Granger urges Buxton never to forget its suffering

– Corbin says ‘PNC is alive…it ain’t dead as yet’
PRESIDENTIAL Candidate for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Brigadier Retired, David Granger told residents of Buxton that they should never forget the suffering they underwent during security occupation of the village during the worst episodes of the crime spree.
Granger was at the time speaking at APNU’s grand campaign rally at the Buxton Line Top road on Saturday night, when a number of speakers called for the “healing” to begin in the village where crime and disorder reigned from 2002 and continued for about five years.
Other speakers at the rally included PNCR Leader, Robert Corbin, Volda Lawrence, APNU’s prime ministerial candidate, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine and young members of the partnership.
Granger thanked Corbin, who earlier in the night officially endorsed the former’s Presidential candidacy and the candidacy of Prime Ministerial candidate, Dr. Rupert Roopnarine. Granger said that Robert Corbin took the democratic route and opted not to run for the Presidency in these elections, thereby creating the opportunity for him to run for the presidency.
“Our presence here tonight is a result of a democratic process,” Granger told the large gathering of Buxtonians.
Giving a sense of the significance of having the meeting on the Buxton Line Top, Granger said that 150 years ago, the people of Buxton stopped a train when a Governor tried to pass. “And you know what happened the other night? Another Governor tried to pass. Yes. The Buxton people stopped the PPP train,” he said.

Granger lamented the fact that during the PPP meeting in Buxton on Thursday night, Gail Teixeira said that the Government “regrets” what happened in Buxton. “Regret? That is all? We gon give you something to regret,” said Granger.
He said that the rally was a celebration of the coming together of 10 parties. “Tonight is a celebration of the commitment of you, the Buxtonians, to what your forefathers established 171 years ago in this free village,” he said.
“I have a vision for Buxton tonight. I would like to come into this community and see monuments to great people. I would like to come and see factories…I would like to see shops and restaurants…” he said.
Speaking at the rally prior to Granger, Robert Corbin said, “Tonight I am here to tell you that the PNC is alive…it ain’t dead as yet. I am also here to tell you that the WPA is still alive…it ain’t dead” with a drawl in his voice. “Buxton, you know me…and I was here at 5 o’clock one morning when they shot Shaka Blair. Do you remember?” he asked.

PNC/WPA coming together
“This is a momentous and important time for the future not only of Guyana but for our children and generations to come,” he said, speaking of what  APNU hopes to achieve through the forming of a government of national unity.
“If our future is to be secure, we need to take a course of action and a path that can unite this country…bring our races together and work in a government of national unity,” he said.
He expressed confidence in the leadership team of APNU. “I am confident that those who have been proposed to lead this government of national unity have the credentials to take Guyana forward,” he said.
Speaking of the alliance between two parties that have had issues in the past – the PNC and the WPA – Corbin said, “We were on opposite sides of the trenches for many years. Tonight, we are on the same platform…that should tell you something. That should tell you that for us, we are looking to a bright future for all Guyana.
“I endorse them tonight because I have the conviction that together they can lead all of us…they can set proper examples,” Corbin said.
Prime Ministerial candidate of APNU, Rupert Roopnarine, speaking at the rally, said when the parties of Forbes Burnham and Walter Rodney unite “then the earth must move.”
Roopnarine said APNU chose Buxton for its first campaign rally for an important reason. “We chose Buxton first of all because it is one of the most abused and one of the most wounded communities in Guyana,” he asserted.
He said that over the years the great village of Buxton had been stigmatised. He said that the second reason that Buxton was chosen is because it has always been the centre of democratic revolution in Guyana. “Buxton was a pioneer village after the abolition of slavery. When the freed slaves left the plantation, built the villages and returned as free labour to the plantation and organised themselves, the sugar planters hated the villages,” Dr. Roopnarine said.

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