PPP presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar last evening lambasted opposition leaders saying they had no “moral right” to hold public office and sought to link some with criminals.
APNU’s presidential and prime ministerial candidate, David Granger and Rupert Roopnaraine as well as the AFC’s candidates, Khemraj Ramjattan, Raphael Trotman and Moses Nagamootoo drew the ire of Ramotar who made several accusations against them.
“These people have no moral right to hold any public office in this country,” said Ramotar to the gathering of a few hundred people at the PPP’s rally at First Avenue, Bartica yesterday.
He and the other speakers including newly minted PPP member, Frederick McWilfred, sought to reassure the residents of the mining-dependent region that mining will be encouraged in an environmentally sustainable manner under a new Ramotar administration. “I would be a perfect jackass to try to stop mining in this country,” Ramotar told the gathering – many of whom were children. He also spoke of the progress made under the administration of President Bharrat Jagdeo and said that it will continue if he is elected, but denigrated the opposition leaders.
Ramotar said that Granger, a former army officer, de-professionalized the security forces and defended the paramouncy of the PNC when that party was in power. He used a slang term to describe Roopnaraine saying that he was ungrateful and a “traitor” to the memory of slain activist Walter Rodney and has no standing to hold any post.
Nagamootoo is a “liar” and “from the inception,” charged Ramotar. “That man has done nothing for the PPP,” he said while accusing him of being only interested in power. “He is a real snake,” he said. The presidential candidate also accused Trotman and Ramjattan of being interested only in power. He also questioned where the AFC was getting its money from and said that when he was in the PPP, Ramjattan was spoken to several times because he was taking the cases of suspected drug dealers and smugglers. They cannot be trusted, he said.
Meanwhile, several of the speakers recalled the 2008 Bartica massacre and sought to make a link–underscoring the PNC’s “support” for criminals.
President Bharrat Jagdeo speaking just before Ramotar said that US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks said that the PNC had a hand in the events in Buxton during the crime wave and some of the same individuals terrorizing Buxton were part of the gang that committed the Bartica massacre. He said that if that party were to get into power, guns would be given to the criminals.
Public Service Minister, Dr Jennifer Westford, a one-time regional health officer who was stationed at Bartica Hospital, said that bandits were “revered and encouraged” by the PNC and if residents wanted to sleep peacefully, they should vote the PPP.
Jagdeo said that some of those caught were defended by prominent lawyers in the opposition ranks including Deborah Backer, Basil Williams and Nigel Hughes.
He also continued his attack on some of the media labelling Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, Demerara Waves and Prime News as “opposition media.
“We have not just the opposition to fight in this election” but sections of the media as well, he said. According to Jagdeo, it is all part of a plot and he urged persons to be smart about what they read and watch.
Meantime, in relation to mining, Jagdeo said, “we want to expand mining in Guyana,” but do this in an environmentally sound manner. Mining will flourish under a Ramotar administration and not only for big companies but it will be ensured that small miners get access to land as well, he said.
McWilfred, meantime, defended his move to the PPP saying he has “crossed no floor.” He said that his conscience is clear and he is convinced that he has done the right thing. “I thought long and hard. It wasn’t easy for me,“ he said. He said that his decision to join was because of his knowledge of Ramotar.
Granger, he said, “has no fire in his belly. He has no passion.“ McWilfred said Ramotar has assured him that he will address mining issues.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, meantime, underscored what the PPP has done for Amerindians.
They all urged the people to vote for the PPP.
Jagdeo said Granger was “old” and “tired” while Ramotar is “round, rosy” and “energetic” and it is him that the people want for president.
