IN the first two parts of this series, I described five tactics of the Guyana Opposition/Media Complex (O/M Complex). To recollect, these were:

The Reinvention of History – where the opposition intellectuals/columnists engage in the most contorted forms of revisionism.

Shifting the Blame – where the opposition and the media quickly shift the blame to the government for any and every tragedy, evidence notwithstanding.

Use Tragedies as Opportunities – where the O/M Complex works hand-in-hand to exploit disasters for narrow political benefits.

The Pretense of Objectivity – where the O/M Complex pretends to be objective but use this pretense to sow seeds of confusion.

Faking Protests – a.k.a. Two Men and Five Journalists – where the actions of a few people are portrayed as a major anti-government event.

For those of you who may have missed the first two parts, I should let you know a bit about this Complex. Simply stated, the O/M Complex refers to a carefully coordinated strategy between some media/press operations and opposition groups.

The general aim of the O/M Complex is to throw Guyana into political crisis and then use the said crisis to demand shared governance.

Today, I examine the sixth and final element of the Guyana Opposition/Media Complex. Let us work inductively with this one. On August 5th a major newspaper in Guyana reported that Wesley Kirton, Leslie Prince and others had written to US Attorney General Eric Holder regarding disclosures at the Simels trial in Brooklyn. The question is this – should that be a story reported in a major newspaper in Guyana?

The newspaper in question carried Kirton’s letter as if were big, breaking news. The said newspaper did absolutely nothing to investigate who were the signatories to the letter. As it turns out, one of them – Leslie Prince – is an avowed race-war proponent. Yet, the newspaper in question, completely ignored that fact, and gave the impression that some objective-minded Guyanese in the Diaspora were taking justifiable action for intervention in Guyana.

The Kirton/Prince letter to Holder, combined with the way in which it was reported in a major newspaper in Guyana provides a clear snapshot of the O/M Complex.

Opposition forces in Guyana have decided that their strategy must be to create a political crisis in the country and then lobby a slew of governments, inter-governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations to intervene in Guyana.

For this strategy of the O/M Complex to work, a number of moves must be made. These include – but not restricted to – (1) use the language of oppression and marginalization because most NGOs and INGOs are sensitive to this (as they should be); (2) bring race into everything because it forms a permanent backdrop in matters of international justice; (3) offer obligatory condemnation against acts of violence in Guyana but quickly proceed to blame the Government of Guyana for the same (e.g. the Ministry of Health fire); (4) use these same acts of violence to tell the “international community” that the country is ungovernable and, therefore, immediate foreign action is needed; (5) do not disclose that it is the policy of some of these same opposition forces to make the country ungovernable (- please review the speeches of President Hoyte); (6) insert human rights into everything (e.g. floods, sewer, contracts); (7) send coded threats that unless the ‘international community’ immediately forces the Jagdeo administration into shared governance, there will be more instability, and (8) twist out of recognition the record of the current government and especially the statements of President Jagdeo.

The international community has a double duty. It has a duty to listen to complaints from groups that seek redress or otherwise want meaningful change. It also has a duty to carefully investigate charges that are made against a democratically elected government and sovereign country.

It has a double duty to do so, when, in fact, the opposition forces making representation against the government of Guyana have long histories of supporting the rigging of elections, burning of buildings and incitement of political disturbances.

May I take this opportunity to inform the international community that the same PNC which is talking about governance in Guyana is currently embroiled in an ongoing battle over rigged election within the PNC. Please contact Mr. Norton.

The international community should also be aware that the press in Guyana is unlike most of the established press in the West, where you get independent news and perspectives. Large sections of the media sector in Guyana are totally and completely dedicated to destabilisation of this country. In many other parts of the world these operations would not be allowed. Why should it be allowed here?

As this article argues, the opposition forces and some sections of the media are now joined at the hips. One is simply a continuum of the other. This is something that the Guyana Press Association, as well as regional and international organizations must understand. Failure to do so would, quite nonchalantly, make them all into dupes of a well orchestrated plan of destabilization.