Large gathering cheers Jagdeo, Ramotar in NY

Nearly a thousand Guyanese warmly greeted President Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar in New York as they addressed a full audience that turned out to welcome the duo at Club Tobago on Friday evening, April 29. The meeting was held to meet and greet Ramotar, who was chosen earlier in the month as the PPP presidential candidate for the 2011 general elections. The meeting was organized by supporters of the PPP and its various affiliate groups across the Northeast U.S.A., including Pennsylvania, Washington, and New Jersey. The ACG group from Toronto, Canada also came to support Ramotar.

The audience, representing a wide cross-section of Guyanese who came out to offer their support to the visiting delegation, cheered wildly to welcome the visiting delegation. Several NY City Hall officials attended the meeting, and several police officials were on hand to deal with those who had planned to disrupt the meeting.

The audience cheered the visiting delegation for the progress Guyana has made over the years, especially under the young President Jagdeo. Many made reference to the progress the country made during their visits back home over the past few years.

Jagdeo and Ramotar cited the achievements of the PPP government since it came into power in October 1992. They spoke about how pleased they were to be among the Guyanese diaspora. They paid tribute to the late Dr Cheddi Jagan, and thanked the diaspora for supporting the party over the years in the fight for the renewal of democracy and for the progress the country has made since 1992.

Ramotar waded into the failures of the PNC, accusing that party of not wanting to discuss its past.

Ramotar quoted from the McIntyre Report that described Guyana as the poorest country in the hemisphere. “Under the PNC, the country was totally run down. It was bankrupt. The PNC had run up the highest per capita debt in the world and had nothing to show for the debt. Physical infrastructure was run down. Social welfare was in chaos. Housing was in acute shortage. The economy was going backward. Freedom of (the) press had disappeared,” Ramotar said.

He added that Guyanese have enjoyed press freedom, and people freely criticise the government under the PPP/C. He also added that TV stations proliferate, and even in the interior, people have access to television and are educating themselves under the present administration.

“We have turned around education and health, building schools and hospitals. Our government recognises that economic development depends on developing our people, and so we invest heavily in education, health, housing, infrastructure and welfare. We have removed (the) means test for old age pension. We have given out 80,000 house lots, and housing has been booming all over the country in some 137 housing schemes,” Ramotar said.

He added that the upcoming election is a choice between progress and retrogression. He said PNC candidate David Granger “does not want us to talk about his past role in election rigging and being Forbes Burnham’s liaison. But the voters must be reminded of his role in subverting the GDF”.

Ramotar accused Granger of being involved in the army’s role in rigging elections and establishing the PNC dictatorship. “Now we use the state to enrich people and advance the country’s welfare. We are going forward”.

Ramotar described the AFC as a “cog in the wheel of the PNC”. Taking a swipe at the AFC, he said the AFC wants to bring to Guyana “policies that won’t work”.

He linked the PPP to everything that has to do with national pride in the country. “History has shown a link between progress and PPP rule, and we make the country proud.”

Ramotar credits the progress the country has made with President Bharrat Jagdeo in his role as finance minister and as president, to which there was sustained applause.

Ramotar promised that, under the PPP, progress will continue, and “we will be re-elected again and again for another 19 years”.

He told the gathering, “There will always be a place for you to come and to make a contribution”.

In his address, President Jagdeo highlighted racial unity and good economic performance, compared to the rest of the Caribbean. He boasted that he could go to the bauxite mining town of Linden and draw a crowd of 3000, an indication that he runs the country for all Guyanese. He said “Granger can’t get 300 in Linden. The PNC can’t fool the people anymore”.

Assuring that he is guided by the philosophy of the late PPP co-founder Dr Cheddi Jagan, the president reflected on the role of the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), British Intelligence and the PNC in fuelling race riots in the 1960s. He asked the audience to Google the role of the PNC and CIA in the 1960s in Guyana and they will get the facts. The president also slammed the privately-owned Kaieteur News and Stabroek News newspapers for biased reporting. He said that even when their reports are wrong, they don’t want to correct them. He made reference to KN using a photograph of a wrong bridge in a story to criticize the government. But he defended the right of the media house to publish. I don’t agree with what Glen Lall and CN Sharma say. But I will always defend their right to say what they want”.

Jagdeo said the PNC cannot be trusted with power because of past abuses and election riggings. There must be an enhanced scrutiny of Granger; his past will be discussed and is relevant in the campaign, because he wants to be our president”.

President Jagdeo also went after Adam Harris, saying Harris was the editor of the PNC’s New Nation, and when Harris became editor of KN, the New Nation closed shop, using KN to attack the government.

Jagdeo endorsed Ramotar, saying that he will make a good president, pointing out that he comes out from the ranks of PPP members and that he is not bigoted. According to the head of state, Ramotar is humble and is a ‘people’s person’. He is a serious economist, the president said, adding that he will give Ramotar his full support.

“This election is all our business. We are in this together,” President Jagdeo said. The president added that the “PPP will win the next elections by an even bigger victory.”