I READ the letter captioned, ‘Was Jagan a perfect politician?’ in a local newspaper and was prompted to have the writer and other readers look at it from a different perspective. First of all, Jagan was a great leader/politician – the best in our time. He fought and led the struggle for a better Guyana from the inception of his political career to the end of his life. He never wavered and was the principal character that led the fight for independence and the restoration of democracy in 1992.
It is a fact that the country was divided racially under the watch of the Jagan and Burnham factions of the PPP, but who was responsible for the division? Jagan and Burnham were simultaneous leaders of the same party (PPP) as a result of machinations between Burnham, along with British and American intelligence, who were successful in splitting the PPP because the British and Americans did not like Cheddi whom they perceived as a threat because he was (considered) a Marxist/Leninist.  Burnham wanted to be leader or nothing. Hence the PNC was birthed and Burnham became the leader and the Afro-Guyanese went with him. So who is the divisionist?
It is documented in our history that Forbes was perceived by the UK and USA as the “lesser of the two evils” He followed the American model and rigged elections to keep himself in power and run the country down.
Jagan consistently preached and practised racial and working class unity for more than a quarter century and at the end defeated Burnhamism and the PNC through free and fair elections, with the help of the Carter Centre.
The writer opined that the two leaders should step aside and allow others to run the country, but it simply does not work that way. Burnham was virtually secretly paid by central intelligence to destabilise the country so that Dr. Jagan could be deposed.  This is a recorded fact.
What is the writer trying to do when he mentions the Civic component of the PPP and did not mention the Reform component of the PNC as a smoke screen?  The PPP/Civic was not only composed of afro ethnicity, Fung On, Dale Bisnauth, Manzoor Nadir and others were also Civic members of the ruling party.
Distortions, ambiguities and rhetoric are misleading our people. Only truth and love can mend whatever ethnic difference is still there: and the courage of the politicians to let everyone be fully persuaded in their own minds whom they should vote for without inciting them with inflammatory rhetoric.
Last but certainly not least, the writer said that Jagan was stricken and died suddenly because he practised ethnic politics, I say this to you, sir, “judge not……. “