If the AFC councillor was stripped, as he claimed
–Why was the incident not captured on camera

OLD Kai is not surprised at the new low reached by the Alliance For Change. It was expected, as they have not been getting the type of media attention their leaders constantly crave, which has added to their waning support.

Thus exploitation of the grievances of rice farmers in Essequibo presented them with the ideal opportunity to aid their desperate quest for relevance, in order to fight off the clutches of political obscurity.

We have been here before; the people of Linden were their targets a few years ago. Racial rhetoric, combined with a nasty misinformation campaign, was used to play upon the people’s fears and rile them up. What ensued has already been well documented, save to say that the damage to both private and public infrastructure still haunts the landscape, and Lindeners are now left to pick up the pieces — with assistance from the very Government they were encouraged to rise up against.

The instigators vanished almost overnight, abandoning the Lindeners as they moved on the community of Agricola, a few months later. What occurred there is also well documented: the attacks against ranks of the Guyana Police Force; robberies and sexual assaults of innocent citizens trying to escape the violence; and, of course, the publicly televised plea of AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes, calling for ‘no peace’ in Guyana, hours before the destruction began.

The AFC leadership then moved on to Berbice, where it attempted to exploit the sensitivities of sugar workers of the Blairmont estate, and openly encouraged them to block the roads and protest. After the workers realized the AFC plan, there were reports that both Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootto, in one instance, having had to jump into their vehicle and speed away so as to escape the furious sugar workers.

With the failure of this plan, the AFC leadership then began to look once again for another option, and a few disgruntled rice farmers in Essequibo became their target.
The AFC Councillor Naith Ram has been sowing the seeds of discontent for some time, and with talk of an election around the corner, the party felt it was the opportune time to exploit the situation. This reality is further confirmed by a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs which noted that “…over the past weeks, representatives of the AFC have been frequenting the Essequibo Coast, encouraging their political activists imbedded in the rice farming community to engage in unlawful acts to disrupt the peace and good order on the Essequibo Coast…”

If this was not enough evidence, Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has revealed to the media that, during the previous week, there were two meetings between the millers and farmers over the payment issue, and an amicable agreement was reached between the parties.

Now, why, in light of their agreement, will the AFC councillor encourage farmers to protest, to block roads and burn tyres?

Then there is the serious issue of the AFC Councillor Naith Ram accusing police ranks of stripping him during the incident. We even have images of the individual posing for pictures naked. Old Kai’s question is: Where were these cameras moments before, when the incident allegedly occurred? Why are there no images of the actual incident? This only confirms the obvious, which is not only nasty and downright disgraceful behavior, but also indicative of the culture which the AFC leadership seems to be fostering.

Old Kai was informed by an eyewitness that after the attempt at arresting the AFC councillor failed, he began stripping and challenged the ranks to arrest him naked. The Police have also reported that, hours before this incident, the individual and others were observed imbibing; but being under the influence of alcohol is no excuse for such behaviour, especially since we are told that women and children were also at the scene. Is this the sort of degenerative behaviour the AFC is encouraging?

It is up to the AFC and its councillor in Essequibo to provide the images of him actually being stripped by the police. After all, they have confirmed that they had several cameras there, but not a single video or image of the actual incident have they provided. The police also need to take action against those damaging society who would engage in such lewd behaviour in front of women and children.

When Old Kai refers to this culture by the AFC, let us remember that it was one of their leaders who stood up in Parliament and related that “shut you suh and suh mouth” was how he spoke to his grandkids.

It appears that the people of Essequibo have now become the latest victim of the AFC’s ‘collateral damage’ campaign.