Criminologist, social activist, and host of “Straight Up” show streamed online and broadcast on 107.1 FM, Mark Benschop. said he is not impressed with the interview President Irfaan Ali had Wednesday on the ITV’s Good Morning Britain show. “It was hypocritical and a poppy- show; even the blind could have seen through him,” the social activist said.
Ali appeared on the show via satellite from New York, whilst on overseas trip, to address issues of reparations and the transatlantic slave trade. He was asked by the show’s panel to explain his reason for wanting the British royals and Government to apologise for chattel slavery and agree to pay reparations.
In a back and forth, and sometimes contentious exchange, between Ali and one of the hosts, Richard Madeley, the president told the show’s hosts slave labour robbed Guyana its development and Britain stood to benefit from it.
Benschop, took the opportunity to point out the president needs a lesson in history. The talk show host told Village Voice News, Ali should be reminded it was the Indigenous Peoples who were here first, and to claim that Guyana was robbed as a result of slave labour, not understanding fully the system of slavery, how Africans were brought to Guyana and the New World, exposes his level of learning. “Africans were not voluntary inhabitants of Guyana; they were brought to Guyana, fighting against their captivity every step of the way in the so-called New World where they lived, laboured and were treated worse than cattle by European enslavers”
Benschop asserted the president does not know what he is talking about or missed the line he was to have read. “You could see he was reading from a prepared script and most uncomfortable doing it.” President Ali was “all twisted in his logic and reasoning on the issue because he is not sincere about what he was saying.”
Addressing the brouhaha between Ali and Madeley, the criminologist said the media who are running behind some hype of the show’s host being “rude to Ali” must now send their journalists to investigate the president’s daily rudeness to the Guyanese people.
“I want to see the same media address Ali’s rudeness toward Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, Dr. David Hinds, the acting Chancellor and Chief Justice, the trade union leaders, and all the Guyanese who have to put up with his rudeness at home.” The criminologist shared, in his opinion, the president is a hypocrite, cannot be trusted and was playing to an international audience, whilst at home he treats African Guyanese worse than cattle. “The Ali regime is racist.”
According to him, the president “needs to treat persons of African ancestry in Guyana with dignity, respect, economic fairness and compassion.” And the fact he has not done this, Benschop said, he has awarded him a “F” [failing] grade.
Asked to cite instance (s) to support his view, the talk show host stated:-“under Ali apartheid ‘government’ there is economic genocide against African-Guyanese, discrimination against land ownership, few developments in predominantly African communities/villages, discrimination of state advertisement to independent radio and television stations (of which I am a victim since August 2, 2020), persecution of African Guyanese on trumped up charges for imaginary electoral misconduct, discrimination in the awarding of contracts, top level jobs (check GuySuCo’s Board and other agencies such as NICIL), discrimination in the Private Sector Commission where a set of PPP cronies received billions in concessions, etc.,etc.”
Thus, according to Benschop, Ali “has no moral authority to speak on the issue of reparations. After all, charity begins at home and at home he treats African Guyanese worse than cattle.”
