PUBLICLY affirming that he does not tolerate ethnic divisions, President David Granger has said he wishes to assure people of all ethnicities that he would be a President of all the people.The President made this declaration immediately after he was sworn in as President of Guyana last Saturday, and he candidly reiterated his statement yesterday as he answered questions in an interview on the ‘Wake Up Guyana’ programme on Channel Nine Television.

A woman of Indian ethnicity called in to the programme expressing fear that she would be discriminated against by persons of the APNU/AFC coalition on the basis of her race. The moderator, Basil Bradshaw, asked the President to state how he would allay such fears that persons were harbouring, and President Granger made it clear that throughout his campaign he had stated categorically that what was needed was national unity, and that he would truly form a Government for all the people.

“Our party – the APNU and AFC – did not wage a dirty campaign. We waged a clean campaign; and we felt that, because of the nature of our campaign, we were appealing to the entire nation that APNU will need national unity,” President Granger said.

He said the coalition avoided racial incidents and comments at all times, adding: “But it was Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo who kept injecting poison into the atmosphere. And if you look from the time he came in, the tone of the campaign changed.”

To substantiate his claims, the President recalled there was a flier on a PPP letter-head stating that the Demerara River would run ‘red with blood’ if Granger is elected President.

“And then there was a poster showing me (Granger) in uniform sitting next to Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein, also in uniform. So the imagery was clear,” he said.

Further, the President Granger recalled that Mr. Jagdeo started attacking former military officers even though the Government of Guyana is the biggest employer of former military officers.

President Granger also cited one particular instance in which Dr. Jagdeo had to be called up for making an ethnically insensitive comment at Babu Jaan.

“So,” he said, “what I am saying is that the Elections, for me, were not about ethnicity and the APNU/AFC Government.” He reiterated the stance he had adopted on the campaign trail — that he would be President of all the people.
“I’m not a PNC President; I’m not an APNU President. I’m the Guyana President, and I know Guyana is made up of Africans – yes, it’s also made up of Amerindians, Chinese, Portuguese and lots of mixed people!”

Allaying the fears of those who thought otherwise, President Granger declared: “I am a governor or a ruler; president, manager or administrator of a nation where people’s ethnic origin or their religious beliefs are respected; their occupations are respected; their residence is respected; and that is what I would like to bring to Guyana!”

By Shirley Thomas