Conversation Tree

When WikiLeaks was exposing countries such as China and Kenya, it was hailed in the West as a valuable addition to journalistic endeavours to bring information to the public. In June 2009 it was awarded the New Media Award by the Economist Magazine. The following year it was awarded the New Media Award by Amnesty International. Now that it has begun exposing the West, attitudes have been transformed and WikiLeaks in now seen as an enemy. Calls are being made for its founder, Julian Assange, an Australian, to be charged with spying. He is in hiding and WikiLeaks is being denied internet facilities by Amazon which means that access to websites in the US are being shut down. Reports suggest that Amazon has been pressured by the US Administration to deny WikiLeaks access to internet facilities. Amazon has not commented on these reports.

All countries need confidentiality for the conduct of diplomatic activity. Unless this prevails international contact will be reduced and international relations will be severely obstructed. No diplomat would knowingly engage in frank exchange of views among his/her colleagues or with friendly countries. Lack of or reduced contact will give rise to misunderstandings. Tensions will rise. War might ensue, particularly in trouble spots. While no one should defend the promotion of ‘wrongdoing’ or ‘unethical’ behavior by developed countries, or any country for that matter, under the cover of diplomatic confidentiality – and there appears to be some of this exposed by the leaked cables – nevertheless the greater evil is the disruption of diplomatic intercourse. Thankfully, it appears that the leaks will not damage this process. No doubt diplomats and countries will be more circumspect and greater efforts will be made to protect the secrecy of communication.

Continue reading “WIKILEAKS”

As Guyana’s economy show steady and certain growth, it will only be a matter of time before immigrants from other countries, particularly our neighbours and from the Caribbean, find Guyana an attractive place. Barbadians came in the 1940s and small islanders came in the 1960s. Guyana has proved an attractive home before and it may well will prove to be so again.

The Constitution of Guyana and the Guyana Citizenship Act together contain the laws relating to citizenship. With the exception of wives, husbands or children of Guyanese, who might be non-Commonwealth citizens, the legislation makes no specific provision for ‘aliens’ who are defined in the Constitution as persons who are not Commonwealth citizens.

Continue reading “TOWARDS AN IMMIGRATION POLICY”

The budget provided the occasion for the press and opposition to launch a campaign of distortion. Notwithstanding Jagan’s efforts to explain his budget proposals, to mobilize support for them and to compromise with the opposition, the latter was “busy fanning the flames of unrest,” incitement and street demonstrations which degenerated into ethnic violence and arson. The Wynn Parry Commission of Inquiry which followed castigated both Burnham and D’Aguiar. Speaking about the opposition, the report said: “It was not long before these forces combined to form a veritable torrent of abuse, recrimination and vicious hostility directed against Dr. Jagan….”

Palmer’s criticism’s of Jagan that he did nothing to heal the ethnic divisions and that they even served his purpose flies in the face of his acknowledgement of Jagan’s efforts to heal the racial divisions and hostilities by proposing a coalition government. In fact, most of the criticisms of Jagan are adopted from opposition sources and repeated without analysis or are situated in the blanket condemnation of all politicians. Where any analysis justifying such statements take place, it is rather shallow.

Continue reading “CHEDDI JAGAN AND THE POLITICS OF POWER”

At the opening of the Skeldon Sugar Factory, President Jagdeo said that in considering the options, the Government realized that sugar was too big to fail. The number of families relying on the industry was too large, its contribution to the economy too great. The President said that the option of privatization was ruled out and the only alternative was investment by the State. He pointed out that in the era of neo-liberalism it was tremendously difficult to convince the World Bank to support such a project. Finally, however, the Government prevailed and, the President argued, its wisdom of protecting large industries has been vindicated by the recent policies of industralized countries in protecting industries ‘too big to fail.’ Above all, sugar could be profitable. The Skeldon Factory was designed to produce sugar at US12 cents a pound. The world price was at one time US22 cents a pound. But the bulk of Guyana’s sugar sold outside of its traditional markets will be sold in added value form at far higher prices than the world market. This price has been dramatically reduced.

Sugar generally, and the Skeldon Sugar Factory in particular, face enormous challenges. The President mentioned several of them. These include the restoration of management capacity and efficiency, the deployment of innovative initiatives to increase the supply of cane, industrial stability, the development of new products with added value, establishment of downstream industries and more. Sugar, he said, must pay its way and contribute to the national treasury. The opening of the Skeldon Sugar Factory gave hope that despite the daunting challenges, sugar is on its way to even greater heights.

Continue reading “THE PROBLEMS IN THE SUGAR INDUSTRY – SOME PERSPECTIVES”

It soon became apparent that the period of “marking time” was unsustainable and having engineered the split in the PPP, the British Government restored elections in 1957 at the urging of Sir Patrick Renison, the newly installed Governor. The PPP won the 1957, as it did the 1961 elections, the latter under an advanced self-governing constitution with a promise of independence under the party which won those elections.

While Palmer recognizes the deep and passionate commitment of Cheddi Jagan to the poor and exploited, he falls prey to some of the propaganda which was unleashed by the same opponents of the PPP that he scornfully exposes, leading to contradictory conclusions. He judges that the PPP pandered to racial sentiments citing Jagan’s attitude to the West Indies Federation as evidence. Referring to the fears of Indians mentioned by Jagan in his 1954 speech to the PPP congress when dealing with the W.I. Federation, Palmer does not refer to the more fundamental position articulated many times by Jagan and mentioned in his “West On Trial” that the W. I. Federation was a colonial imposition, the object of which was to maintain and extend political domination and economic exploitation and predicted that it would fail. And it did. Like all other federations established by the British, the W.I. Federation failed, the immediate reason being a structural imbalance – a weak centre and strong units. The same problem faces Caricom. Nevertheless Palmer sympathetically quotes George Lamming’s view that on the Federation issue Jagan was forced to tread delicately and never wanted a party that was not ethnically all embracing.

Continue reading “CHEDDI JAGAN AND THE POLITICS OF POWER”