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Apr 16, 2010 Letters
Dear Editor,
This is the first time I have taken the time to respond to anything written by the Government of Guyana notorious spin doctor Prem Misir, whose job it is to propagandize for the ruling PPP/C regime. I hold the view that it is pointless engaging him since, regardless of the strength of one’s arguments his role has always been to present another in his abundance of convoluted and irrelevant responses in his ongoing attempts at trying to make the Government and the PPP/C look ‘good’. In such a situation objectivity is almost impossible. However, I continue to read his letters and articles in the newspapers with keen interest.
I wish to offer a response to Misir‘s letter published in the Kaieteur News , on the 13th April 10, 2011, under the caption “ Ethnic Alliances, the way forward”. His appeal for ethnic alliances as means to dealing with our political/racial crisis has in it the germ for a solution to this country’s historic division.
Executive power sharing/shared governance is the best way to give real meaning to ethnic alliances in Guyana. It will provide the indigenous people with real power which their present numbers don’t allow, as currently exists under the winner take all political system. It will also allow for meaningful equality between Africans and Indians and other racial groups.
Misir’s position recognises the need for ethnic/racial accommodation if Guyana is to progress and realise its full potential. If that is his present position I am suggesting that we must start at the political level and change the system to one of shared governance. Any other approach in the context of our history is a non starter.
While I agree with Misir that our racial problems are not manifested in perpetual hostility and violence and we have many incidences of ethnic collaboration and solidarity, the people of this country are being ill advised to think that time is on our side and we can continue to play games with this sensitive and potentially explosive problem.
Many Indian leaders both in and out of the ruling party underplay the negatives in race relations. Since the return to office of the PPP/C those leaders have deliberately ignored the concerns Africans and Amerindians have for their future. Indian economic power, the rulers economic, political and military alliance with the drug cartels and Indians cultural/religious cohesion as reflected in their historical voting pattern – have shifted the equation and justifiably, raised the fear of Indian domination of the society. These are real fares. We can choose to ignore them at our own peril.
There is one other observation that I wish to make in relation to Misir’s letter. While he mentioned incidents of solidarity among the races he has failed to highlight a most important act of racial solidarity which is of paramount importance to politics in the county. I am referring to Africans support of Indians demands for constitutional changes – adult suffrage which in political terms allowed Indian numbers to be transformed to electoral power. It does not serve Misir’s purpose to remind Guyanese that in our more recent history many Africans fought for free and fair elections which reinstated the right for Indians to have their votes counted, and this was done in spite of the fears that Indian numbers was an electoral advantage to the PPP/C.
In speaking directly to Misir I want to say this to him – the sincerity of your call for ethnic alliances as the way forward for Guyana will only be taken seriously when you come out in support of shared governance/executive power sharing in spite of the intellectual and/or political reservations you have on its applicability and workability in Guyana. You, more than anyone else should remember that a true patriot is one who, in spite of his personal reservations, places the interest of the people of his country above party considerations.
Tacuma Ogunseye
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