Dear Editor,
A letter written by Eric Phillips captioned “Politicians think alike” (KN 08.01.19) has caught my attention. Ordinarily, Mr Phillips makes some thought provoking points, but as I have had to point out in the past there are some grave errors and misconceptions about the AFC, which I have had to write to clear up, and quite regrettably, have to do so again.
The AFC’s call for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was stated before the 2006 elections, and was reiterated recently, when the sordid issue of the unaccounted for weapons surfaced. The AFC’s request was repeated in 2008 not because we are courting young voters who were unaware of the past as has been wrongly stated, or because we sadistically desire to see a colossal fight between other parties, but because, like him, we have an aching desire to see genuine healing and reconciliation in Guyana. In fact, all the major political parties of Guyana at one time or another endorsed the view that the truth of what happened in the past must be brought to light and given closure to. Eusi Kwayana’s now famous statement “No guilty race” comes to mind.
Another untruth is that the AFC has no history before the 2006 and therefore will not be subjected to a Truth Commission. I have to underscore the fact that the principals of the AFC all came from the upper echelons of the major parties of this country and that is a past we cannot deny. In fact, so aware were we of it, that prior to the 2006 elections we published a full-page advertisement in which we stated our sincere apologies for pain caused and for nationwide atonement. Some of what was published is worthy of repetition:
“The AFC mourns every life lost, and shares the pain of those who have suffered from these acts. We feel strongly that we must acknowledge that we have all contributed to the present situation either by our actions or by our failure to act, either by our words or by our failure to speak out
