FREEDOM House, headquarters of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Robb Street, Georgetown, was yesterday morning picketed by members of the 1823 Coalition of the Parade Ground Monument, who were calling for the removal of several male executive members of the PPP who are listed to be representatives in the 11th Parliament. Leading the way was women’s rights activist Karen de Souza and political activists Freedie Kissoon and Dr. Rudi Guyan. The small number of protestors had inscribed on their placards, comments directed to proposed Opposition Leader, former President Bharrat Jagdeo; former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr Anil Nandlall; and former Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsarran.

Criticized most severely among the three was Mr. Jagdeo, who was described as a “confounded liar” by De Souza. According to the women’s rights activist, the former President, along with Nandlall and Ramsarran “have proven that they are above reproach” even at a time when we are seeking to “rebuild a serious Parliament.”
She noted that both Nandlall and Ramsarran have demonstrated the “most enormous disrespect” for women, and this kind of disrespect is where apologies cannot help. De Souza posited that this type of behaviour is emanating from a place that needs “serious reeducation”, since it can be concluded that the two “hate women” and “believe women are less than themselves.”
“I cannot understand how we can sit back as a population and allow such people to be in the Parliament, presumably making laws for the rest of us; something is seriously wrong with that,” the activist said during the picketing exercise yesterday.
Taking a jab too, was political activist Freddie Kissoon, who described the role of the Opposition Leader as being a “watchdog” for the President as he enacts policies.
“The President enacts policies across political and racial divide; he enacts policies to benefit every sector of society. The Opposition Leader checks him, if he is found wanting. So what the Opposition Leader does is that he or she acts as a watchdog. It means that one gives policies, while the other checks to see that the policies given is across the national board,” Kissoon said.
With Jagdeo apparently earmarked to be Opposition Leader, Kissoon stressed that there are more than 10 statements from Jagdeo in which he has “demonised the culture” and the very existence of African Guyanese.
Explaining that the fulcrum of any society is the security forces, the political activist alluded to statements by the former President during the elections campaign trail where he said, “If the APNU wins, soldiers would go into the homes of East Indians, beat them and rob them.”
“And that man has not withdrawn that statement,” Kissoon said, adding that “I think it’s a logical jump to say that if he’s an Opposition leader, then he is only an Opposition leader for only one sector of the country.”
RACIST STATEMENT
What is “brutal”, too, he noted, is that the Opposition PPP has not condemned Jagdeo for making this “overt racist statement.”
“We in this coalition group are asking Mr. Jagdeo if he believes that is a historical and sociological fact, and if he refuses to answer, and the PPP refuse to ask him to answer, then that’s an admission that the PPP, its opposition in Parliament and its Opposition Leader are racist,” Kissoon declared passionately.
However, arriving just minutes after the exercise would have started, Jagdeo told the media that he had no comment to offer at this time, and would respond to these developments when he is ready to do so. He further noted that he was not affected by the move taken by the coalition group to picket him, Nandlall and Ramsarran.
Standing in Nandlall’s and Ramsarran’s defense too was fellow PPP Parliamentarian Indra Chandarpal, who said that both men had apologised. “We can’t keep holding that issue against them,” she said.
She said further that if one were to re-examine history, one would realise that there are many people who have violated women in many ways, but what is key to note is that these public officials would have recognised what they would have said and faced the consequences for those actions.
Additionally, she underscored the “tremendous improvements” which have been made for women by the PPP when they were in Government. “Any attempt to say that we don’t respect women is a fallacy,” she said, adding that, “We have set up the Commission on Women Equality, the Domestic Violence Bill, the Medical Termination Bill, the Leadership Institute and others,” which she said all serves to advance the development of women.
However, Chandarpal noted that she was not speaking in her capacity as Chairman of the Women and Gender Equality Commission (WGEC), but rather as a representative of the PPP.
In fact, she stressed that the Commission is always on the side of women and it discusses gender equality and the advancement of women.
To this end, she reiterated that, “I just want to make the point that under the PPP, we have elevated activism and empowerment of women by all the things we have done for women over the years.” She contended also that it is wrong to indicate that because a few people made statements, those statements should be considered policies; they are not policies.

By Ravin Singh