I read the letter by Baldeo Mathura in two newspapers yesterday in which he responded to Janet Bulkan’s latest criticism of the Low Carbon Development Strategy which the government is developing. While I agree with some of the points he made, he missed the major point.
Mathura is wrong to say that Bulkan takes “perverse delight” in spreading distortions about the LCDS. She is part of a well-planned and well-organised strategy aimed at discrediting the progress the country is making under the LCDS.
This is a well thought-out campaign which they use to attract attention as defenders of indigenous people and use international connections to get scholarships and other perks from organisations and donor agencies.
Bulkan and the Amerindian Peoples Association with which she is allied do not have a constituency to speak of and are anti-government and anti-national.
Bulkan was recently exposed by the Ministry of Finance when she came out with gross distortions about the long-planned Amaila Falls hydro-power project and she has shut-up on that issue.
She is also trying to duck out of the unforgivable sin of failing to defend the interest of Guyana when she was silent on the issue of Suriname appending Guyana’s New River Triangle territory on its map at a World Bank panel she was on.
She cannot try to pin the blame on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when she was there when the map was exhibited and voiced no objection to such a travesty. How much more anti-national can one be?
It is sad that someone who clearly has some intellectual ability could allow herself to be so consumed by such bitterness to take such an anti-national and anti-development stand simply because she does not support the government.
Responding to attacks on the LCDS by the APA, Ms. Yvonne Pearson, Chairperson of the National Toshaos Council recently urged her Amerindian brothers and sisters not to be misled by persons who seek to satisfy their own personal agenda.
“I am aware of the fact that many Toshaos and their respective villages are in support of the LCDS, REDD+ initiatives. The Amerindian peoples of Guyana are capable of making their own decisions. I say this to clear the air that at no point in time according to my knowledge were Toshaos encouraged by me or by the Minister of Amerindian Affairs to write letters in support of the LCDS”, she said in a letter published in the Stabroek News.
“The executive members of the NTC recognised the need for more information sharing; we also know that it is a very costly exercise to reach to every village in every region. As such we are in the process of seeking financial support to carry out awareness sessions in every region”, she said.
People like Bulkan should try to be more objective and give praise where it is deserved to better serve the national interest.
I am sure that the LCDS will move forward in spite of their efforts to pull it down and President Bharrat Jagdeo and his team must be commended for their leadership on an initiative that has so much good for Guyana and all the people who live here.