I have remained quiet throughout the brouhaha (noise) following remarks made by HE President Bharrat Jagdeo at Babu John. This is not in defence of the President. His Excellency is quite capable of defending himself. But for those who took offence at the remarks made at Babu John during the Memorial event honouring former Presidents, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Mrs. Janet Jagan, I feel a personal need to respond: I was one of the young people on the scene and part of the struggle at that time, a struggle for our freedom, a struggle for our dignity and a struggle to ensure the future of our young country was not bleak.
Each of us has our own style and the way we use words. The way we use words and the style of speaking and writing are not always palatable and often are not advisable, but it is also most important to grasp the message. In all the criticisms of the President, the detractors conveniently ignored the message. But the message in the President’s address was not only relevant; it was one that we ignore at our peril.
All decent Guyanese should take offence at what happened in 1973 on the Corentyne. But those of us who were there on the Corentyne in 1973 particularly take tremendous offence at the efforts of those who now try to ignore and deny what took place. I was there. I was a victim and my trauma and hurt continue to this day. It was not only the BRUTAL KILLING OF TWO YOUNG MEN WHOSE ONLY GUILT WAS A DEFENCE OF THEIR FREEDOM, IT WAS THE TERROR ON THE CORENTYNE FOR MONTHS BEFORE THOSE TERRIBLE KILLINGS. People were jailed for no reason. We were hounded from our homes and locked up without any charges. We were daily being taken to the police station. Our homes were raided, for no reason. The Corentyne became a true military zone and a police state.
What took place in 1973 on the Corentyne was a consolidation of a wicked and destructive programme that saw Guyana descending from being one of the most progressive Caribbean countries to one of the poorest countries in the world, a country that was a dictatorship and with a brutal rule until 1992.
The President’s message attempted for us to reflect on these truths from 1973. First, the 1973 elections were rigged and the rigging took place amidst a brutal effort to silence the voices of the people and to deprive them of their freedom. It is President Bharrat Jagdeo’s responsibility to remind people of these truths. Even if he uses harsh words, it is still his responsibility.
Second, the Government of the time (the PNC Government) used the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) as one of the vehicles of subversion of the people’s rights and freedoms and as the main vehicle to terrorize them into silence. The police were also used. We were beaten. We were jailed. We were threatened. Terrorism was an everyday part of our lives on the Corentyne in 1973. No one who defended and who now is willing to defend still this sordid part of our history should expect kind words from decent Guyanese and from those who were the victims. Truths like these cannot be hidden and must never be forgotten, even as we are willing to forgive those responsible. President Jagdeo was reminding us of these truths.
Third, the terrorism against citizens included taking lives, lives of young, innocent Guyanese. Blood was spilt during the election campaign of 1973. There can be absolutely no doubt that that blood is on the hands of several people and groups. The GDF has blood on its hands. The PNC has blood on its hands. The persons who were players in the PNC and in the GDF then have blood on their hands and those who have now inherited those organizations will continue to have that blood stained their hands unless they have the courage and are truly reflective of the wrongs that were committed and vow themselves they will see to it that those horrors are never repeated in our country. President Jagdeo gave those with blood on their hands a chance to wash that blood off their hands by acknowledging the wrongs that were committed on an innocent people and on an innocent country.
These are facts, hard, cold facts. We forget them only if we want those kinds of disgraceful events to repeat themselves in our country. Those are the kind of facts we must reflect on all the time, but particularly at election time. Facts like these are the ones responsible leaders must remind people of all the time. This is not for us to live in the past, but to make sure that we never repeat the mistakes of the past and that we learn from our experiences. As one who lives with the trauma of those days, I thank President Jagdeo for reminding people of things we must never forget, even as we are willing to graciously forgive those who have the blood of our sisters and brothers on their hands.
Bharrat Jagdeo, at an event to pay tribute to the greatest freedom fighter of our history and as President of a country in which freedom prospers today, took the opportunity to remind people of how this freedom was won. He reminded people of how we once lost that freedom, of the people and the organizations that took away our freedom and who did so by having blood on their hands. He asked that while we don’t hold grudges, we must not forget what happened and who were responsible.
The fact is that the PNC candidate for President was a senior member of the GDF at the time and an advisor to the then Prime Minister. This is important information for the people to know since this man wants us to elect him as President of our beautiful country. The President reminded people of this fact.
I don’t know where Mr. Granger was in the country during that time. But Mr. Granger cannot defend himself by simply saying he was not on the Corentyne at the time. There was a wrong committed on the people of this country and a wrong done to the country. Mr. Granger was a card-carrying member of the PNC and was a senior member of the GDF, an organization used to commit a horrendous act against the people of Guyana.
Whiles I am willing to forgive, I am not willing to forget. The fact is that until the PNC and people like Mr. Granger and others acknowledge the wrongs committed in this country at that time and apologize to the people, how can I forgive them? For persons who commit such an egregious act against me and my Guyanese sisters and brothers and then defend such actions, they should know I will never trust them and will never want to place them in a position where they can repeat such vile acts. People make mistakes and people do terrible things, but when they express remorse, we can forgive and give another chance. But only fools will ever trust people who do bad things and then deny the truth.
But the PNC and Mr. Granger have now done further harm. Instead, these same persons want to blame us, the victims for what happened, for provocation. This is adding salt and pepper to the gaping and deadly wounds caused by the PNC and persons like Mr. Granger. Since when are standing up for your rights and standing up to defend freedom  acts of provocation? We were being denied our democratic rights and for that we had to endure utter terror and then we had to see freedom being bundled away in the arms of soldiers.
Young men screamed with pain. Women cried with despair and men and women and children wailed as if Armageddon had descended on our land. Our freedom was plucked from us and we were expected to stay quiet and not complain.
These truths cannot be denied. These truths everyone knows. Those who deny them, whether they were there or not, those who deny them whether they were directly responsible or not, only add to the tragedy of those times and share the shame of those responsible for the terror and the decades of pain people have had to endure. They share the blood on their hands.
Mr. Granger was a senior member of the GDF. In his own words, he was a card-carrying member of the PNC. Now I ask him: did you not know what was happening in Guyana? Do you deny that the elections were rigged? Do you even care what happened then? Do you still think that we the people were responsible for what happened, that we from the Corentyne were provoking the army? Are you telling me that the PNC was the victim? Are you telling me the GDF and you were victims of what the people did? I need to know the answers to these questions from a man who wants to be my President. The people from the Corentyne demand answers to these questions.
President Bharrat Jagdeo was speaking on behalf of the people of the Corentyne and of the Guyanese people. I am willing to forgive. But as long as I live I will not forget the bayonet on my head as a young man on the Corentyne. I know Bharat Jagdeo did not hold that bayonet to my head. I know Donald Ramotar did not hold a bayonet to my head. I know neither them nor the Jagans gave orders to the soldiers.
I do know that on that fatal day in 1973 many of us were locked up, beaten and two of our comrades were brutally and cowardly shot to death. I know our votes were stolen. And I know that for another two decades, our country was destroyed. It seems like blood is on the hands of some people. Bharrat Jagdeo would never deserve to be President of Guyana if he abdicates his responsibility to constantly remind us of what must never happen again in our country.