–NY Attorney-General candidate affirms, calls AG James’s affiliation with APNU+AFC activist ‘horrific’, ‘despicable’

THE New York Attorney-General candidate, Michael Henry, along with Republican and Conservative Party Senate nominee, Joe Pinion, upbraided incumbent Attorney-General Letitia James for comments she made about Guyana based on her affiliation with wanted NYC-based APNU+AFC activist, Rickford Burke.

Henry and Pinion made the remarks on Saturday, during a rally in Little Guyana, Queens, New York. Aggrieved by James’ connection with Burke, and the ill-informed comments she made about Guyana, many overseas-based Guyanese of the Little Guyana community turned out in their numbers to support Henry and the other Republicans.
“Meddling in other countries’ business, spewing lies based on false allegations is wrong. We don’t need such politicians in office in the United States of America,” one of the attendees at the event commented.

Calling James’ affiliation with Burke “horrific” and “despicable”, Henry told the crowd that no section of the New York community should have to live in fear of the State’s AG being affiliated with a wanted man.

“Nobody in this [predominantly] Indo-Guyanese Community should have to live in fear, because someone’s behaviour is being endorsed by the Attorney-General of the State of New York. Everyone in Guyana knows his [Burke’s] behaviour, and what he has done in his home country, he’s not going to do it here, when I’m the Attorney General in the State of New York,” Henry pledged.

He added: “For her to engage in a behaviour like this is horrific, and is a despicable mindset for a chief law enforcement officer to have. For someone to come and inflict threats of political violence on people of this community and their homes and their stores is not going to be tolerated when I’m the Attorney-General.”

Henry called out James for buying into Burke’s rhetoric of inciting racial division, and denial of the election results of Guyana’s 2020 General and Regional Elections.
“For Leticia James to engage in advancing this election denialism, [when] the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, and multiple Caribbean nations have all said that this was a fair election; for her to engage in this and have people like Rickford Burke, who’s wanted in his country for many things, is disgraceful,” Henry said.

Pinion, during his remarks, assured the gathering that there should be respect for other country’s laws.
“We want people in the Guyanese community to know that we have to have respect for law and order. When you have people calling for violence in Guyana, and when you have people who are trying to bring that violence here, the Guyanese community in the United States of America in the State of New York, we have to stand up; come together and rebuke that violence, and make sure that we stand for rights, for leadership and rightful governance,” Pinion said.

During the rally, Henry and Pinion were accompanied by Republican candidate for State Controller, Paul Rodriguez, and U.S. House New York District Five candidate, Paul King.
Many of the Guyanese migrants shared that while they would normally vote Democrat, they could not support a candidate who was supportive of an individual known for inciting public terrorism and racism among Guyanese, both at home in Guyana and abroad.

“We in this community find it very objectionable that we should have a politician who has inserted herself in the politics of another country. The Democrats, for many years, have said they’re against elections interference in the US, and now they’re interfering in another country?” community leader, Dhanpaul Narine commented.

He said: “Miss James, without understanding the complexities of Guyanese politics, and it’s very complicated, took the word of certain people and inserted herself in the politics of the country without understanding the complexities.”

James has been facing a lot of backlash after she made remarks on October 30 at a town hall meeting organised by Burke.
At the meeting, she unjustifiably accused the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration of “race discrimination” and other wrongdoings.
“Her comment definitely polarised us to be out here today,” said another, who gave his name as Chris Persaud.

“Miss James inserting herself into Guyanese politics without consulting if it’s fair and balanced with what is going on there. You can’t take one person’s position who wants to disrupt life here,” another said.