Relative to the PPP Govt-Azruddin Mohamed wars, droves of Guyanese have gotten trapped in the law -extradition intricacies. Relevant, not improper. Then, Guyanese lost themselves in the alleged crimes: gold smuggling, tax evasion, money laundering (more), as developed by the U.S. government (sanctions), and a Federal Grand Jury’s indictments and charges. Who did what, who covered up for whom, leading to mouth open, and story run out? Juicy and entertaining. That spinning and deflecting program hasn’t stopped, flourishes at lower volumes. All well and good; and captivating, as an added bonus for the local circus. Next, Guyanese marveled at the politics -how many votes the man from WIN (We Invest in Nationhood) grabbed from the PNC, how many Indigenous Guyanese formerly for the PPP voted for him, and how a seismic shift just upended Guyana’s battle-plagued political landscape. Spicier than that holiday pepper-pot. Saucier than that Guyanese daytime soap opera, which name makes the newspaper, but which still eludes. There’s admiration for native wisdom, local instincts. But one area remains unexplored, not given its due. I try.
In the anxieties and traumas that visited PPP headmen when Azruddin Mohamed became a political contender, there was one aspect of the party’s reaction that hasn’t attracted much attention. Guyanese gave no stopping, no searching, no questioning clearance. The unspoken aspect of the PPP’s reaction (govt and political group) has been its undiminished, unceasing aggression against Azruddin Mohamed. Azruddin Mohamed, the alleged gold smuggler wasn’t a national concern. But Azruddin Mohamed, the in-the-face (and craw) political leader and political competitor, represents a PPP crisis. Paramountcy of the party when compared to country, anyone? How about this then: reverse racism in sprawling action, targeting a member of one’s own tribe? Racial fear and racial hate of a unique kind for one’s own who was formerly high up in the innermost cabal? The latter doesn’t need any qualifier, such as allegedly. Too real is the feeling of make believe… (Tony Williams and the Platters -The Great Pretender). Right alongside ‘that magic touch.’ The PPP made Azruddin into Saladin.
In the September 1st elections, the call from some political quarters was ‘don’t split the vote.’ Loud, deafening. Did anyone hear the PPP as a party, or its leadership fountainhead, runout and holler don’t split the Indian vote, when Azruddin Mohamed showed up? Nothing so crude. But the boorish in the PPP well-attired in their red uniforms and baseball bats came out to split his head. Express hand delivered messages in Letter Kenny, Lima Sands, and other tribal enclaves. No Indian welcomed in Indian communities to split the Indian vote. The second set of messages was subtle; more psychological than verbal or physical. It was directed at Indian communities throughout Guyana. In terms that Martin Luther King may have endorsed, it was hold fraternity and unity intact. In words more characteristic of the PPP leadership, it was: ayuh help dah man Mahamid fuh split the Indian vote, and God be with ayuh. Split the Indian vote, and a ton of rocks from the mountaintop will fall on ayuh stupidee hed.
Not quite an offer that can be refused; but definitely some considerations not to be overlooked. Job loss. Contract exclusion. Family expulsion. Land reversals. Business suffocations. Lest I forget, there are other popular weapons to get renegade Indians in the right frame of mind: taxman and policeman. Collateral damages. Now if Azruddin Mohamed was of Afro-Guyanese descent, the PPP would have been politically sensitive. Since he is what he is, PPP barbarisms multiplied. For doubters, recall two stars from Guyana’s political cognoscenti. First, Mr. Ravi Dev arrived with his New York ideas; he took a battering from the PPP’s version of protect the franchise whatever it requires. And who was Ravi Dev? He certainty cannot be mistaken for Forbes Burnham or Donald Trump. He has mellowed now, content to join who he can’t beat. Then, there was Khemraj Ramjattan, who departed the PPP and returned as AFC. He experienced combustible PPP rage, which has since cooled enough for occasional chitchats, as circumstances warrant. Ravi, Ramjattan, and any other Indian that steps out of line, better get ready to go down the line. Or fall in line. Analyzse how the PPP grows apoplectic, hysteric, and frantic, when one Indian separates, stands up. Need an eyewitness? Ask me.
Pronounced reverse racism, by my definition. Refresh the memory of corrosive PPP aggressions. Yesteryear, it was other Indians. Today, it is Azruddin Mohamed, the newest Indian threat. Old or new, it is PPP maximum aggression directed at Indians. Split the vote and prepare for a split existence.
