What if Lennox Shuman’s party is a front for the PPP/C or an ally

Dear Editor,
I write this letter in response to one aspect of Freddie Kissoon’s column, published in the Kaiteur News May 13, 2020 edition, captioned, “ 50 shades of David Hinds”. Editor and readers, this is not an intervention in defence of David Hinds, there is no need for me to do so since he can better do that himself. My concern is Kissoon’s simplistic approach to political matters when it suits his purpose in ignoring complexities, and its subsequent negative effect on the political consciousness of the younger generation who unwittingly gets sucked into his nonsense. In his column, he questions Hinds (Rodneyite) continued support of the APNU+AFC in the 2020 election and lamented that Hinds did not do as he did vote for one of the small parties.

To emphasize the importance of the issue of complexity in political life and to give context to this polemic, I posed this observation for readers and Kissoon to ponder. The late Presidents Cheddi Jagan and Janet Jagan, for the greater part of their long political life, were renowned socialists/communists, anti-imperialists and opposed to the US global and regional hegemony. And for decades they had the privilege of accessing the best medical services in the USSR/ Russia, Eastern European Communist countries, and Cuba free of cost. When Dr Jagan came to power in 1992, these options were available to him and his party.

Despite their historic political alliance with the communist countries, the Jagans sought the medical services of the US government, not Cuba or the USSR. Our most ideological President passed away in a military hospital of his historic arch enemy, the US. Kissoon, PPP/C propaganda agents and Indian rights activists often question the commitment of WPA personnel as Rodneyites, seeking to hold us to ideological and political correctness.

But they fail to do the same in relation to the PPP/C and the Jagans. Kissoon will do a great service to the political consciousness of PPP/C supporters and that of the nation by directing his “analytical mind” to the above contradiction of Jagan seeking medical services of the US government. I am sure, if and when he does his analysis, he would not make the same simplistic argument which has become his trademark when dealing with the WPA and its members. Instead, he will offer a complex analysis in defence of the Jagans and the PPP/C.

Returning to Kissoon’s utterance in his column, he stated, “ Personally, I am disappointed that someone like David, who is a Rodneyite, did not see the value [of] rooting for one of the smaller parties. That makes sense for people who feel that the power of the PNC as a government by itself have to be tamed if we are going to get good governance. David, why did you join one of the two ethnic monsters?” There are contradictions in Kissoon’s position here. His premise for calling on Hinds to vote for one of the smaller parties is carried in the following statement: “That makes sense for people who feel that the power of the PNC as a government by itself have to be tamed if we are going to get good governance.” The APNU +AFC government is a coalition government – not the PNC by itself.

I now ask Kissoon, why in the 2015 General and Regional elections did he support the APNU+AFC? By his reasoning, he supported one of the ethnic monsters. I wish to remind Kissoon that in the 2015 election campaign, as a supporter of the AFC, he spoke at more public meetings than most of the leading members of that party. And to the extent those public meetings contributed to the coalition victory, he made a larger contribution in that area than David Hinds in those elections. Kissoon, why did you support one of the ethnic monsters?

Kissoon often reminds his readers that he is not a member of any political party. In this sense he is a political “freelancer”. This allows him the latitude to do and write as he pleases. Since he is a political scientist, he is aware that members of political parties are constrained and often can’t act as he does. Even in a party like the WPA with little or no restraint on the expression of independent thought, convention and party political culture requires that we exercise individual right to differ responsibly. Kissoon, conscious of this constraint, exploits it to his advantage, and given the political culture in the country, he gets the attention of a section of the population as he wages his “unholy war” against the WPA.

I end this polemic by pointing out to Freddie Kissoon that good governance in Guyana is not only the responsibility of political parties and their leadership – the role of the masses is equally important. And party “taming” is no guarantee of good governance. Freddie, what would be your position if it subsequently turns out that Lenox Shuman’s party is a front of the PPP/C or an ally? I guess that it doesn’t matter since, at this point, you are all supporters of the PPP/C – an ethnic monster.

Regards
Tacuma Ogunseye

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