Reference is made to Stabroek News editorial “Sir Shridath Ramphal” (Sep 13) in Guyana. It is brilliantly written. Most Guyanese I conversed with are in agreement with everything except the paragraphs pertaining to his role in and relating to Guyana “being a technocrat and not dabbling in politics” and as Secretary General of the Commonwealth. How could one be a member of parliament and a minister and still claim ’not dabbling in politics’, they asked?
Yes, he was brilliant. But most Guyanese felt or are of the opinion that he used that brilliance against the interests of his then-colonial territory, country, and ethnicity.
The editorial noted that Ramphal advised Burnham that he would only be “a technocrat and not dabble in politics” even while sitting in the Senate 1965-68) and serving as an elected member after the 1968 electoral fraud. Ramphal knew who was behind the race riots of the 1960s and its intended purpose and about Jagan’s ouster; dozens were killed and countless properties destroyed. Yet, he decided to serve and did the bidding of the party opposed to Jagan. He was also silent when the “Indian Indentured Immigration Fund” was appropriated by the government in 1970 when he knew there was an agreement among leaders of Indian organizations to use the funds to construct regional Indian cultural centers. At no time, did he disassociate himself from those controversial matters. He never publicly condemned rigging or racism against his own people or the marginalization of Indian culture. Isn’t silence on rigging and on all other negative aspects of government or bad governance not ‘dabbling in local politics’? He continued serving as AG and later as Foreign Minister knowing that the elections of 1968 and 1973 were rigged. Isn’t that immoral? My mother, Nanni, Jagan’s mother (Aji Bechni or Bachanoi), and the elderly in my community of Ankerville raised me to be an upstanding, morally right, honest, God-fearing person. All Indians, all Guyanese, would have been similarly brought up, especially in the era Ramphal was raised as a child when discipline was drilled and ‘ routinized’ in every child. What caused Ramphal, a man of unquestionable brilliance, to deviate from those moral principles?
The editorial did not critique Ramphal’s role in the Burnham government; it simply stated that he was non-political. A minister can’t be apolitical or non-political; that is a contradiction of terms. What the editorial is suggesting: is it is okay to be part of rigging, an illegal government, marginalizing people, and one that commits so many other wrongdoings as long as one claims “I am a technocrat, not a politician.”. Many could have done the same — joined the government from 1966 onwards and made similar claims or requests to get ahead. We did not! maintain integrity as did Jagan and others. We continued with our moral compass. We decided to continue living a morally upright life.
On the border controversy with Venezuela, Jagan accused the Burnham government, of which Ramphal was a member, of reopening it for political reasons. Ramphal was the key negotiator. The country has been saddling with that huge burden till this day. Jagan was furious, condemning the government on revisiting the 1898 settlement.
Ramphal spent 15 years enjoying office at Marlborough House. Others, myself included, spent two decades, including 15 years appealing to Ramphal when he was Secretary General, to assist in the battle for restoration of democracy. Not once did he lend a helping hand to restore democracy in his homeland. He blanked us. He laughed and mocked us when we picketed his presence in Trinidad, New York, Guyana. He never apologized for his role in Guyana or his silence on the dictators. And he never addressed the issue of rigged elections or of cheating Jagan of his legal right to office.
Requesting technocratic status from an illegal ruler or telling the public “I am not political” is or was a way to circumvent controversial issues of the day to serve the illegal government, to gain status, to enjoy the perks of office, and to move on to bigger games. The country is paying for such immoral acts, not only those of Ramphal but from others as well, till this day.