–President Ali says in emphasising ‘zero tolerance’ for persons who seek to perpetuate racism, division
–religious community strongly condemns Mayor Narine’s attempts to promote racial, religious hostility among citizens

PERSONS who perpetuate racism, division in society must be called out, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has said in response to Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine’s “reckless” outbursts and attempts to promote racial and religious hostility among citizens.

“I have zero tolerance for race baiters and religious baiters in this country. They must be called out and shamed. The time for this nonsense has come to an end and we must start from here,” President Ali said during his address at the Police Commissioner’s Christmas Breakfast, on Tuesday.

Mayor Narine, during a live broadcast on his Facebook page on Monday night, accused the current government of “bullying poor people because they are Afro-Guyanese.”

He later started claiming that the President is discriminating against him due to his religion, as well as expressing “concerns” that Guyana was becoming a “Muslim state.”

“We must not allow these irrelevant misfits in a modern society to have their way. And I’m very careful in my definition of them… they are misfits. Anyone who tolerates disorder and baits people using racism or religious affiliation are misfits in a modern society. And I didn’t say so, go back to every single religious text and it will tell you that they are misfits,” Dr. Ali said.

Narine and his APNU+AFC colleagues, on Monday evening, influenced efforts to obstruct the removal of carts, stalls and other encumbrances belonging to vendors who ply their trade illegally along New Market Street, opposite the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

“While we are for law and order, development and safety and security of citizens, persons must be able to call out those who are wrong,” Dr. Ali said in his address at the Police Commissioner’s Christmas Breakfast.

He said if persons are blocking the entrance to a hospital where the ambulance has to pass, this amounts to a breakdown of law and order in society.

Narine used the opportunity to sow seeds of discord with his “reckless” outbursts, which were condemned by several religious organisations.

The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, in a statement, strongly condemned any attempt to promote racial and religious hostility among citizens, noting that the diverse population of this country has been respectful to each other and practised religious harmony for generations.

“The government through its many programmes is actively pursuing a vision to promote unity and prosperity for all. The promotion of law and order is the cornerstone of a progressive and peaceful society.

“The irresponsible outburst and the reference to religion by the Mayor to create division among citizens is abominable and should not be tolerated. We call on all Guyanese not to allow ourselves to be divided by persons whose narrow agenda is to create tension and animosity,” the religious organisation said.

Several Islamic organisations including the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana, Muslim Youth Organisation, the Darul Uloom Madrasah Arabia Islamia, Guyana Islamic Trust and the Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman, also unequivocally condemned the reckless outburst from the Mayor Narine, in relation to the removal of vendors along the roadway in the vicinity of the GPHC.

“In a world characterised by epic political, social and technological transformations, there has never been a greater need for responsive and responsible leaders. Some of today’s dominant models of leadership struggle to reconcile both qualities. The actions and utterances of Mayor of Georgetown, Pandit Ubraj Narine, outside the Georgetown Hospital last night make him the embodiment of what contradicts these principles,” the Islamic organisations said.

They added: “We the Muslim Organisations view these statements as utterly irresponsible, amounting to no more than a pathetic political stunt to incite the emotions of people and garner support for himself. Such outbursts are foolhardy and very dangerous, and feed into the Islamophobic agenda which seeks to incite fear in the hearts of people regarding Islam and Muslims, and they must be condemned in the strongest terms.

“His Excellency is unashamedly Muslim. Yet it is his very being as a Muslim which also teaches him that he is a servant of all the people of Guyana. From his actions and engagements with the various religious groups in our country, it is clear that no single religious denomination can claim to be less favored by His Excellency.”

The Islamic Organisations went on to say: “So far, by the Grace of God, our Guyanese community has been free from religious discord and our people continue to coexist with religious harmony and tolerance.”

The Zadok Ministers Fellowship too also condemned the Mayor’s utterances as highly regrettable, unfounded and unsubstantiated and not reflective of the Guyanese reality.

“Guyana is a multi-ethnic society with three major religions – Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. While most Guyanese identify with Christianity, there is no place for religious supremacy and racism in Guyana,” the religious organisation said, adding: “There is no place in our society for prejudice, racism, discrimination, religious marginalisation, division, and hatred and calls for greater tolerance, appreciation and celebration of our religious, cultural and ethnic diversity.”

The Christian organisation called for Guyanese to promote ethnic harmony and religious tolerance through brotherhood, sisterhood, friendship and love for our fellow human beings.

The Viraat Sabhaa and the Guyana’s Pandits Council, in separate statements, also condemned Mayor Narine’s actions.

The Sabhaa said: “His expression of degrading the President as a racist and Muslim leader who wants to create Guyana into a Muslim state has no relevance to his subject. The Sabhaa has confirmed that since President Ali ascended to his position, his agenda of uniting Guyana took precedence over everything else. For he is firm in his conviction that only a united Guyana could accelerate the progressive attitude of our people.”

The religious organisation pointed to the President’s overarching ‘One Guyana’ initiative and ‘Men on Mission’ are testimony to the fact that he is concerned about every gender, that is, men should maximise their support for women and children.

“President Ali has never deliberately absented himself from any Hindu festivals. As a matter of fact, this year he was personally involved in the Diwali celebrations in Georgetown and other parts of the country. His passionate celebration of Phagwah and his personal visits to various Mandirs is a testimony of his support for the Hindu religion. His contribution to the strengthening of the social and religious fabric is being admired by all with whom he would have come into contact,” the Viraat Sabhaa said.

It is for those reasons that the religious body denounced such expressions and called on the Mayor to tender his resignation with immediate effect for making such dangerous statements.

The Guyana’s Pandits Council said: “Guyana is a country in which all religion are treated equally and allowed to practice their ideals and principles freely. Let us spread love, tolerance and unity instead of hate and divisiveness.”