–Freddie Kissoon says

POLITICAL and human rights activist, Freddie Kissoon, has criticised the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) for its “selective patriotism,” particularly for remaining silent during the alleged rigging of the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

During a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, Kissoon commented on the lack of transparency during the 2020 elections and upbraided long-term head of GHRA, Mike McCormack, for remaining silent on issues, particularly when the rights of citizens were being infringed upon.

The GHRA had accused the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government of “singling out” the organisation for its “activism.”

However, the government has defended its “right of response” and said it remains open to constructive criticism.

“Since March 2020, what we’ve had in this country is selective patriotism, in which people feel that they should speak out about it, because they are patriotic. But they should speak on issues that are also very detrimental to Guyana’s future. It’s selective patriotism, and I think, the standard test is the silence of the five-month election,” Kissoon said.

He added that the March 2020 elections had seriously exposed the “political and cultural agenda” of organisations such as GHRA, which hide under the title of civil society groups.
“What we have in Guyana are civil societies that are not civil at all. Intrinsically, and inherently, a civil society organisation is not politically biased. They’re supposed to look at society in general and make pronouncements on society’s behaviour, whether it’s in government, business, academia, etc…

“But what we have in Guyana is civil society that only opens their mouth and picks up the pen when it relates to something that they feel the government has done that is not straightforward,” the columnist said.

He added that it is easy to get “fed-up” with the hypocrisy of the GHRA, which went dead silent for five months when the danger of the removal of Guyanese’s right to vote and the right to safety were threatened.
“How could anyone have any respect for people without any such credibility? You can’t be so selective in the protection of your country,” Kissoon said.

Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, had also called out the GHRA for being “mum” on the issue and the lack of transparency during the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC)’s tenure in office.

“Where is the report that Mike McCormack and the GHRA issued a public statement condemning them? We are not going to sit idly by and take these attacks from people who have selective outrage. These are people with selective outrage…,” Nandlall said.

Nandlall stressed that the GRHA went silent for the entirety of the five years until the PPP/C came back into government.

“Today we are in government, and what I don’t understand is the flagrant double standards,” he added.

The Attorney-General also called out the GHRA for skirting around the racist and incendiary remarks made by Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Executive Member, Tacuma Ogunseye, who is currently in custody pending charges.

“Tacuma Ogunseye went to Buxton line top and made one of the most racially provocative, seditious, and riotous speeches calling for ethnic violence…These statements have led to civil war in countries. Statements of this type have led to genocide.

“This organisation that proposed to represent human rights, of which the right to life is perhaps the most important one, stays silent up to date and has not issued a statement about that,” Nandlall said.

He questioned why the GHRA is selective in its criticism, rather than condemning a man who is inciting racial war in Guyana, which can lead to violence and genocide against an entire race.