way, the political opposition in the APNU+AFC has five years to do the right thing, contrary to the modus operandi they resorted to in 2020, in an attempt to thwart the will of the people.
Nowadays, the ‘Born Again Democrats’ in the APNU+AFC are pursuing their aims disguised as ‘legitimate objectives’ such as combating corruption, making noises about a ‘bloated voters list’, and demanding an end to ‘overseas voting.’ They unabashedly continue to appeal for public support by posturing publicly on these issues totally oblivious to the fact that times have changed and that the country is experiencing rapid changes and so is the populace. The PNC must recognize that their political praxis of the nineteen sixty’s, seventy’s and eighty’s has long outlived its usefulness thus becoming irrelevant and totally inapplicable in 2023 and beyond. So long as that party refuses to recognize that ten to fifteen years from now, Guyana will be a better and different place, and that their efforts to win the hearts and minds of others will not only be in vain but will shrivel and die in the wasteland of useless and wooden-headed politics.
Sincerely,
Clement J. Rohee
