OPPOSITION Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has recently been in the news for allegedly making racially charged statements to a group of Guyanese in New York. This is not the first time the former president has found himself in hot water for making such statements. Shortly before the last general election, he was reported to have made similar statements to an audience of PPP supporters which led political commentator Mr. Christopher Ram to file a private criminal charge against him for violating the Representation of the People Act. Mr. Ram had contended that Mr. Jagdeo’s statements could have resulted in “racial and ethnic hatred among the people.” The case has since been thrown out by the High Court on the ground that the charge did not disclose any particular offence committed by Mr. Jagdeo.
Now, Mr. Jagdeo is reported to have told his audience in New York that the government is targeting Indian-Guyanese for discrimination. According to him, “there is an assault on people of Indian origin,” and that government policies are having a negative effect on the rural poor who are mostly PPP supporters. The government was quick to respond to Mr. Jagdeo. In a statement to the media, it charged him with sowing seeds of racial discord, insulting the intelligence of Indian-Guyanese and peddling untruths about the government.
As we have alluded, these statements by Mr. Jagdeo are not new. From the early days of the new government, the PPP has contended that the new government was on a witch-hunt against PPP members and supporters in general and its Indian-Guyanese supporters in particular. At one point, the party even accused the government of ethnic cleansing. Mr. Jagdeo, former president, Donald Ramotar and General Secretary, Clement Rohee, have all been very aggressive in pushing that line.
What appears to have rankled the government is that Mr. Jagdeo has now taken the campaign overseas. Having said that, we believe that the charges of political and racial discrimination are not in themselves racist—making such charges are normal in the cut and thrust of politics in ethnically divided societies. Many then opposition activists and members had made similar charges against the PPP governments when they held power.
However, as the Opposition Leader and a former president, one would hope that Mr. Jagdeo would rise above the fray and conduct himself in a more responsible manner. People tend to look to our major leaders as exemplars; hence, it is expected that they would stay away from employing the more divisive forms of political mobilization. By uttering the statements in the public space, M. Jagdeo is compromising the integrity of the high offices he holds. It is instructive to note that he has since said that he stands by his statements.
While his statements are not necessarily racist, as the government statement contends, they do have the effect of whipping up ethnic hysteria. As one commentator points out, there is a distinction between drawing attention to and representing the insecurities of a group and exploiting those insecurities for partisan political gain. Given his previous utterings, it is not unreasonable to conclude that Mr. Jagdeo’s statements fall into the latter category. In our fragile ethnic environment, those statements coming from a high official who is competing for office do have a high probability of generating ethnic resentment.
As we have editorialised in the past, dealing with ethnic sentiments in our society is not an easy undertaking. While we do not advocate denying freedom of speech to Mr. Jagdeo or any political person, we urge restraint on the part of these persons. There has to be a way to represent the concerns of your ethnic constituency without resort to language and insinuations that border on hysteria.
Mr. Jagdeo is a seasoned politician and the PPP is a party with a long history who must know only too well where such language could lead. They have a responsibility to their supporters and to Guyana to avoid the ethnic gutter. After 50 years of independence, we deserve better.