OFFICIALS within the People’s Progressive Party have not taken kindly to what they termed ‘orchestrated’ attempts by the combined Opposition forces to denigrate the contributions and legacy of Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Just a few days ago, the AFC speaker of the house and former PNC/R Executive Member, Mr. Raphel Trotman organized a forum at Public Buildings (Parliament) where he

chose APNU’s David Granger as the feature speaker.
The event was used by Granger to launch a tirade against the use of the term “father of the nation” in reference to the architect of Guyana’s political and independence movement, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
Then on July 8, 2012 Kaieteur News columnist and AFC activist, Frederick Kissoon in an article for the newspaper made a degrading reference to Dr. Jagan.
Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, Executive Member of the PPP and party stalwart, Mr. Ulric Ramanah stated that those who seek to denigrate the name and sacrifice of Dr. Jagan to our country should be embarrassed of themselves. He added that it is part of “a not so covert planto create disenchantment” among PPP supporters.
“I think it is a plan to use Cheddi Jagan’s name in such a negative way so as to sow some form of discontent within the ranks of the PPP and among us, the supporters,” he commented.
Mr. Ramanah also noted that the attacks are not spontaneous. “I think these are orchestrated and well planned attacks in the way they are ventilated, especially by certain media houses who allow particular persons to spread misinformation.”
He stated that he views with great dismay the recent surge in attempts to revise the historical contributions of Dr. Jagan in all spheres of life in Guyana but was adamant that the intellect of Guyanese will prevail over such sinister efforts.
“When one looks at the background of the individuals who are now attacking Comrade Cheddi, it is rather telling. Here is one individual in David Granger who, most of his life, contributed to suppressing the basic rights of Guyanese. He promoted paramountcy of the party over nation, and he supported and was an integral member of a brutal dictatorship. This is a man who was a senior member of the Army, placed there specially by Burnham when soldiers under the direction of his illegitimate Government shot and killed innocent men whose only crime was to voice their disapproval over the removal of ballot boxes from the place of poll on July 16, 1973,” Ramanah said.

He said too, that Granger in his writings said the soldiers behaved splendidly. “This very individual has now converted himself to a saint and is now saying that the man (Dr. Jagan) who fought relentlessly against colonial rule and for independence, the man (Dr. Jagan) who never gave up, even when he was thrown out of government, when he was jailed, when he was beaten and who fought against the rigging of elections and a 28-year-long dictatorship and then ushered in a new era once again for Guyana in 1992 with the restoration of free and fair elections, that he does not deserve recognition.
Try as they may, they cannot deny or pretend that these historical facts are a figment of people’s imagination. More and more Guyanese are beginning to see these people for who they are, they are beginning to see past these reconditioned politicians.”
Focus has also been placed on AFC Member of Parliament, Moses Nagamootoo who left the PPP after he was promised a Vice Presidential position by the AFC and Mr. Ramanah questioned, “Why is it that Nagamootoo has been so silent, almost dumb on these attacks against the legacy of Dr. Jagan when he goes around saying that he is the embodiment of the ideals that Cheddi stood for? What it shows the Guyanese people is a clear example of the kind of opportunistic individuals we are dealing with, as I cannot recall if Nagamootoo has ever attempted to defend the legacy of Dr. Jagan against these public attacks. In fact, Nagamootoo shares the same political stage and political party now with one of the chief culprits in Freddie Kissoon, who has displayed a morbid obsession with denigrating the achievements of Dr. Jagan for a number of years now.”
The long serving party member stated that Nagamootoo is only concerned with using Cheddi’s name for his own political ambition. “He even lied against Comrade Cheddi to feather his own nest, when he stated that Cheddi took him into the North Rupununi mountains to tell him he will be his successor. He, unlike the biblical Moses, never brought back any commandments with him.”
The Guyana Chronicle was told that the Guyanese people, especially Berbicians who were initially misled into believing all the talk of Moses that he will defend the legacy of Dr. Jagan, have now seen that this was just a sham.