Dear Editor,
In responding to Lin-Jay Harry Voglezon letter captioned “Guyana’s politics are more complex than they appear” (SN 1/12/2007) I want to make some positions very clear.
1. When it comes to getting up and standing up for Africans’ rights I adamantly refuse to engage in intellectual fantasies. The respect and protection of rights are simple issues. There are no complexities here. The right to life, liberty, equality, identity, representation and involvement in government are human rights protected in the Guyana Constitution. Africans’ rights are violated daily and an abundance of evidence is there to prove this is so.
2. Within the AFC leadership key Africans namely Raphael Trotman, Cathy Hughes, Sheila Holder and David Patterson are ignoring glaring transgressions inflicted on the African community, such as police brutality, poverty, marginalization in the country’s political decision-making process, deliberate criminalization of race and communities, extra judicial killings, VAT, imposed wages, government destruction of the labour movement, government refusal to pass the Ancestral Bill so Africans can formalize land ownership, the refusal of government to implement agreements that would positively impact on African lives, jobs lost, exclusion from State media, and the list goes on.
3. Within the AFC leadership, the key Indian, Khemraj Ramjattan refuses to ignore glaring transgressions in Tain, Berbice. According to him, he was summoned by these Indian supporters, complied, heard their grievances and is now taking their concerns to parliament with the support of the AFC. This is leadership. It strongly suggests a sense of purpose, role and direction which is sadly lacking in the AFC African leadership.
4. Max Hinds, the AFC NY/NJ member in response to my letter acknowledged that the AFC are concerned with the issues I raised. I await the attention to these issues.
5. Evan Thomas asked that I point out the concerns and make suggestions. These concerns are listed at # 1 and 2 and my # 1 suggestion is that the government and their agents stop ignoring Africans leaders who are raising these concerns and bringing proposals to their attention since they require political action to address and enforce.
The belated fact that more than 90 % of the AFC financing came from the Indian community, which is supported mainly by Africans, does not justify denying Africans their rights. The fact that Ramjattan is militant and African leaders are not must give rise to concerns about principled leadership. This is a perception the AFC African leaders have to change.
Voglezon’s reference of government assistance to ACDA’s emancipation celebration is again misplaced. Africans contribute to the national revenue and need not feel ashamed for what is rightly theirs. The money given to ACDA in as much as it was given by an Indian led government is not Indians’ money, it came from the State’s coffers. PAYE and VAT of which Africans are principal contributors provide very significant inflow into the State’s coffers. This raises another issue of tax equity and the need for reform.
Voglezon did inform that he no longer functions within the AFC leadership. But if he wants to continue this discourse, which I would not resist, our time would be best spent engaging in fleshing out our rights and how we should pursue and protect them.
Yours faithfully,
Osafo Modibo
