Dear Editor,

I do not intend to engage in polemics with E. Mervin on the role Dr Jagan played in the restoration of democracy in this country. Suffice it to say that Emile Mervin lived through that period. He knows the facts but chose to ignore them for political reasons.

What is rather intriguing though is Mr Mervin’s pretension not to know about what took place in his own country during those turbulent days of struggle for free and fair elections, yet at the same time he claims to know that Dr Jagan and his MPs were paid their parliamentary salaries during the period they boycotted the National Assembly.

A simple query by Mr Mervin at the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly would prove otherwise. This brings me to the question of critical enquiry, research and objective analysis.

It is public knowledge that the State has made available the National Archives for use by persons who are desirous of researching matters of historical interest. In Mr Mervin’s case, he should use this facility to refresh his memory about Dr Jagan’s role in returning democracy to this country.

Further, the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre at Kingston has tons of valuable documents on this very subject. I commend the services of the centre to Mr Mervin.

As regards reconciliation of the demand for free and fair elections and Dr Jagan’s call for a National Unity Government, I am not inclined to enter into the realm of speculation nor hypothetical postulations on such matters as Mr Mervin sets out to do in his rather simplistic approach. It is a much more complex and serious political issue.

A piece of advice to Mr Mervin on this particular matter, it is not a good thing to dabble into matters of political science without grasping the essence of the laws of dialectics. To do otherwise would result in a flawed and biased conclusion.

Yours faithfully,

Clement J Rohee