Not in my name...

Does one really need to ask who in their right mind would advocate an armed uprising aimed at targeting certain sections of the Guyanese populace? Indeed, as a young person too, it is absolutely pathetic to witness so-called leaders using their platforms to serve as emissaries of hate. I have absolutely no doubt that the prehistoric gentlemen wanted to 1: incite new waves of Slo Fyaah Moh Fyaah, and 2: use their venom to frighten Guyanese from exercising the franchise in the upcoming LGEs.

This must be the “silly season”, as they call it. But let me say that the young people are watching and listening, and we will not shrink into cowardice. We, the youth, will use our voices to rise up and make our voices heard!

Ogunseye, Hinds, and others of their ilk will be reduced to a mere footnote in the annals of history.

MAKE NO MISTAKE:

You don’t think these divisive statements were planned? When last has the WPA done or said anything relevant? In fact, how many of them are still around? All 5 or 6 of them? The annual Walter Rodney Symposium is around the corner, and Patricia Rodney’s abandonment of the remaining WPA speaks volumes as to how irrelevant they are. Like a parasite, these individuals need attention to survive.

The onus is on us, young people, to confront racism and prejudice in whatever shape or form it manifests itself; be it against Indians, Africans, or the Indigenous.

Further, during the Crime Wave era, when I was but a mere tot, it was well documented that Ogunseye once celebrated to his comrades the news of the Camp Street prison escapees’ “uprising”, which culminated in murders against mostly Indo-Guyanese. However, his old comrade, the late Andaiye, famously retorted and said, “Not in My Name”.

Brothers and sisters, the foes of the past may now prop themselves up as the “heroes” of today. One former Prime Minister, once feared, now masquer - poor disposal of garbage; potholes; illegal structures being erected all over the town, with no action being taken; no proper town planning. This situation must change, and you, the people of Linden, can make the change, and you have the golden opportunity to change it, come June 12th 2023, when we go to the polls for Local Government Elections.

Sincerely,

Andrew Forsythe PPP Regional Coordinator –Region 10

FROM PAGE 4 ades as an “Elder”. But in the face of this all, we must remember those indelible words as we continue to work towards a prosperous, united Guyana.

“Not In My Name”.

Regards, Nikhil

Sankar

Dear Editor,

Following five months of attempted electoral fraud, and intense – though flimsy--judicial litigation, the PNC-led Gov’t failed in a most heinous attempt to usurp power. Now part of the cabal that emptied the treasury in its sojourn as Guyana’s Gov’t has resumed its thirst for power.

In the WPA’s recent public meetings at Mocha, Golden Grove and Den Amstel, and in the narrative adopted by some of its longstanding head- hunters: like David Hinds, Tacuma Ogunseye, and Deon Abrams, is a call to uproot the democratically elected PPP Govt by the armed services, which exhibit a huge preponderance of AfroGuyanese.

The call to arms seems to be spearheaded by Tacuma Ogunseye -- whose real name is Colin Young, and who once labelled the five criminals in the notorious 2001 jailbreak as freedom fighters, and further embellished the murderous East Coast carnage (20012005, the nucleus of which was in Buxton) as an African Liberation Movement!

History is replete with examples of failed coups, as, for such power grabs to succeed, the people in the country must generally support the new leaders. However, on almost any such usurping of power, the new regime served as a mere replica of its predecessor, with ensuing civil war. If democracy were the driving force of these WPA point men, then their energies should have been directed at the PNC dictatorship that ravaged and impoverished Guyana for 28 brutal years. On the issue of kith & kin, it is relevant to indicate that Sub-Saharan Africa is home to many of the world’s longest-ruling heads of state. Some postcolonial leaders in the 1960s and 1970s sought to become “president for life,” with several managing to remain in power for three or more terms. By the turn of the twenty-first century, the trend of entrenched leadership had spread across the region, spurring corruption, instability, societal fractures, and economic stagnation.

In 2017, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos stepped down after 38 years in office, and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was forced from office after 37 years by a military coup.

Two years later, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir was ousted after three decades in power. In 2021, Chad’s Idriss Deby, who also ruled for 30 years, died following a battlefield clash with rebels. One can only imagine that if Forbes Burnham had not met his Maker in 1985, he probably would still be the champion of power today… for 60 years!

In conclusion, those who are inciting others to arms could be better off inspiring these very people to farms. It is relevant to quote the old Swahili saying: When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled.

Sincerely,

Leyland Chitlall Roopnaraine