Tag Archives: Guyana Politics

Guyana Independence Day 2015: A New Beginning

24 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in Guyana

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Dawn on the Rupununi River - Southern Guyana

Dawn on the Rupununi River – Southern Guyana
Photo Credit: Dagron Tours

On May 26, 2015, the people of Guyana will be celebrating their forty-ninth independence anniversary under the new leadership of a multiracial coalition government. After forty-nine years of racial divisive politics, the nation embarks on a new beginning of a more inclusive government.

At the recent swearing-in of eight Cabinet Ministers, Guyana’s newly-elected President David Granger told those present: “We are determined to bring good governance back to Guyana. We are determined to have a Cabinet which is committed to National Unity.”

As with several new beginnings, expectations run wild; dreams hang within reach like ripening fruit on a mango tree; hope is born anew.

Those of us who have entered adult life and have already experienced new beginnings as a married couple and as newbie parents know the challenges each new beginning brings to our lives. Empty nesters face yet another new beginning as a couple alone with each other after years of child-rearing.

Those of us who have been freed from an abusive relationship know that it takes years for the scars to heal and begin life anew. Some of us never heal and continue to carry the abuser – long after he’s dead and gone – chained to our ankles, poisoning our children and grandchildren who unwittingly drink our Kool-Aid. Those who refuse to drink our cyanide-laced brew suffer alienation or ostracism.

After forty-nine years of abuse and deprivations perpetrated by both the African and East Indian political parties, healing and working towards national unity is a tall order. It will take time. Change at the top comes from change below, with each individual. Freeing ourselves from the chains of mistrust, fear, and hatred requires courage, openness, acceptance, and a willingness to forgive.

Forgiveness is not forgetfulness. We must acknowledge the sins of the past. We must not forget, lest we fall prey to them again.

Changing the way we relate to each other is a daily and ongoing struggle. Believing that we can achieve the change we seek is the first step to realizing our goal. The people of Guyana who voted for change have already taken that first step. Winning the minds and hearts of those who don’t want change or who don’t believe that change is possible may take another forty-nine years or more.

New beginnings are fraught with naysayers – those who like to put their bad-mouth on every effort we make – and those with big-eye who want everything for themselves.

With just a little over a week since the new president was sworn in, a member of his six-party coalition has already aired his discontent with the president’s agenda.

Meanwhile, still refusing to accept defeat at the polls, the opposition is planning countrywide protests and compiling evidence to file an election petition challenging recent poll results.

It’s a New Day in Guyana. Now is the time. Believe.

A Happy Independence Day to all Guyanese at home and in the Diaspora!

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Guyana Elections 2015: Outgoing President Refused to Concede Defeat

17 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in Guyana

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Executive President David Arthur Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo - Guyana Elections 2015

Executive President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo
Guyana Elections 2015
Photo Credit: Guyana Graphic

On Monday, 11 May 2015, the people of Guyana went to the polls to elect a new president and government. The following days were tense and frustrating for me as the ruling party refused to release the preliminary results, claiming irregularities in the electoral process – which, by the way, was conducted under their control – and demanded a full recount of the ballots.

With the nation in limbo awaiting results, Heads of Mission of the American, British, and Canadian diplomatic community in Guyana, joined by Guyana’s Private Sector Commission, issued a public declaration asserting that the alleged irregularities were unfounded and calling the elections “free and fair.”

On Friday, two days later, the Head of the European Union Delegation in Guyana supported the position of the ABC Heads of Mission and called on all political parties involved to address “any possible grievance through the channels established by the law.”

Finally, on Saturday, I could breathe again. The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) released the elections results: The multi-ethnic six-party coalition has won the elections with a narrow margin of 4,506 votes, giving them 33 seats of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. Retired Brigadier General David Arthur Granger is now Guyana’s eighth Executive President; Moses Nagamootoo is the Prime Minister Elect.

I should be jubilant. Together with 50.55 percent of the electorate, young Guyanese turned out to vote for an end to racial politics and work towards national unity and equality for all. But, in power since 1992, the incumbent party’s refusal to concede defeat has left me uneasy. Is this due to arrogance, entitlement, delusion, or power drunkenness?

Their refusal to concede defeat intimates to their majority East Indian supporters that the newly-elected government is illegitimate and will not have their interests at heart.

How will their stance affect the work of the newly-elected government in forging national unity and ending inequality among Guyanese of all ethnicities?

The road ahead for the people of Guyana will not be easy. Much needs to be done to bring about real change. Victory at the polls must be fought for each and every day going forward.

I cried with joy the day America elected its first black president. Today, over six years later, the struggle for real change for the 99 Percent continues.

No rest for the weary.

What I learned about politicians and government growing up in Guyana

22 Sunday Mar 2015

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Assassination of Courtney Crum-Ewing - Guyana - March 2015

Assassination of Courtney Crum-Ewing – Guyana – March 10, 2015
Photo Credit: Kaieteur News

On March 10, 2015, Courtney Crum-Ewing was gunned down during his one-man crusade in his neighborhood, calling on residents with a bullhorn to vote out the current government in the upcoming May elections.

Growing up in Guyana during our struggle for independence from Britain and over subsequent years under an authoritarian government, I was not surprised by this brutal act against an unarmed, political activist. One of the advantages of growing up in the administrative capital of a small developing nation was the opportunity to get a close up view of politicians and government in action.

At a young age, I learned that the government was not some entity separate from we-the-people, but rather an integral and vital part of our daily lives. When a government is efficient and effective in executing its diverse functions, no one notices its existence. Not so in a small struggling young nation where bad roads took lives; where a movie at the cinema was cut short due to an unexpected blackout; where yards and streets flood during heavy rainfall; where tap water was red in color but declared safe to drink; where the importation of wheat flour was banned for lack of foreign currency… I could go on and on.

I learned that good governance depends upon politicians who place the needs of the people and nation before their personal gains. Corrupt politicians—those who receive kickbacks from local and foreign contractors and consultants, as well as pocket a percentage of foreign investment loans for their personal enrichment—bankrupt the nation, disrupt law and order, and foment moral decline.

I learned that political power in the hands of unscrupulous and narcissistic individuals lead to abuse of power and impunity. Such individuals have no qualms in silencing and executing those who threaten their authority.

I learned that control of the media, public and private, prevents the dissemination of information of vital importance to the population: poor governance, corrupt politicians, failures within the system, and abuses of power.

I learned that when politicians of opposition parties cannot work together in the interest of the nation, the entire system falls apart. With the collapse of law and order, the country becomes the playground of the world’s underworld and exploitative corporations.

I learned that when there is free and fair elections—without intimidation and with foreign oversight—our vote counts. When we fail to cast our vote, we empower those voters who have a personal stake in the current system of influence, abuse, and impunity.

Courtney Crum-Ewing was prepared to go it alone in protesting the abuse of political power and to wake up the population from their apathy. Honor his sacrifice by going out to vote on May 11, 2015. His life mattered. Your life matters. The lives of your children matter.

Guyana Elections 2015: Can younger generations end the nation’s racial politics?

25 Sunday Jan 2015

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Parliament Buildings - Georgetown - GuyanaParliament Buildings – Georgetown – Guyana
Source: Guyana Government Information Agency (GINA)

 

After suspending the nation’s Parliament last November to avoid a no-confidence vote, Guyana President Donald Ramotar finally made the long-awaited announcement. General and regional elections will take place on May 11, 2015.

Official representatives from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom stationed in Guyana released a joint-statement applauding the announcement. “We are hopeful that the upcoming electoral process will allow the Guyanese people to debate the important issues that are facing the country. We are committed to working with GECOM [Guyana Electoral Commission], all political parties, and civil society to support free, fair and peaceful elections,” they stated.

Since the 1950s, when working class Guyanese came together to demand independence from Great Britain, the nation’s politics evolved along racial lines of the majority Indo- and Afro-Guyanese populations. In power since 1992, the ruling party enjoys the support of the majority of East Indians. Regardless of the hardships they face under Ramotar’s government, older generations of East Indians continue to maintain them in power.

Results of the last elections indicate that support for the ruling party is wavering. Influenced by a wide range of factors at home and abroad, younger generations change with the times. Not all of them share the same allegiance, beliefs, prejudices, and fears as their parents and grandparents.

Based on estimated population figures by age group for July 2014, available on the CIA World Factbook for Guyana, only 12.6 percent (94,327) of Guyanese are 55 years and over, compared to 37.2 percent (273,456) in the age group 25 to 54 years old. Individuals ranging from 20 to 34 years old make up 23.6 percent (174,000) of all potential voters. Since figures are not given by specific ages, it’s difficult to include the number of potential voters 18 to 19 years old.

Born between the years 1980 and 1996, voters 18 to 34 years old did not live through the racial violence of the 1960s and 1970s. Those born in 1980, the year of Walter Rodney’s assassination, would have been five years old when the former black dictator Forbes Burnham died. The majority of these young adult Guyanese have lived under the dictatorship East Indian government. They have had twenty-two years or less to evaluate the performance of the ruling party.

Today, the younger generations have the voting power to say “No” to racial politics that has served only to stifle Guyana’s social and economic progress and enrich a small group of the local power elite. Inform yourselves about the issues. Inform yourselves about the leadership and goals of the opposition parties. Be engaged. Demand accountability. Demand change.

Working together with The Other is the only way forward. Bridging that gap takes courage, openness, and acceptance. If you haven’t yet taken that first step forward, do so today.

We are awesome!

14 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Guyana, Human Behavior, United States

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Guyana President Donald RamotarGuyana President Donald Ramotar
U.N. General Assembly – New York – September 2014
Photo Credit: World Politics Review

 

During my adolescent years in Guyana, everything was nice. The dress was nice; the food was nice; people were nice. The word nice was so overused that our high school English teacher prohibited us from its use in our essays.

By the time I moved to the United States, everything had become awesome. Your macaroni and cheese is awesome! You look awesome! I’m awesome!

Notwithstanding the American excessive use of the word awesome, I was taken aback at a Fox News TV host’s response to the recent release of the CIA Torture Report covering the Bush-Cheney period in government (January 2001 to January 2009). Continue reading →

Guyana Faces a Moral Crisis

23 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by in Guyana, Social Injustice

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Homeless and Invisible - GuyanaHomeless man asleep on sidewalk outside Parliament Buildings
Georgetown, Guyana – October 2014
Photo Credit: Mark Jacobs

 

On Monday, November 10, 2014, the Guyana government entered into shutdown mode. Facing the threat of a “no-confidence” motion from a combined opposition against his administration, President Donald Ramotar “prorogued” the 65-member National Assembly or Parliament. He invoked a provision from the 1980 Constitution, framed by the former autocratic government of President Forbes Burnham. Such a drastic move could throw the country into a state of limbo for up to six months.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War, the Indo-Guyanese dominated party of Marxist Cheddi Jagan finally came to power in 1992 and has remained in power since then. Government corruption, unsolved criminal activity, police brutality, and extra-judicial killings – common during the Burnham dictatorship – continue unabated. Continue reading →

Guyana’s Surveillance State, Death Squad & Undercover Agents

03 Sunday Aug 2014

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Robert Gates - Witness for Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry - June 2014Allan Robert Gates – Witness for Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry
Georgetown – Guyana – June 2014
Photo Credit: Guyana Chronicle

 

The three years leading up to Walter Rodney’s assassination on June 13, 1980, were dangerous times in Guyana. Living with State surveillance, the Police Death Squad, thugs of the House of Israel Sect, and economic hardships had become our new reality. Informers were everywhere. A treacherous remark could cost you your job or worse.

During session three of the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry, Allan Robert Gates was the star witness. Since January 2014, he has been serving a two-year prison sentence for fraudulent activities. He claimed they were “trumped-up charges” to prevent him from testifying.

Gates described himself as a security expert. As a young man in June 1977, he joined the Police Force. Two years later, he was assigned to the Special Squad of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Continue reading →

Guyana: Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry – Session Two

22 Sunday Jun 2014

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Retired Major General Norman Mc LeanFormer Army Chief-of-Staff, Retired Major General Norman Mc Lean
Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry – Georgetown – Guyana – June 2014
Photo Credit: Carib News Desk

 

As we have seen in autocratic regimes, past and present, power corrupts. Good men and women become collaborators in and perpetrators of state violence. It takes courage and strength of character to publicly come forward and admit one’s guilt and to ask for forgiveness.

Joseph Hamilton – a former leader of the House of Israel and member of the People’s National Congress (PNC), the ruling political party at the time of Walter Rodney’s assassination – did just that.

During the second session of the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry, held in Georgetown, Guyana, the first week in June 2014, Joseph Hamilton turned whistleblower. Over the last thirty-four years, his burden of guilt had become unbearable. Continue reading →

Guyana: Rabbi Washington & The House of Israel

04 Sunday May 2014

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Rabbi Washington of House of IsraelRabbi Washington of the House of Israel
Photo Credit: Guyana Chronicle Online

 

Thirty-four years after Walter Rodney’s assassination, the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry held its first session on 28 April 2014 at the Guyana Supreme Court Law Library. Comprised of a three-member team of top Caribbean attorneys from Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago, the Commission’s task is to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding Dr. Rodney’s assassination. Of special interest is the perpetrator, the late Guyana Defense Force Sergeant Gregory Smith who supplied the bomb-rigged walkie-talkie that killed Dr. Rodney. Who was behind Smith’s actions? Who helped him to escape to French Guiana?

Several police files pertaining to the case have already disappeared. (Kaieteur News)

On Day Two, the testimony of Dr. Rodney’s older brother, Edward, implicated the House of Israel religious cult: a “hit squad” for the then ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) government. In early 1979, Edward had seen Gregory Smith wearing “the House of Israel black, red and green uniform.” (Guyana Times)

Karen de Souza, a member of the Working People’s Alliance, the party Walter Rodney co-founded in the 1970s, confirmed Edward’s testimony of the House of Israel’s allegiance to the PNC government and their role as political thugs for subduing the government’s political opponents and breaking up political meetings. (Caribbean Life News)

The House of Israel holds no ties with Israel or traditional Jewish religion. The cult was established by David Hill, an American Black Power fugitive who arrived in Guyana in January 1972. Using the alias Rabbi Edward Washington and claiming to be the Prophet Elijah, the religious leader attracted mainly poor and uneducated Afro-Guyanese. He preached that Jesus was a black man and that Africans were the only true Jews.

Forging ties with Afro-Guyanese President Forbes Burnham, Rabbi Washington propagated his racist message on the state-owned radio station. As the cult grew, claiming a membership of 8,000, they became tools of the oppressive PNC government. As Edward Rodney testified, a special cell worked in conjunction with the Guyana Defense Force. (Guyana Times)

After Burnham’s death in 1985, Rabbi Washington and his House of Israel no longer enjoyed impunity under the new PNC President. In July 1986, the Rabbi and three cult leaders were arrested and charged with a nine-year-old, in-house murder. Before completing his sentence, the Rabbi was released in August 1992 by the newly elected Indo-Guyanese government. The Rabbi left for New York, but, fearful of arrest in the United States, he returned to Guyana. Thereafter, he kept out of Guyana’s politics.

In 1997, the American Black Power activist, turned religious leader, returned to the United States. Eight years later, he died in New Jersey at the age of seventy-seven.

During an interview (1985-1986) with Fr. Andrew Morrison, S.J., then editor of the opposition newspaper, Catholic Standard, the fallen Rabbi confided about holding incriminating audio tapes and photographs of the “dirty work” he had done for the PNC government. [1] If such evidence does exist, will the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry bring it to the light?

The plot unfolds…

Learn More

[1] Fr. Andrew Morrison, SJ, Justice: The Struggle for Democracy in Guyana 1952-1992, Red Thread Women’s Press, Guyana, 1998, pp 167-175.
[2] Nishani Frazier, The “Other” Jim Jones: Rabbi David Hill, House of Israel, and Black American Religion in the Age of Peoples Temple, Department of Religious Studies, San Diego State University, USA, December 2013.