Government yesterday rubbished the Alliance For Change’s claims that it is using Thursday’s Agricola unrest to gain political mileage and scare its former supporters into returning to the flock.
“To say that the government’s condemnation had anything to do with race and ethnicity is as foolish as it is inaccurate…. this is not a moment that the AFC should be playing cheap politics this is a moment for them either to accept responsibility (for the unrest) and apologize or remain in quiet solitude and hang their heads in shame”, said Attorney General Anil Nandlall.
Speaking at a press conference, held at the Sidewalk Café yesterday, AFC’s Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo said “I believe that the PPP (People’s Progressive Party) is using ethnicity and race for political mobilization… it wants to exploit sentiments in the society, in individual communities… the purpose of the PPP is to win back lost territory.”
Nagamootoo’s statement angered the Attorney General who said that it was an insensitive comment. “For Mr. Nagamootoo to trivialize the government’s condemnation of these atrocities on the basis of ethnic politics is not only insensitive but a colossal insult to the persons who are victims of these sadistic violations.”
“It is a very faint and outrageous attempt to extricate themselves from the atrocities which flowed from the Agricola incident. There is a clear and verifiable sequence of events which culminated into the Agricola fiasco. It began with Mr. Nigel Hughes’ most infantile ultimatum issued to the president to remove (Home Affairs) Minister (Clement) Rohee”, he added.
Further, Nandlall said that he was pained when he received word that a group of four women, one who was pregnant, had to flee their vehicle and were too scared to continue their journey but had no monies. As such he personally paid for their stay at a city hotel.
On Thursday evening the Office of the President and the Alliance For Change both condemned the blocking of the road outside of Agricola by residents and the disturbances that followed but traded blame over what triggered it.
OP accused the AFC and A Partnership for National Unity of conspiring to stage the unrest while the AFC blamed remarks by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon on Thursday for incensing residents of Agricola.
Yesterday AFC Chairman Hughes reiterated much of what the party had said. He however distanced himself and Nagamootoo from the protests saying that he heard of the events through the media.
“The blame for the events, at the feet of Moses Nagamootoo and myself, must be exposed for what it is, it is a vile attempt by the PPP/C to appeal to its traditional support base in an attempt to prove to them that those parts of the communities that do not support them are prone to violence and mayhem”, he said.
He added “It will not work, long gone are the days in which political leaders can provoke an incident and then appeal to race as the basis for rallying the troops. We will no longer be divided on the grounds of race as a people.”
He again appealed for calm.
“The acts of violence and robbery, that were committed, do your (Agricola residents) cause little good and create a fertile distraction from your righteous struggle for equal rights and justice”, he added.
Agricola residents had been protesting the preferential treatment provided by police to one of their colleagues who had been charged with murdering a youth from the village.
