Dr Jagdeo condems ‘ad hominem’ attacks on President

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday condemned what he calls personal attacks on President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

At his weekly press conference held at Freedom House, Dr Jagdeo lambasted a recent publication which criticized the President’s attendance of a recent event held by the Assemblies of God Church. The article posited that the president has broken the divide between church and state.

Dr Jagdeo stated, in response to the diatribe of attacks, that the PNC is of the misguided view that they should have predominant influence over believers of the Christian faith as most are Afro-Guyanese.

“And it goes right back to this feeling in the PNC that they had a monopoly for life over Afro-Guyanese… and regardless of how they treat them, regardless of if they keep them dispossessed when they’re in office, and never pay attention to any issues concerning progress at the national level, but more particularly Afro-Guyanese progress, that they must vote and support them in a blind fashion for life,” Dr Jagdeo explained.

The GS made it clear that President Ali’s attendance at the event was apolitical in nature. The president took the opportunity to speak to the young people present and remind them that it is faith that brings the world together.

This deliberate attempt to foster national unity by the President is what the General Secretary highlighted as reason for the PNC’s sudden panic.

“That is why they have, as I explained over the past several press conferences, that they have acted so violently, in such a robust manner. When they see that we have, in Guyana emerging, national unity on the basis of race because it will destroy the ideology that they practice. This racist ideology that all their lives they practice, in keeping Afro-Guyanese down,” Dr Jagdeo explained.

Dr Jagdeo further pointed out that this is not the first instance of the President promoting national unity through the religious faiths, as there has been constant support for all religious celebration from the Executive.

“You notice President Ali has gone to Hindu functions. He’s gone to Muslim functions. Why wasn’t that worrying? Why was that not worrying? But suddenly he goes to a Christian function and it becomes worrying for them. But our philosophy and the government’s philosophy is to promote the development of religious and racial tolerance in this country,” the GS affirmed.

The President is often subject to criticism, and according to Dr Jagdeo, this is often unwarranted and baseless.

Dr Jagdeo berated any unnecessary chastisement of the President and encouraged a resistance to the disingenuous religious rhetoric, as they are just divisive tactics of the opposition.