Dear Editor,
The Sunday Stabroek (SN) editorial of March 13 titled ‘Babu John address’ reveals much of the bias of SN written as it is by an old timer. Could this be an endorsement and rehabilitation of the PNC for the 2011 elections? The SN has that democratic right but trying to disguise it is unbecoming of a national newspaper.
The editorial focuses on President Jagdeo’s criticisms which referred to the shooting by the GDF of two PPP activists who were among a group attempting to block the army from removing ballot boxes following the 1973 election. Sunday Stabroek comes across as callous, significantly insensitive and dismissive both of the lives of innocent Guyanese civilians and Mr Granger’s role when he was charged with having “blood on his hands.”
When SN blatantly and conveniently sanctified by this open editorial excuse that “Mr Granger himself had already stated in response to earlier allegations of a similar character that he was an army major stationed at Timehri at the time, and had no responsibilities in Berbice” it ignored Mr Granger’s total responsibilities in the GDF during that period. The SN editorial was absolutely wrong in its estimation, I respectfully suggest, raising the perception that it has now assumed the role of Mr Granger’s chief defender and rehabilitator.
In fact Mr Granger was not only a major of the GDF but he was also the political and military liaison of the army to Prime Minister Forbes Burnham. The massive scale of the GDF’s logistical operations to retrieve ballot boxes was extremely complicated and had to have been preplanned. In fact, during the 1973 elections the GDF cordoned off a stretch of the Corentyne highway in Berbice and landed aircraft to pick up ballot boxes for transportation. Where were those planes based and from which airport did they embark? Why were the ballot boxes taken to GDF headquarters and not election HQ? Mr Granger can clarify.
One can accept Sunday Stabroek’s assertion that “if President Jagdeo is attempting to solidify the traditional PPP vote, with these kinds of tactics he will be solidifying the traditional PNC vote at the same time.” By traditional PPP and traditional PNC SN obviously means Indians and Africans. But the PNC did institute massive undemocratic measures including rigging for 28 years for which it has not made amends or apologized up to this day. Yet a significant African minority was actively involved in opposing those PNC extremes. So all Africans were not automatically PNC.
SN’s biases and prejudices however jump out when they seek to divert President Jagdeo’s criticisms with respect to Mr Trotman: “… one supposes that the President’s remarks in relation to the reason for him declining a key position in the AFC were directed at PNC supporters, since some of them voted for the AFC the last time around.” One must ask in your words, if SN policy is committed by this editorial and with these kinds of tactics will now be solidifying the traditional PNC vote, at the same time exonerating Mr Granger’s role in the 1973 elections by isolating Mr Trotman and the AFC, from its African supporters?
In SN’s quest to shepherd the African vote away from the AFC now that Mr Khemraj Ramjattan is the rotated AFC presidential candidate, it is being mischevious. Isn’t SN guilty of the same stereotyping of which it claims innocence? It may better serve Guyana’s harmony if this national newspaper were to credit some African people with decency; that many must have recognized the PNC injustice of those 28 years to actively disassociate themselves from a tarnished PNC in their preference for the AFC. It must not be forgotten that many African people actively opposed the PNC in the PPP, WPA and otherwise. SN will have a huge challenge to justify what makes all these nowadays AFC converts yet still PNC supporters unless its fundamental genesis and operation guides a policy that being African is synonymous with being automatically PNC and must remain so. Aren’t African people free to evolve away from the stereotypical perception that they massively supported the PNC’s transgressions for those 28 years? I submit that SN is trying to shove them back under the water now that they are coming up for air, yearning to breathe free.
Surely these perceptions of SN are not groundless? The evidence is conclusive that you like President Jagdeo who are actually two peas in the same pod. It’s a clear case of the pot calling the big kettle black. Let’s hope not.
However, SN’s pronouncement that “a head of state has absolutely no business ignoring a statement of denial from a presidential candidate in relation to such a serious allegation unless he has very solid evidence to the contrary. And clearly he does not. As it is, he has by implication accused the former army officer of telling a falsehood when he denied a personal connection to the 1973 events. No President of a democratic country should be caught besmirching a candidate’s character (or anyone else’s) in this fashion, least of all on a public occasion; that is not politics, it is slander” comes across as arrogant, high handed and sanctimoniously pompous. I sincerely hope this is not intentional. Anyone is free to agree or disagree with President Jagdeo as SN justifiably does; your disagreement does not make you correct or more right however.
What is most unpleasant is Sunday Stabroek’s attitude which surrenders to gloom by pessimism. As a national daily newspaper it is disappointing. Can Guyanese continue to be fed an SN menu which feeds us: “so much for rationality; so much for unity; so much for democracy. And, it might be added, so much for cross-over voting”? That does not augur well for our collective future indicative of what the AFC has been able to achieve. More than ever we will have to decide if Guyana is partitioned or made a federation as a concrete permanent solution.
Let us all hope that there is a better future ahead and “whatever the case, if Mr Jagdeo represents the vision of youth, there must be voters in all parties now thinking that age has its virtues.” We will soon find out in the coming elections where we are headed and how we can solve our future problems.
Yours faithfully,
Sultan Mohamed
Editor’s Note
Mr Mohamed has misread the editorial in question. We will not itemize his misconstructions here, save to say that Stabroek News does not support any presidential candidate, not excluding Mr Granger and whoever might be chosen as the candidate of the PPP; or any political party, not excluding the PNCR.
