ERC launches investigation into Ogunseye’s ‘unambiguous call for racial insurrection in Guyana’
-President Jagdeo calls on all Guyanese to ‘reject this rhetoric’
THE Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) said it has noted with some amount of apprehension, an article published in yesterday’s edition of the Guyana Chronicle under the caption: “ACDA reads ‘riot act’ for power–sharing if opposition loses”.
The Commission, in a statement, said it has since launched an investigation into the statements alleged to have been made by ACDA’s executive member, Mr. Tacuma Ogunseye.
The ERC warned that it will not shirk its constitutional responsibility to summon Mr. Ogunseye and have him “explain the implications of his unambiguous call for racial insurrection in Guyana.”
Ogunseye, addressing a poorly attended public meeting at Beterverwagting (BV) village, East Coast Demerara last Saturday evening, reportedly signaled to Western nations, United Nations and the Organisation of American States (OAS) that the upcoming elections would be a “game-changer” win or lose.

“If we win, we sharing the government with them but we also have to tell them that if we lose, we are going to fight and bring Guyana to a halt until we have a national government in which the representatives of African people and the combined opposition is part of parliament; Comrades, we are announcing the riot act,” Ogunseye was quoted by the online ‘demwaves.com’.

The ‘demwaves’ article which was reprinted in the Chronicle, with permission from its online host, quoted Ogunseye as he read the “riot act” that a struggle for shared governance would be waged on the streets if the incumbent party wins again.

According to Ogunseye, ACDA expects that the predominantly African-Guyanese dominated security forces would take the side of protesters to secure shared governance, national reconciliation and political compromise from the PPP.
“Once the African people rise up in their great numbers, I dare the army to take the side of the PPP and against Africans. Our sons and daughters would not do that,” he said.
Ogunseye said his organisation has been telling the main opposition Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR) that the time has come to shift the political equation through massive street protests in villages countrywide.
“Come elections night when the results come out, Africans must have a share in the government, there must be a national government or there will be no Guyana,” he added.
He welcomed the PNCR’s announcement that if the coalition wins the election, it would introduce shared governance but he noted that the big question remained what would the PNCR or the coalition do if it loses.
He observed that PNCR presidential candidate, David Granger eventually bowed to internal pressure to support coalition politics and shared governance. That, he said, was in stark contrast to mouthing only about that party winning the election on the internal presidential candidate campaign trail.

Taking note of the article, the ERC said it will be engaging Mr. Ogunseye as it relates to “some of the more racially inciting statements” allegedly made, and its technical persons are currently analyzing these statements to determine whether they infringe the Law as it relates to the Representation of the People Act and the Racial Hostility Act.
The ERC said it does not want to appear to be pre-emptively judgmental on the issue, since the matter has to be first investigated and Mr. Ogunseye given a fair hearing to determine his innocence or guilt.
“However, if the statements reported are indeed the verbatim record of Mr. Ogunseye’s remarks, then the Commission will not shirk its constitutional responsibility to summon Mr. Ogunseye and have him explain the implications of his unambiguous call for racial insurrection in Guyana,” the ERC warned.
The ERC said it would like to reiterate that incitement or excitement to race hate must be rejected and will not be tolerated and assures the entire public who has read the article in the Chronicle that it will use every option available to pursue it.
“Any call to violence from any quarter must be rejected and more particularly, a call to violence based upon ethnic considerations,” the ERC said.
The ERC said it takes particular note of the suggestion that the African dominated security force would take the side of the protestors and daring the Army to perform its constitutional mandate in such circumstances.
“There is no place for the suggestions and views articulated in the article. This must be rejected by all the peace-loving people of Guyana,” the ERC stated.

REJECT THIS RHETORIC

In an invited comment, President Bharrat Jagdeo said “all Guyanese should reject this rhetoric” by Ogunseye and ACDA.
“It is rhetoric of the past. It is a rhetoric based on narrow interests and it comes from people who do not represent anyone, but want to be part of a power structure through the back door,” Mr. Jagdeo declared.
“ACDA has been and will remain a fringe organization. I do not think that most Guyanese share their views. They surface at elections time, they are not mainstreamed and so they do not represent the views of the majority of the people in this country,” the President told the Chronicle yesterday.
“Nevertheless, they should be taken seriously and I hope that the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) would pay close attention to this,” Mr. Jagdeo said.