Dear Editor,
“The wheel of the world swings through the same phases again and again. Summer passed and winter thereafter, and came and passed again.”- Rudyard Kipling, Kipling’s words like everything else has to be contextualized.
In a Guyanese context, the seasons should be viewed as cycles with just two examples to suffice … elections and efforts at overcoming centuries of underdevelopment in the broader sense. The PPP never claimed to be a perfect organization in or out of government. Like any political organization, it has its imperfections and moments when those imperfections manifested themselves in the annals of the Party’s 75 years old history. Suffice it to say, that from its inception, the Party was confronted by splitters and factionalists, opportunists, racists, extremists and agents of foreign governments. But on the occasion of its 75th anniversary, now is not the time to focus on perfection or imperfections of the PPP. After all, the Atlantic is beautiful but salty and dark in its depth; and the sky is always infinite, but often cloudy; as politics sometimes appear to be. Now is the time to ask big questions, to explore deep issues and to conjure up original ideas pregnant with high success rates with their implementation.
During its 75 years of existence, notwithstanding what some continue to claim, the PPP continues to be a practitioner of everyday politics, involving people who embrace, comply with, adjust and contest norms and rules regarding authority over production of, or allocation of resources. They do so in quiet, mundane, subtle and at times by noisy expressions and actions all in the context of a parliamentary and liberal democracy. To those who claim the PPP was and still is sterile and bankrupt, it is necessary to recall that it advocated first for internal self-government then for independence, and voting at the age of 18. It won elections in 1953 and held government for one hundred days and later, for seven years from 1957 to 1964. One of the PPP’s greatest achievements was the forging of unity between the two major ethnic groups when that unity resulted in its victory of 18 out of 24 seats at the 1953 elections. Since then the PPP has done the heavy lifting required to realize the ‘One Guyana’ aspiration within the meaning of our national motto.
At one time, the PPP was the only party in Guyana that opposed the Burnham dictatorship and fought on several fronts for free and fair elections; it made strenuous efforts for national, racial and working class unity; it opposed armed struggle to overthrow the Burnham dictatorship and chose the path of mass protests and electoral struggle, launching in 1973, a campaign of civil resistance and non-cooperation with the PNC regime following the GDF’s seizure of the ballot boxes in the 1973 election and the shooting to death of three party supporters. In just two years after, in August 1975, the party changed its political line from civil resistance and non-cooperation and extended ‘Critical Support’ to the PNC government; two years later, in August 1977 the PPP called for the establishment of a National Patriotic Front and National Front Government; and following the August 1994 Local Government Election, the PPP called for shared governance at the level of the Georgetown City Council.
Prior to the election due to be held in 1990, the Party formulated a platform for alliances with farmers, the patriotic business class and the progressive intelligencia; and political parties with the establishment of the Committee for Defense of Democracy (CDD) and later, the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy (PCD). In August 1990, it took the initiative to create the Civic Component of the PPP to contest elections, to constitute its parliamentary representation and to form the government. The PPP has a preference to engage in honest dialogue that it considers a process of mutually picking the beams and motes out of each other’s eyes hoping that both can see clearly. We witnessed this process in last year’s negotiations between government and the Guyana Teachers’ Union. Debates on governance of the energy sector and ethnic security are part and parcel of that process.
The PPP may not be perfect, but in a Guyanese context it is special in many ways since it is known to have formulated and implemented policies that have impacted almost every facet of political, economic and social life of Guyana. Since its foundation, there is not a single political, economic or social issue that has not attracted the attention of the PPP. In fact, it is the most commented on party in mainstream and social media almost on a daily basis. Some people make the mistake of thinking that past outstanding political leaders of the PPP including Cheddi Jagan, Janet Jagan, ‘Boysie’ Ram Karran; EMG Wilson, HJM Hubbard, CR Jacob, BH Benn, Ashton Chase and CV Nunes must have faced fewer political choices and had fewer political skills than the current leaders of the PPP do.
But if we think about politics in a broader sense – as encompassing all of the diverse interactions between a colonial state, its representatives and its populace – we may conclude that those leaders operated in complex political arenas, and often developed sophisticated political skills to address the challenges of their time. And though they did not live in a modern democracy, as we do, we should recognize how their contributions reshaped their social world, and changed Guyana’s history politically and culturally.
The PPP has an assailable track record. It made its mark with the launching of the Malali, the Makouria and the Torani ferries to cross the Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo rivers. While in government 1957 to 1964, the PPP developed low-cost housing schemes at Ruimveldt, LaPenitence, Lodge and Campbelville. The government established agricultural schemes at Black Bush and Canals Polders, and at Brandwagt Sari. The PPP carried out the first successful nationalization in Guyana, taking over the Demerara Electric Company; it initiated improvements in public health services and established the University of Guyana. It laid the foundation for the establishment of the Bank of Guyana in October 1965 – seven months before the country gained political independence.
‘THUNDER’ was established on January 1, 1950 as the official organ of the PPP; The PYO youth arm of the PPP previously known as the Pioneer Youth League was launched in 1952. In May 1953, the Women’s Progressive Organization (WPO) the women’s arm of the PPP was formed; ‘The Michael Forde Bookstore’ was established in the 1960’s. ‘THE MIRROR’ newspaper was established in December 1962 as a daily evening newspaper reflecting the views of the PPP on topical issues in the local and international news. For the PPP ‘walking between raindrops’ represented lessons learnt and the ability to navigate the ideological contest that existed globally at the time with a view to avoiding government being branded one way or the other unnecessarily. The Party was perceptive enough to adopt a posture of realpolitik recognizing that, it can still safeguard its core values while adhering to ideologically pluralistic convictions. In November 1994, the Party’s call for a ‘New Global Human Order’ was adopted after collective consideration of and consultations at the leadership level.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the PPP it is proposed that an INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM SPONSORED by GOG/UG/UNDP/CJRC be organized to: 1.Consider promoting global collaboration as a means of fostering international cooperation, facilitating improved dialogue between the Global North and South to avoid growing fractures within and between countries; 2.To promote partnerships and actions that can help to contain the widening ripple effects of geopolitical instability and build a more resilient global economy; 3.To harness the revolutionary potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI)to meet the present and future challenges at home and abroad; 4.To consider the future of geo-and regional politics. And how the Caribbean region can build a viable path towards world peace and international cooperation.
The holding of such an international symposium can prove useful, if not critical to Guyana in demonstrating its intellectual capacity and international awareness as well as its reach on global issues such as energy, food and climate security. The outcome of the symposium can assist in placing Guyana’s stamp on knowledge and awareness of the above-mentioned issues within the intellectual and knowledge-seeking community at home and abroad.
Sincerely,
Clement J. Rohee
Former General Secretary PPP
