– Opposition Leader inaction equally reprehensible
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) wishes to join the many organisations and right-thinking Guyanese to condemn the outrageous and insensitive remarks by Mayor of Georgetown, His Worship Mayor Pandit Ubraj Narine. The fact that such deeply divisiveness and hateful sentiments could be expressed by a religious leader who ought to espouse the values of harmony and cohesiveness makes, in our view, what the mayor said even more appalling. For us in the Federation, the Mayor’s remarks says a lot about his character and his ability to discharge his functions in a fair and equitable manner.
The accusations he levelled against His Excellency President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, to the best of our knowledge, are baseless, without any merit and a reflection of an extremist language emanating from the Opposition in recent times. It appears that the Mayor, with the local government elections approaching, is seeking to please his handlers for reason/s best known to him. Whatever are the rationales there is no justification for such a religiously tainted tirade which has the potential to excite and incite. Such actions, in our view, fly in the face of our laws and we urge the authorities to take appropriate action to address such utterances in our society given its flammable potency.
We are conscious since President Ali’s ascension to office he has spoken about the need for our people to be united and working to the common goal of developing this great nation. We have not ever heard the President attempt to even take partisan positions, using whatever yardstick, to address national issues. Of course, the President’s ‘One Guyana’ mantra is a perfect encapsulation of what His Excellency stands for and espouses. The notion expressed by Mayor Narine runs counter to such designs and is reflective of the anti-national, anti-people, and anti-development mantra seemingly adopted by the Opposition camp. While we understand that they have a role to keep the Government accountable, they also have a similar obligation to put the well-being and the welfare of the Guyanese people first too.
The FITUG has recognized the Mayor’s attempt to offer an apology, sincere or not. We see this as too little, too late given the gravity of his outburst. We note too an absence of any seeming reprimand emanating from the Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton. According to news reports coming to our hand, the Opposition Leader has chosen to denounce those offering criticisms rather than disassociating himself from the Mayor’s remarks, as others have done. This position, from our perspective, is noteworthy and it is possible that the Mayor and Opposition Leaders are one on this matter. We are hopeful though this is not the case.
At this time, the Mayor’s remarks have no place in our peace-loving society where our peoples irrespective of our backgrounds live harmoniously with each other. The fact that the Mayor has stooped so low is a demonstration that there is really nothing else left in the arsenal of the Opposition than divisiveness irrespective of the consequences. While we are disturbed we cannot say we are surprised. The FITUG urges at this time that we reject the Mayor and those of his ilk. We believe that His Worship should do the honourable thing in the circumstances and demit his office as he can no longer enjoy the respect of our people.
