Dear Editor,
Many readers may not know that I was a regular contributor to the letters section of our daily newspapers in the 90s. I would have stopped sending articles to our dailies sometime around 2014. Facebook is where I settled and intend to stay. During all those years of the PPP excesses and abominations not a single PPP supporter, writer or columnist would openly and publicly call the PPP governments out for the terrible things they visited on the people of Guyana. They would defend the PPP to the “T”. In fact, even when those wrongs committed were so glaringly evident, the defenders of the PPP would resort to telling their supporters that Burnham and the PNC are the only evil in Guyana’s political history.
Those writers and supporters would attempt to sanitise the transgressions of the Janet Jagan, Jagdeo and Ramotar regimes by saying that the PNC governments and supporters are still the only ones guilty of terrible things the country experienced at social, economic and political levels. It was and is still different with writers, columnists and supporters of other parties who demonstrated some amount of objectivity when examining wrongs committed by the government and party they support. Lincoln Lewis , Mark Anthony Benschop, David Hinds, Karen de Souza, Lorrie Alexander, Freddie Kissoon, Andaiye, Allan Fenty and countless other writers and non supporters of the PPP would have constantly exposed the failings of PNC and PPP governments in a fair and objective manner.
PPP supporters knew what went down when Jagdeo was President of Guyana. They were fully aware of his fake marriage. They saw as clear as day the state of Guyana with its narco and underground economy; the tortures, extrajudicial killings and wanton corruption. They said nothing and voted overwhelmingly for the PPP in 2015. After all of Jagdeo’s and Ramotar’s transgressions, the PPP lost by just under five thousand votes and that was largely because thousands of independents went out and cast their ballots to see regime change.
This government’s excesses pale in comparison to the state Guyana was in when the PPP/C governed. Yet, some are calling to tell me to hold to my principled and objective positions in calling the APNU+ AFC Coalition, out. Note and note well that I have suspended all criticisms of this government forthwith until elections are over. Understand clearly that my focus will be on you the supporters of the PPP and your refusal to objectively determine whether your presidential candidate is fit and proper to lead the PPP much less the nation. Will you call upon him to publish his academic qualifications? Can we see copies of his certificates minus his birth certificate? Will you trust the courts to decide his innocence or guilt as it relates to charges against him? Will you admit that he is a political marionette operated by Bharrat Jagdeo for the sole purpose of Jagdeo’s return as de facto President of Guyana? Let us talk, PPP supporters, writers, columnists, defenders and well-wishers. Tell us the truth why you want this government out and I shall tell you about your double standards and hypocrisy.
Yours faithfully,
Norman K. Browne
