Norton in another show of opportunistic pontificating

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, embattled leader of the PNCR and the APNU+AFC Coalition, Aubrey Norton, opted to pontificate about the responsibilities that political leaders have to build an inclusive society on March 21, 2023 – a move that can only be described as opportunistic pontificating given his refusal to condemn the recent controversial comments by the Working People’s Alliance’s (WPA) executive members.

On a platform he shared with Norton, Ogunseye, at a public meeting in Buxton on March 9, 2023, said: the WPA’s objectives were clear and the first is “to get the African team in a state of battle readiness… the Afro-Guyanese police and soldiers… would stand with Afro-Guyanese in resisting mainly Indo-Guyanese supporting the PPP/C…no government could survive if they don’t have the support of the military and those who carry weapons for the state…once we organise our people and once we begin to fight we will ensure that our brothers and sisters in uniform will do the right thing…a white diplomat pulled me in a corner and he said I don’t understand how people complain that they are oppressed and they are holding guns in their hands. They are the majority in the army, in the police, and they say they are oppressed. What he was saying is our problem is our own making. Our problem is our own making. Anytime we turn those guns in the right direction it is over.”

Also, the WPA’s Rhonda Layne, at the same March 9, 2023 meeting in Buxton said:“All these other people who come here, who suddenly getting land, many of them came from the slums of India… they lived in pipes, they live in all the deplorable places.”

Norton has failed to condemn the comments. Instead, he only that Ogunseye’s comments represented a “bad” choice of words. On March 16, 2022, Norton said: “Yes there might have been a bad choice of language…you would notice that we did not endorse the language that was used….there are many people who agree with what Ogunseye said….when it comes to reflection of reality, indeed (the comments addressed that).”

The Opposition Leader’s failures to condemn the WPA Executives cannot be reconciled with his statement on March 21, 2023, when he said: “Political leaders should promote a vision of a united and inclusive society, and work towards building consensus and cooperation between different racial and ethnic groups. This includes promoting greater representation and participation of underrepresented groups in the political process, as well as promoting greater dialogue and collaboration between different political parties…. we all have a responsibility to speak out against racism and discrimination, to challenge stereotypes and prejudice, and to promote greater understanding and respect between different racial and ethnic groups.”

For Norton to make such claims, when he has failed to act where it counts, can only be described as duplicitous.

It is correct to say that “division and disunity will only rob us of the realization of our full potential as a people.” However, until Norton and his cabal walk the talk, progress towards this goal will be an uphill battle.

The 2023 theme of the International Day focuses on the urgency of combatting racism and racial discrimination, 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass laws" in 1960. Since then, the apartheid system in South Africa has been dismantled; racist laws and practices have been abolished in many countries, and an international framework has been built for fighting racism, guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is now nearing universal ratification.

Guyana, which ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, since 1997, having signed onto the Convention in December 1968. To date, multiple efforts have been embarked on, including that of the incumbent PPP/C Administration via President, Dr. Irfaan Ali’s ‘One Guyana’ initiative.