Dear Editor,
The comedy show of the APNU+AFC coalition Government continues with their frivolous, unsubstantiated and concocted complaint to the Ethnic Relations Com-mission (ERC) from MP, Barbara Pilgrim, as it relates to statements made by General Secretary and Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo at Babu John, Berbice on Sunday, March 10, 2019. The complaint by Ms. Pilgrim is based on the following statement,
“We are going here in Berbice and right across Guyana, when the ministers or Granger or Nagamootoo come here after the 21st March to say to them, walk behind them, chase them out. They’re gonna be illegal.”
The MP is quoted in sections of the media saying that Mr. Jagdeo’s statement runs counter to the country’s values of ethnic relations and social cohesion and will serve to only create ethnic tensions and confusion in the region in which she resides.
Editor, it is very clear that this is pulling at straws and is another desperate attempt to win public sympathy as this Government carries the country into unchartered waters with its blatant disregard for the constitution.
It is my belief and I urge all Guyanese of every race, religion, class and creed to reject this Government after March 21, 2019 and yes, when they seek to stay in power unconstitutionally, illegally and unlawfully, we must chase them out. This is not racism, this is patriotism.
Where was Barbara Pilgrim when her colleague at Congress Place not so long ago declared there “would be war in every region if there was no House to House registration before Elections”? Included in those outpourings were threats to Mr. Jagdeo personally. This video was widely circulated.
May I ask, where was Barbara Pilgrim when known personalities closely associated with the PNC-led coalition Government used their Facebook platforms to spread racism and to sow the seed of discord among Guyanese?
Where was Barbara Pilgrim’s letter and voice when the person she replaced in Parliament was demonized by the DPI and called a “Judas” on the front page of the state newspaper and elsewhere?
We in the PPP/C have been urging the Ethnic Relations Commission to enforce sanctions against anyone who promotes and encourages racism and excites racial hostility among our people. Mr. Jagdeo’s statement calling for a rejection of specifically named persons after March 21 does not in any way, incite or excite racial hostility among our people.
The President, Prime Minister and Ministers of Government must be rejected for seeking to hold on to power illegally. I expect the propagandists and spin doctors, and hired pens in this season to perform special journalistic gymnastics but this one does not fit the bill. A complaint to the ERC must be with some merit, not just to grasp some attention or make headlines.
We reject violence and racism, we stand firm for the rule of law and the upholding of the constitution.
Yours faithfully,
Bishop Juan A. Edghill
Former Chairman – Ethnic
Relations Commission
PPP/C Member of Parliament
