THERE has recently been a diversity of views on the issue of race relations in Guyana. I would like to share some thoughts on this issue which it would appear is conveniently used by some people to promote a particular political agenda at the expense of truth and objectivity. The more I listen to the various commentaries on the subject, the more convinced I am of the need for some form of Truth and Reconciliation Commission along the lines of the South African model, even though it has to be said that race relations in Guyana are significantly better here than what obtained in the pre-Apartheid South Africa.

Let me state from the very inception that we do not have a racial problem in Guyana. I have always maintained the view that race relations in Guyana are quite good and better than many other countries with mixed populations. Guyana is not a fractured or divided society. We are not a divided society.

While it is true that our diversity had been manipulated in the past out of political and ideological reasons with dire consequences to the country, we have grown as a nation over the years and we have become more accommodating and tolerant to our cultural and ethnic diversities. This is reflected among other ways in changing voting patterns and political behaviour. The PPP, for instance, has won over significant cross-over votes in the last two general and regional elections especially among Amerindians and Afro-Guyanese.

Part of this growing political maturity is the result of the enormous strides made by the current PPP/C administration in the distribution of social goods to the Guyanese people which cut across the political and ethnic divide. This has come a long way in erasing certain popular misconceptions about the PPP being a “coolie party” and therefore was perceived, wrongfully, to represent the interests of a particular ethnic group.

The fact is that the PPP from its very inception as a political party espoused values that are universal and which transcends race, religion and ethnicity. Its embrace of an ideology which essentially is working class oriented is the main contributory factor that was responsible for the popularity and electoral successes of the party over the decades. It is a known fact that the PPP has never lost a free and fair elections since its formation some six decades, and was only removed from office in 1964 in what the former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson described as a “fiddled constitutional arrangement” unknown in the history of commonwealth politics.

I would like to submit that it is the enlightened and disciplined approach of the PPP in its approach to national development that is mainly responsible for the electoral successes of the Party over the decades.

Those who attribute race and ethnicity as the main causative factors for the Party’s success at the polls are missing a very important point, and that is the grip the Party has held over the decades on the minds of progressive people right across the ethnic spectrum.

Recent elections have substantiated the view that the PPP is the only national party in Guyana which is genuinely multi-racial in character. It is for this reason that the PPP/C has been gaining political ground in all the ten administrative regions of Guyana including erstwhile PNC and GAP/WPA/ROAR/TUF strongholds. In fact, with the exception of the PNC which seems to be losing political ground, the other parties mentioned above are in the process of folding up tents. 

The strength of the PPP lies in the visionary qualities of its leaders who were responsible for steering the Party through some of the most turbulent political waters.

The Party was able to correctly define the local and international situation and to assess broad trends in the best interest of the Guyanese people.

There must be something much more fundamental than blind loyalty that is responsible for the mass appeal the party enjoys among the Guyanese people. Our history is full of episodes where parties that appealed to race and religion died natural deaths. What this is saying to us is that the people of Guyana are not inclined to support or embrace any party that promotes narrow particularistic interests but those that promote universalistic values as in the case of the PPP which ideologically and philosophically transcends the confines of race and religion.

** PULL QUOTE:
There must be something much more fundamental than blind loyalty that is responsible for the mass appeal the party (PPP) enjoys among the Guyanese people. Our history is full of episodes where parties that appealed to race and religion died natural deaths. What this is saying to us is that the people of Guyana are not inclined to support or embrace any party that promotes narrow particularistic interests but those that promote universalistic values as in the case of the PPP which ideologically and philosophically transcends the confines of race and religion.

** Pull QUOTE
The strength of the PPP lies in the visionary qualities of its leaders who were responsible for steering the Party through some of the most turbulent political waters.