Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 23, 2011 Letters
Dear Editor,
What is it about old, over-the-hill fighters that they don’t know when they’re beaten? We see it all the time with professional boxers, even with our own Terrence Ali; is it the money?
Although I suspect in Robert Corbin’s case, it is the lucrative income and benefits he enjoys as the Leader of the Opposition that keeps him from quitting.
But Corbin should accept defeat like a man and fade away in the interest of his party and country.
He should do what he does best on real issues affecting this country… remain silent; for the truth be told: had it not been for his inept leadership, the PNCR would have been an effective opposition, and there would never have been an Alliance for Change (AFC), and the loss of six Parliamentary seats to that party during the last election.
Mr. Editor, permit me to reiterate a statement of fact I wrote in a previous letter to this medium on September 15, 2010: “I did a search on Google for any previous letters Winston Robinson may have written; I found none. I then searched the archives of both Kaieteur News and SN with the same negative result.
The point is: With all the murders, child abuse, domestic violence, police brutality, drug trafficking, Government secret deals and alleged corruption, none of these were motivating enough to get Winston Robinson to express his outrage until now.”
This character only comes out of his hole when Robert Corbin is criticised, and sounds very much like Corbin in defence of himself.
Corbin has long been suspected of writing under the names of party supporters, as in the letter “Is Mr. Mervin driven by fact or mischief?” (Kaieteur News January 20), written by B. Beniprashad Rayman, and again in a letter, “Harry Gill’s arguments are ludicrous” (Kaieteur News January 21). written by one Winston Robinson.
Emile Mervin is quite capable of defending himself from Corbin’s attacks; and so am I. In this election year, Corbin may be well advised not to ‘bark up the wrong tree’.
I am not running for political office, but as a student of history and politics, I can assure you that with every exposure Corbin gets in the media, he not only steals the spotlight from his presidential candidates struggling for name recognition, he’s becoming a major distraction for them.
In fact, the mere mention of Corbin’s name reminds the voter that, regardless of the store front he puts up as presidential candidate, he is on the inside wheeling and dealing… making all the decisions.
He will also make life a little more difficult for the ‘anointed one’ David Granger; his hand picked candidate, to gain traction with the voters.
I can understand his frustration in trying to silence a critic like me, for unlike most Guyanese, I’m neither Black nor Indian with no party affiliation, and can see things more objectively, especially when it comes to issues of race.
It is difficult for him to understand how I can be both supportive and critical of the PNCR; so I will illustrate it this way: When you’re disciplined by your parents for doing something that’s wrong, it is not because they hate you; they just want you to do the right thing, that’s all.
My criticism of Robert Corbin has always been constructive, and has never been a condemnation of the PNCR Party as Winston Robinson would want the members to believe. I therefore challenge anyone to quote from one of my letters, any criticism I’ve made of the PNCR Party that was not factual.
So instead of wasting his time trying to delude himself, Corbin should be allowing the PNCR presidential hopefuls to present their vision for a better Guyana to the electorate; for we really don’t know where they stand on the issues.
And where there is a difference on policy, let them be critical of each other and let the voters decide; unlike some in the PPP/C who is pleading for their candidates not to air their dirty laundry in public. He should also be helping them to polish up their images to look more presidential, and provide the media with press-kits with official-looking photographs of these candidates; for the ones being used are pathetic and uninspiring.
Anyone who feels that Robert Corbin in not in this for himself, is simply delusional. Case in point: The PNCR Leader’s decision to decline an invitation to speak at the launch of activities to mark the International Year for People of African Descent (IYPAD), choosing to boycott this forum instead.
Now, here was an opportunity for Corbin to address the problems affecting ‘his people’ as the Leader of the predominantly Black PNCR Party; yet he chooses not to do so, because he was not involved in the planning of the event.
When I last checked, the PPP/C still runs the Government, and it is their responsibility to plan appropriate activities to commemorate these events; to do otherwise is to clearly demonstrate incompetence.
But as Winston Robinson reminded me in his letter, Corbin said, “I am not in the business of pleasing Jagdeo, as my job is to represent the interest of all Guyanese.” So he takes his ball and goes home. But if Corbin really represents the interest of all Guyanese, was he equally enraged when he was left out of the committee charged with planning activities to commemorate the Arrival of Indians to Guyana?
Or is it only people of African descent and “bona fide members of the PNCR” that really count?
How hypocritical; Corbin can’t have it both ways. If the Jagdeo Administration had failed to properly plan activities to commemorate IYPAD, he would have been justified to be critical of the planners for not seeking the proper advice; but from all reports I’ve seen, the Government’s programme appears credible, with a personal pledge from the President that his Administration will remove obstacles to the development of African people wherever it is found.
It may be an election-year ploy, but Corbin would have made this promise himself had he been the President addressing Guyanese of Indian descent.
The call for job creation and hope for Black youth by the Rastafarian group is important, but why specify Black youth alone, why not Indian youth, and Amerindians as well as Chinese? There is need for Job creation throughout Guyana, so why should there be Affirmative Action?
There must be equal opportunity for all, and politicians like Robert Corbin need to stop playing the race card and resist the temptation of viewing everything through racist lens, for this will only hurt the very people he represents.
A few months ago, I designed and printed a quantity of bumper stickers that are on cars throughout Guyana… I hope all politicians have one. The message is simple: My Race Does Not Matter, I am Guyanese and proud of it!
It is time Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese stop referring to themselves as such, and think of each other and themselves as simply… Guyanese!
With all the talk about India and Africa, no one wants to go there to live even if citizenship was bestowed upon them.
So I find it appropriate to end with this quote from the world-famous American actor and comedian: Dr. William ‘Bill’ Cosby who said, “I was born here, and so were my parents and grand parents and, very likely my great grandparents.
I don’t have any connection to Africa, no more than white Americans have to Germany, Scotland, England, Ireland, or the Netherlands. The same applies to 99 percent of all the black Americans as regards to Africa.
Harry Gill
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