Dear Editor,
I was writing from abroad for a long time, but now I live and do business here – just to let my fellow SN bloggers understand.
I was charged by the PNC regime under Forbes Burnham on two occasions; the first one for trying to prevent the PNC from rigging the elections of July 1973, and later in May 1980 I was indicted for treason. I did not have an enjoyable youthful life, like many of my generation. We suffered first as members of a particular ethnic group and secondly as activists of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). President Bharrat Jagdeo did not have any of those experiences, but I don’t envy him, as Moses Nagamootoo, said recently on two interviews on Capitol News. We expected our youths to do better, and when in authority not to abuse powers and privileges as is happening with Mr Jagdeo and others. They did not earn such levels of authority.
Our problem also is the current leadership of the PNC. There is a reactionary section of the Peoples’ National Congress, mainly supporters of the David Granger-Robert Corbin camp, who are blind to truth and the reality of life. Robert Corbin contributes to the state of affairs due to his failure to genuinely and vigorously confront the current regime on a daily basis in an organised manner.
The issues are clear for all to see – I am not going to raise any of them here. People on the SN blog have done very well in highlighting them. The question is how do we stop this downward slide? How do we articulate policies and programmes that will benefit all of our people and not just one race group or the other? I do not belong to any of the political parties in Guyana. I have no faith in political parties or the current people. Our people are very fearful of politicians of all shades and parties. We need a new type of politics. We need fresh blood and we need people’s power. We all have a responsibility to organise ourselves in the area where we live and elect people at the local level to represent us.
We must do away with the List system that is the cause of no democracy in Guyana. This form of electoral system was brought into being by the PNC and continued under the Jagdeo faction of the PPP and is now reinforced by the AFC in their latest release which states that they are setting aside two seats in Parliament for foreign Guyanese. What nonsense. Is Mr Ramjattan going bonkers?
Now, in conclusion the David Granger nomination as the PNC presidential candidate will end as a cause for concern.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Rahman
