Dear Editor,
‘The entrenched political ruling class’ – the higher ups in the PNC and PPP/C – have created an aura of ‘pre-eminence’ over the past 10+ years; and a culture of entitlement or inevitability over the past 50 years, and are fighting hard to keep it. What did they do to lay such claims?
1. The PNC began the destruction of the country and stuck with it for 28 years. Racism, incompetence, corruption, mismanagement and ‘lack of vision’ were delivered in abundance while people faced economic ruin, and the country lost its people through massive emigration.
2. The PPP/C took over the mantle and followed the PNC’s example very judiciously. They had 28 years to study it; complained about everything (including the powers of the Executive President); then proceeded to become the PNC for the next 20 years. Now Guyana is both economically and morally bankrupt.
The AFC started in 2005 when Trotman and Ramjattan decided ‘enough was enough’ and left these 2 dinosaurs to start to create a new political culture for Guyana. Why? Because they both knew that the cultures they were leaving were rotten to the core, self centred, and destructive.
The people responded and gave them a voice in Parliament, which they have used well, to advance the thought that ‘it is possible to have a different politics in Guyana’.
Why would the AFC go backwards and embrace the ‘PNC as a political organization’, with a culture and history that will only tarnish it and bring it down?
The PPP/C and PNC know that there is increasing recognition that the AFC has shown a new way forward; and that it has withstood the attacks and smears from both sides for these past 4 years, earning people’s respect along the way. They know that people will give the AFC a bigger voice in 2011; and they are nervous.
So the chattering started a while ago as the PPP/C started creating the ‘PNC-AFC’ monster, aiming to make that the central theme for the 2011 elections. The AFC would have handed the PPP/C the greatest campaign contribution if they did nothing.
On the other side, the PNC, being in ‘critical condition’ is looking for life saving medicine, and is looking to the AFC to be the pharmacist. So chatter on this side is ‘the AFC must come together with PNC to save the country from another 5 years of the PPP/C’.
We all know that the machinery on both sides puts out rumours and messages to fan and counter both arguments – to try to create division inside the AFC, and also to take clarity away from AFC supporters and replace it with suspicion and doubt.
Anyone who thinks the cold war is over has not looked closely at the PPP/C and the PNC. Intelligence, counter-intelligence, misinformation, media manipulation and manipulation of the people are all alive and well in PPP/C and PNC politics.
In this theatre of suspicion and confusion, the AFC National Executive Committee has taken a principled and welcome position by reaching out to ‘like minded people and groups’ to join them; while putting speculation and rumours to rest about a PNC alliance. This does 3 things:
1. It stops the PPP/C from instilling ‘fear of the AFC’ among its supporters by creating the ‘PNC-AFC’ monster as the 2011 campaign theme.
2. It lets both PNC and PPP/C supporters know that they are welcome in the AFC, where they will find a new culture of mutual respect; openness; democracy; a passion for what is possible in Guyana; and a party where ‘race has no place’. People can support the AFC and not feel vulnerable in doing so.
3. It advances a new way to look at politics in Guyana – that it is possible to walk away from the PPP/C and the PNC, because the AFC is cutting clean from those damaging and toxic cultures; racial fear mongering and polarization.
In asserting that there must be an opposition alliance with ‘political parties’ to defeat the PPP/C, the PNC and others are advancing a flawed line of thinking – that people are incapable of seeing common sense and letting reason prevail over passion and tradition. It is an insult to the voter to presume that they are incapable of voting for any party unless the name contains the letters ‘PNC’ or ‘PPP’. It serves ‘the entrenched political ruling class’ and no one else.
People know that the names ‘PPP and PNC’ are loaded with bad history. They know that ‘fear of the other’ pushed them to support one of them for all these years.
This AFC position on alliances offers relief to people knowing that once and for all, they can support a party that breaks from the chains of the past, and feel safe doing so. They know that ‘like minded people and groups’ – no matter which party they supported before- can come together and defeat the PPP/C without having to have the cloud of the PNC name and culture hanging over them; and having to defend it at every turn.
So the brilliance of the AFC position is that it did a number of things that were badly needed; badly needed right now; and it did them all so well, in one master stroke.
Was it all political strategy? Maybe there was some of that. But it is more a revelation of the character and culture of the AFC than strategy. It speaks to the AFC’s natural behaviour in striving to be open; to passionately pursue a new and more promising political culture for Guyana; to make clean breaks from the past when the opportunities arise; and to let every voice be heard, and listened to respectfully along the way.
Yours faithfully,
Oma Sewhdat,
Guyanese in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
