ANSWERING THE CRITICS

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 5th April 2014, 7:00 pm

Critics outside the PPP have accused me of being silent while in the PPP, and of only recently having found my voice. I have never responded. Those same criticisms are now being echoed from within the PPP. First a ‘source’ in a newspaper which promotes Dr. Jagdeo, whose identity can be easily discerned, and more recently Clement Rohee in his letter on April 3 in SN, in defence of Dr. Jagdeo and not a word about his belittling of President Ramotar, reinforcing my contention about Dr. Jagdeo’s grip over the PPP. The unjustified criticism, proven to be false from what follows, relieves me from any further obligation to retain confidences of the PPP leadership. I set out below a short, verbatim excerpt from a 4,275 word presentation I made at a meeting of the Central Committee of the PPP on or about March 25th, 2006, which Mr. Rohee saw in draft and amended before I read it. It demonstrates that the accusation that I never spoke out is false and known by Mr. Rohee and Dr. Jagdeo to be false. I spoke out and responded in writing on many other occasions on many issues. These will be revealed and other appropriate responses made from time to time in self defence, or whenever Dr. Jagdeo chooses to ‘have the last laugh,’ as predicted by Mr. Rohee:

 “The expression of different views does not harm Party unity; it is, on the contrary, vital to the maintenance of Party unity and the building of consensus. It is only when members have the opportunity of fully expressing their views without being quickly dismissed or responded to with hostility that they can be satisfied that they are being heard and their concerns addressed. Only then will they sign on to a decision and defend it willingly and gladly…

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THE JAGDEO CHALLENGE

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 29th March 2014, 7:00 pm

The Guyana Times published a story on Thursday March 20 reporting that the Opposition had caused a poll to be conducted last month which found that “former President Bharrat Jagdeo would be the most formidable candidate that the Opposition parties…could face in any upcoming general elections.” The following day the Guyana Chronicle carried a front page headline as follows: “Jagdeo favoured as PPP’s presidential candidate” in an Opposition poll. The Opposition denied any such poll.

The publications in the newspapers which followed outreaches organized by loyalist Ministers, belie Dr. Jagdeo protestations that he is not interested in a third term. This new campaign was no doubt inspired by talk of a landslide victory if he had been the candidate in 2011, and if he is now the candidate. An expensive campaign was also put together in 2010 which only fizzled out when General Secretary Donald Ramotar took a stand against a third term. Now that elections appear to be on the horizon Dr. Jagdeo is beginning to drool with renewed ambition and hunger for high office.

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THE RODNEY INQUIRY

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 22nd March 2014, 7:00 pm

There can be no other valid objective of the Rodney Inquiry than to seek the truth, namely, the circumstances surrounding his death in 1980. It is the truth that the nation has been awaiting and demanding for over thirty years. It is the truth that shall bring closure to the tragedy of Dr. Rodney’s violent death and particularly to his long suffering family who have been vainly waiting for this event for over three decades.

The PNC’s objection, not unexpected, later subscribed to by the WPA, was that Mr. Seenauth Jairam, a Senior Counsel of Guyanese birth, who had recently appeared for the Government in the constitutional case challenging the budget cuts was, as a result thereof, not politically neutral.

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 15th March 2014, 7:00 pm

Against the background of the passage in the National Assembly of the Local Authorities (Election Amendment) Bill, not yet assented to by the President, which provides that local government elections be held by August, the Chairman of the Elections Commission, Dr. Steve Surujballi, announced that the Elections Commission is ready to ‘go into election mode’ as soon as the date for local government elections is fixed. This ends speculation about GECOM’s readiness. It also challenges the Government’s position on the holding of local government elections. Minister Rohee’s statement that GECOM is not ready is not tenable. Minister Whittaker’s view that the people are not ready has been an age old excuse for the withholding of democracy and lacks credibility.

APNU has seized the opportunity which opened up by GECOM’s announcement to call on the Government to fix a date for the elections. ‘The clock is ticking,’ said APNU’s Chair, David Granger.

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‘NO DEMOCRACY WORKS WITHOUT COMPROMISE’

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 8th March 2014, 7:00 pm

The headline statement of President Barack Obama was of general application. It assumed more resonance when the Democrats lost the majority in Congress. The PPP learned the lesson that politics is the art of compromise before President Obama was born. Compromise was the basis of its early leadership. It was attempted during the crisis years of the early 1960s, then during authoritarian rule. Compromise allowed it to negotiate around oppression and build alliances for survival.

Yet, ignoring this history, pro-PPP/Government criticisms greeted my article last week (“The chickens have come home to roast”) in which I suggested compromises to get agreement on the AML/CFT bill. One critic accused me of adopting ‘false equivalencies’ between Government and Opposition, forgetting that the legislature, in the expression of its majority will, is of equal status with the executive. The other suggested that I should stop recommending compromises and get ‘backbone.’ Both ignored the fact that the Government holds a minority position in the National Assembly, cannot get its legislation passed without Opposition support, and itself offered compromise solutions to Opposition demands.

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The Conversation Tree is both physical and philosophical. The physical is the tree itself, which has given its name to the road from which it originates at the intersection of the Rupert Craig Highway. It was reputedly first planted by Napleton William King in 1876 to celebrate the birth of his son Napleton Walter. As...
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