–Dr. Jagdeo says

WITH United States-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed facing mounting accusations of political intimidation, especially in Indigenous communities, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have remained silent on the matter, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has highlighted.

During a press conference on Thursday at Freedom House, Dr. Jagdeo denounced the actions by Mohamed, who has been accused by Toshao Kevin Seegolam of forcing his way into Wikki/Calcuni, located in the Berbice River.

Dr. Jagdeo labelled the sanctioned businessman’s act of “bullyism” as part of a pattern of behaviour from him and his allies.

The General Secretary said: “They [Mohamed and allies] showed up with about 10 people, took out their flags and started waving it in the people’s face, [and] run through the community taking pictures as though the whole gathering there is for them…They did that very cleverly…

“So, the Toshao objected. The Toshao said, ‘You are not (from) here; I didn’t give you permission for a political event. You can come to the sport, but not political event.’ They tried to bully the Toshao in his own village, and you know the law is quite clear on that,” Jagdeo said.

Under Guyana’s laws, the Amerindian Act of 2006, anyone, especially political figures, must first seek permission from the Village Council to enter Indigenous communities for political work.

Dr. Jagdeo pointed to a similar act that occurred in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), where a businessman told Mohamed that he did not give him permission to use his premises for a political meeting.
Even then, the businessman was subjected to intimidation, just like the Toshao, Dr. Jagdeo pointed out.

This “thuggish behaviour”, according to Dr. Jagdeo, has gone unchecked by civil society groups, who are quick to raise alarms about every other issue.

Mohamed’s campaign, which has leaned heavily on social media optics, has attempted to cast Seegolam as pro-government, ignoring the Toshao’s repeated insistence that the issue was about respect; not party politics.

A viral video shows a tense moment in which Seegolam grabs a flag from one of Mohamed’s supporters and stomps on it.

The Toshao explained the move to a news entity, saying a supporter was waving the flag aggressively in his face.