THE Wikileaks cables on Guyana are out and, as was expected, it has created quite a stir in certain quarters. Like Peeping Tom I am also of the view that it serves as an unnecessary distraction at this time especially with elections around the corner.

However, for a section of the political sphere it has provided fodder and an opportunity to deflect from their inability to capture the imagination of prospective voters.

This section has latched on rather selectively to the gossip and unsubstantiated allegations contained in these cables. Their selectivity becomes all the more visible when we look at the credence given by this group to aspects which paint the government and ruling party in bad light whilst ignoring the other aspects.
The point is that if the stories emanating from these diplomatic cables which speak negatively of the government are taken seriously, then we have to take seriously the ones which paint critics of the government as well as the opposition seriously as well.
So it is on this end that the main opposition PNCR has some serious explaining to do.
The Buxton/Agricola gang headed by the notorious Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlings inflicted serious pain to many still grieving East Coast and East Bank Demerara residents who lost loved ones or were injured by this gang. And the PNCR must come clean on any involvement it had with this gang. Perhaps the party as a whole might not have sanctioned the actions of this group but there were persons connected to it who had very close contact with the so-called ‘African Resistance Fighters’. This is further highlighted when you examine the Wikileaks documents as well as the public utterings and actions of the party during the terror reign of this gang.
I recall the security forces being subjected to immense criticisms and public vilification during their attempts to bring back some semblance of normalcy during that period. And the bulk of that criticism emanated from within the halls of Congress Place. The party was often very slow to voice its condemnation of wanton acts of terror by this gang, but was always quick to vilify law-enforcement authorities when they sought to ensure that the law was upheld. It was also the PNC which described Fineman’s death during a confrontation with the security forces as murder. It was none other than the PNCR’s Vice Chairman Basil Williams who was captured on a tape recording thanking the then Police Commissioner Winston Felix for helping ‘us’ out in Agricola.
This was after members of this same gang had murdered 10 persons in the very village. The PNC cannot disassociate itself from the Hincksons or Mc Phersons who were both named in one of the cables as being central figures behind the ‘Fineman’ gang. The list of persons to be targeted for execution by this gang had political connotations to it. All the persons named on that list were government officials or public officials deemed to be acting contrary to the interest of the PNC, so this party has a lot of explaining to do.