GOVERNMENT has strongly condemned recent statements made by former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who told a gathering of New York-based Guyanese that Guyanese of Indian origin are under assault in Guyana.“There is an assault on our democracy. There is an assault on people of Indian origin. There is an assault on supporters of the PPP,” he said at an Albion Reunion celebration. “It’s good to see so many of you out here, and that you keep the spirit of our community alive. This spirit is essential here for our people to make progress, but it is the same spirit that we need badly back in Guyana now — a spirit of community, to ensure that we defend our people through these dark times,” Jagdeo stated.

He added: “What we thought would never return to Guyana in just one short year has returned with full force, and even worse in some regards than the Burnham era.”

He told the audience that the current coalition government has been “snatching people’s land that has transport”, and that 140 new taxes have been introduced in this year’s budget; and those taxes largely target poor people, but mainly the rural poor.

“…and you know who live in the rural areas – it’s mainly our supporters,” he stated. “So our country has taken a turn for the worse; it’s something that we have to live with, but I want to say that we are going to work hard, and whenever the elections come again, we’re going to take back Guyana; we’re going to take it back from these people,” Jagdeo added.

DESPICABLE

In a statement on Monday, Government said Jagdeo’s claim that there is an “assault on people of Indian origin” is despicable, without any basis, and is a complete figment of his imagination. On the contrary, the policies of the Coalition Government are designed to achieve the good life for all Guyanese; not a handpicked few, as was the case under the PPP regime, which was rejected by the Guyanese electorate on May 11, 2015 in free and fair elections.

“Speaking to a predominantly Indo-Guyanese audience, Mr Jagdeo attempted to inject among them a feeling that they are victims. The recent census has shown that the exodus of Indo-Guyanese was not abated during Mr Jagdeo’s 12-year tenure as President.

“Instructively, the single largest exodus went to the United States of America, where they live and work under the presidency of an African American.

“Also, under Mr Jagdeo’s presidency, Guyana witnessed the incestuous relationship with drug lords that spawned the death of hundreds of young people and several episodes of massacres and assassinations, including that of a sitting government minister.

INSULTING

“Mr Jagdeo is in fact insulting the intelligence of Indo-Guyanese and all Guyanese who have repudiated him for the pervasive corruption under his regime.

“The Coalition Government remains committed to stabilising the Guyanese economy after years of lawlessness, nepotism, corruption, cronyism, mismanagement, misrule, and the flagrant misuse of resources,” the Government said.

It noted that, though alarming, these hateful divisive utterances are not surprising, as they represent what appears to be a well-orchestrated plan of propaganda which has been spewed locally, but which is now being taken internationally by the opposition PPP.

“All Jaganites will hang their heads in shame that Mr Jagdeo has descended into the racist cesspit, while pulling with him the PPP that had once boasted of a credible record as a multi-racial party.

“Guyana, under the rainbow Coalition of the APNU+AFC, has a genuinely multiracial Government made up of six political parties and all ethnicities. Guyana has a functioning parliamentary democracy, an independent judiciary, and a free press. There are no political prisoners in Guyana; and unlike under the regime of Mr Jagdeo, no one has been charged with treason. There have been no political killings, as happened when the peaceful protesters of Linden were gunned down in 2012,” the Government said.

It added that Jagdeo ought to swallow his spurious racist claims, because, under the PPP administration, Indo-Guyanese rice farmers were tear-gassed and assaulted, and mainly Indo-Guyanese sugar workers were brought to their knees as the Jagdeo-led administration dragged the sugar industry into bankruptcy and indebtedness of over $100B.

Racism, the Government said, is the well-known last refuge of the politically desperate, and the Coalition Government calls on all right-thinking and patriotic Guyanese to reject Jagdeo’s continued attempts at sowing racial divisions in society.

COURT MATTER
In mid-December last year, Supreme Court Judge Navindra Singh had thrown out a private criminal charge of racial incitement brought against Mr Jagdeo by Attorney–at-Law Christopher Ram.

The judge had ruled that the evidence was insufficient to constitute the charge of racial incitement, for which the former president was accused over remarks he made at a public speech at Babu Jaan, Port Mourant earlier in March 2015.

The charge was that had Jagdeo uttered words causing racial or ethnic hatred, contrary to Section 139 D (1) (a) of the Representation of the People’s Act, Chapter 1:03.

The former President was widely reported as having reportedly uttered, “The opposition consistently shouts about the racism of the PPP, but they practise racism. The opposition beat drums at six in the morning and say ‘let us throw out those coolie people’.”

The case was being heard by a magistrate at Whim, but the judge had said that particulars of the offence did not disclose sufficient facts for the offence, and had ruled that the case must be discontinued at the magistrate’s court.

Section 139D (1) (a) of the Representation of the People Act, CAP 1:03 of the Laws of Guyana, provides that any person who makes or publishes any statement which results or can result in racial or ethnic hatred among the people shall be liable to conviction.

The judge had stated that for the charge to be valid, the statements must be shown to be calling for, supporting, or encouraging the hatred of one group by another race or ethnicity.

“The Court does not find that the particulars of the offence have disclosed such facts,” he had ruled.