Dear Editor,
On Friday last, I attended the ceremony honouring President Jagdeo for his UN award, and I must add my congrats to the President and add that the push he’s on for the preservation of our forests and the low carbon initiatives are all good efforts and should be praised, and I sincerely hope that these initiatives reap great benefits for the citizens of Guyana. However, I was surprised that no one from the opposition was present, especially to say a few words on this special occasion , and it just shows that divisions and differences underline almost all of our political frameworks.
The initiatives which Mr Jagdeo is pursuing are all tied in to the great name of President Cheddi and his vision for a more resourceful Guyanese economy, because international recognition is an important aspect of any country’s development and Jagan knew that and tried to link Guyana to the world community during his long and illustrious political career. President Cheddi was internationally recognized from early in his career and certainly laid the groundwork for Mr Jagdeo’s successes . But the international community is concerned with other things also , as we can see from the current probes and questions concerning extra-judicial killings and the role of phantom squads here in Guyana which Mr Jagdeo will have to account for in the end.
The Champion of the Earth award should make every Guyanese proud and the acceptance and celebration is understandable, but in such a spirit of confidence from those foreign institutions, this President must take cognizance of the foreign countries (Canada has added its name) who are asking questions about civil and human rights’ violations in this country. Editor, acceptance and denial do not go hand in hand; acceptance and open-mindedness in the situation the President finds himself in, is the only answer, and I hope that will be the course taken. President Cheddi always preached transparent and honest government.
But Editor, the bottom line of everything which is driving Guyanese politics, is the divisions which delineate the political landscape and which are not addressed in any way and which will keep the citizens craving a solution. This government can win all kinds of awards and commendations from the foreigners, but if it does not address the question of majority rule and its insistence on maintaining such a wrong concept, we are going nowhere.
We can build all kind of infrastructural works, we can create all kinds of ministries, we can negotiate all kinds of ‘deals,’ we can initiate all kinds of programmes but if we don’t involve the general mass of ordinary citizens to get involved and be pro-active then where are we going? Shared governance is the only way that we can involve the great mass of our citizens in building Guyana, and that includes the diaspora. The President , in his speech last Friday alluded to America and their standard of living and he must know that Americans built their country on principles of open and transparent democracy, combined with open and enabling entrepreneur-ship down to the smallest business enterprise. The fact that President Obama could be elected to the highest position in America says it all.
Editor, the concept of shared governance is not the PNC’s or that any other group or party, but it is the guiding principle of President Cheddi who advocated such principles since the start of his political career. In 1953 all parts of the Guyanese community were represented by a holistic and energized PPP with Mr Burnham as the Deputy Leader and Dr Jagan as Leader. After the infamous riots of the 1960s, Jagan called for a coalition of shared governance in a national radio address, but was rebuffed and carried that concept forward to 1985 when talks were scuttled by certain people in the PPP and PNC who had their own agenda for this country. Then there was the PCD concept in the late 1980s which Jagan was all for, and which would have brought a ‘big tent’ coalition against the PNC government and shared governance. In 1992, Jagan insisted, again against certain people in the PPP, in combining a civic component with the PPP, and for the first time in Guyanese history, we saw the PPP/Civic contesting that election. Jagan always wanted to see the Civic component strengthened, but with his death those who took over the PPP saw things differently, and the result was the disintegration of the Civic and any aspect of a deepening form of shared governance. Today, as we stumble forwards politically, President Cheddi’s legacy and teachings have been pushed aside to maintain majority rule and to ‘shove’ one-sided legislation and per-sonal agendas down the citizens’ throats, while down-playing one of the main teachings of Jagan which was the concept of involving at every level, the good people of Guyana through the concept of shared coalition government.
Editor, in closing, I would like to state that shared governance is the evident solution to crisis and schism in any society. Look at Thailand, where the political forces now in conflict are about evenly divided in that nation and there is no solution in sight but violence and mayhem, and each election only divides the population more. Conflict resolution can only be solved by sharing the power and accepting responsibility for each side’s action while trying to sustain support for specific national tasks to benefit the whole Thai population. Guyana is a country with a diverse population and with a conflict ridden past where the rifts in our society are evident just below the surface of a false tranquillity. The PPP government should remember the many times, even in the most difficult periods, when President Cheddi called for national unity, and the many times when he pushed for a government of national consensus; it is not enough to build monuments to Jagan but it is more important to follow his lead. I knew him to be a man who would have frowned on the PPP’s monopoly of political power today in this country to the exclusion of other important stakeholders, especially after 18 years of power.
Mr Jagdeo should follow the example of Jagan, not only in foreign affairs like low carbon etc, but in national affairs to bring about a real unity and a new beginning in nation-building by embracing the concept of ‘sharing the whole pie.’ This could be his greatest legacy with his adherence to this sacred principle of President Cheddi.
Editor, as the next elections loom, it is important for the voters to make the question of shared coalition governance one of the most pressing items on his/her preferential list of what each party is committed to, as they enter that voting booth.
Yours faithfully,
Cheddi (Joey) Jagan (Jr)
