There are growing concerns within the Indian Guyanese community that the government has embarked on large-scale discrimination against them. This is being fuelled by politically driven accusations by the PPP using the same emotive language used by the PNC/PNCR in the 1990s – ‘ethnic cleansing.’ I do not accept that there is such discrimination but the growing perception is a negative phenomenon so early in the life of the government. It should not be dismissed because once such perceptions take hold, they are very difficult to overcome.
Guyana’s politics are organized for the expression of ethnic sentiments and are driven by ethnic considerations. The PPP governments of 1957 to 1964 were accused of racism and of being a ‘rice’ government and worse. During the PNC era of the 1970s and 1980s, the PNC governments were accused by the PPP of ‘racial and political discrimination.’ When the PNC lost the elections in 1992, one dominant theme emanating from its leaders, members and supporters was PPP’s discrimination. That theme quickly developed into accusations of ‘ethnic cleansing.’ It finally settled in to ‘marginalisation’ where it remained constant throughout PPP’s terms of office and became an accepted fact among African Guyanese. It attained great resonance when Dr Luncheon said in evidence in Bharrat Jagdeo’s libel case against the Kaieteur News and Frederick Kissoon that no African Guyanese were qualified to be ambassadors.
With the advent of the APNU+AFC government, many Indian Guyanese have become fearful of discrimination and, in particular, fearful of the loss of promotional or job opportunities, loss of access which is vital for overcoming bureaucratic inertia or manoeuvering around bottlenecks in the conduct of business. The fear is being generated by the reality of Indians losing their jobs, notwithstanding that most of those are political appointments and are
