IF you do not have people in this country to produce counter-arguments to the ragingly unfair criticisms, the government faces from its detractors, then an entire nation will live in false consciousness. There are even attempts by the Stabroek News to deny ministers of the government their right to reply to condemnations.

There have been several opinions in the Stabroek News editorials (the editorials reflect the positions of the newspaper) castigating the President and the Vice-President for their response to caustic viewpoints made against the government by civil society groups.
It is unheard of in the modern world, where elected power-holders are admonished for their rebuttals to unpleasant things said about their policies. How are they supposed to retain credibility and seek reelection if they do not elucidate on false narratives peddled about policies? But more importantly, don’t they have an obligation to the people who voted for them to offer explanations?
One of the Stabroek News’ (SN) stuck record is that senior politicians in the government single out critics of the government because they were either supportive of the five months of attempted rigging or remained silent. I read that adumbration in the SN editorials several times. It makes no sense, but the SN continues to repeat it.

The five months of attempt to derail the general elections of 2020 are, for me, perhaps one of four of the most dangerous moments in the entire history of Guyana. If there are actors in society that sermonize the Guyanese people with criticisms of governance, the leaders in government and the ruling party have a pressing duty to tell the nation that these critics have no moral standing to denounce the government because they supported dangerous conspiracies to abort the legitimate results of the 2020 election.
I cannot recall the number of times in these columns that I have suggested that people need to reply to false narratives because, in doing so, the nation’s eyes are opened. I believe the reason why ‘The Usual Suspects’ have completely gone silent over their demand that Guyana must get out of oil production for climate reasons is because there has been a deluge of responses to such an atrocity using reasoned arguments that the Guyanese people accept.

One argument is that while there are anti-oil lobbyists in this country talking about climate damage, super-rich countries are engaged in the fossil fuel industry—the very countries that would like Guyana to save the planet. Another explanation that the Guyanese people have embraced is that Guyana should not proceed with an oil economy when the country needs revenue and those countries that want us to save the planet are not prepared to finance alternative sources of energy.
Thirdly, the entire population of this country accepts that, given where Guyana came from, we finally have achieved some level of development with oil and they want Guyana to be an oil producer. Think of what would have happened to the minds of the average Guyanese if we had let the anti-oil lobby constantly bang away without us disproving their false narratives.

Don’t take my word for it –just scan the social media landscape and mainstream press and see if there is anyone out there that is singing the song that Guyana must get out of oil production. Guess why? They have been silenced because people have replied to them. I will give you one graphic example of the effectiveness of the counter-narrative efforts.

Ms. Vanda Radzik-Veira, so-called civil society activist, wrote in November 2022 in the Stabroek News that it is imperative that Guyana get out of oil production because the fossil fuel industry is destroying the environment. Her demand, along with others, was that Guyana must cease oil production right away.

When the HARDtalk presenter interviewed her this year and asked her what her attitude is with regards to oil production, she chose not to give an answer but simply told the host that there are two spectrums–one that says to get out of oil and one that wants more profits from EXXON. The reason Ms. Radzik-Veira did not advocate for oil cessation as she did in November 2022 is because her position has been demolished by people who have rational and logical arguments.
The critics of the government are not going to stop, and we are naïve to think they will stop. But the value of stopping them in their tracks with their false narratives is an obligation we have to the young population of this country. As we draw closer to a national election, that obligation becomes compellingly stronger
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.