Positions from PPP General Secretary BHARRAT JAGDEO ERC called on to act against efforts to divide Guyanese

Ameeting between the recently appointed Commissioners to the Ethic Relations Commission (ERC) and the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Bharrat Jagdeo, on Wednesday (May 17, 2023), was productive.

This was according to the PPP General Secretary, during his news conference on Thursday (May 18, 2023), where he explained that the ERC was called on to utilize its “vast powers” to tackle efforts being made to divide Guyanese along racial lines.

He said, “I said to them, they will have the full support of the PPP/C in the discharge of their mandate. I urge them to be firm on anyone, anyone, that tries to divide our people.

I reminded them about the powers they have, both investigative and powers of sanction

“…I told them also about APNU’s proclivity to going abroad…they know they can’t push the discrimination line in Guyana, because people see them for what they are and they are not getting traction….so they go abroad to UN Agencies

“…but they will never go to the bipartisan constitutional body, which is designed to address matters of discrimination. But they will never go the ERC because they know the claims will be investigated and disproved.”

EXTERNALISING RACE-BAITING

Last month, the PNCR- led APNU+AFC Coalition was called our for “externalising” their peddling of false racism rhetoric, given that its agenda has been exposed locally.

Jagdeo has said, “I think their racism has been exposed and more and more people have had them under the microscope now so they're externalising this. They go abroad to externalise because at some of the fora where we are not, then they talk they spread this the race hate again.”

One such forum was the National Action Network (NAN), a grouping of international leaders representing Africans globally, which held a meeting in New York earlier this month. The APNU+AFC Coalition’s Amanza Walton-Desir appeared to speak at that event.

Commenting on her statements that the event, Jagdeo said, “I saw some Amanza Walton speaking at some someplace the US National Action Network and saying that the PPP is totalitarian. This comes from a person and a party that actively sought to steal the last elections. I remember Amanza Walton, who left her cushy job at the Civil Aviation Authority, didn't go to work there because she was at the Convention Centre in the recount, trying to thwart the recount, trying to mislead people. She was there a person who tried to steal an election from a party that is known for stealing elections and was true to form in the last one, again tried to steal the last one, telling the people in the US that we are a totalitarian government and including the US that helped to expose the machination here and also help threaten sanctions against the APNU and some of them were sanction because they were trying to steal elections. Imagine that. But you know what? She will say this to a group of people who don't know of the APNU's history and do not know about their attempts, their historical proclivity towards stealing elections, you can't change that. So that is she takes that message there, because she can tell a sane Guyanese that in Guyana and not have them laugh at her. The next thing she says oh the government is racist because of an incident with a female officer and that a private attorney spat on a female police officer. But the government of Guyana is racist because of that. Now that that has to take its full course in the courts and everywhere else.”

TRACK RECORD OF THE PPP/C

The PPP General Secretary stressed that the PNCRled Coalition cannot speak about institutionalised racism because the track record of successive PPP/C Administration and its efforts to work for and deliver to all Guyanese is clear. “They can't speak about that any institutionalised racism.

Because when you look at our track record, it's clear. You can't talk about the composition of the Cabinet because the Cabinet reflects Guyana. We have seven ministers in the government that hold some of the most substantial portfolios who are Afro-Guyanese. But she goes off to an unsuspecting audience in New York to claim that we are racist because somebody spat on another person. That is the how hollow they have become and the only place they have resonance is overseas because people don't know them,” he said.

Jagdeo added, “….at heart of the matter, they cannot speak about anything else. Can talk about the housing policy, because under them they didn't have one, and Guyanese of every race are now realising a dream to own a house. She can’t talk about employment opportunities because maybe 40-50,000 more people now are working than when they (APNU+AFC) left office just recently. She can't talk about that. She cannot talk about their children because they took away the grant for all the children, not Indo-Guyanese children, but children all across Guyana. Now they are getting the restoration of the grant. The pensioners, all the pensioners are getting back their free water, etc.”

He reasoned that the PNCR-led cabal will persist with their untruths, but made clear that the PPP/C will not allow these to go unchallenged.