July 22, 1998, Inter Press Service English News Wire, Politics-Guyana: A Gift To Indo-Guyanese?, by Bert Wilkinson,

July 22, 1998, Inter Press Service English News Wire, Politics-Guyana: A Gift To Indo-Guyanese?, by Bert Wilkinson, 700+ words

GEORGETOWN, Jul. 21 (IPS) -- It announced its emergence boldly and made no apologies for the fact that it had "arrived" to ensure that the rights of Indians in this racially divided country will no longer be trampled.

The Guyana Indian Foundation Trust (GIFT) led by rights activist, Ravi Dev, says, for instance, the ruling People's Progressive Party (PPP) although dominated by Indo-Guyanese is not representing the rights of Indians, whose support it received in order to win last December's election.

So already the organization has taken out several full-page newspaper advertisements inviting all Guyanese of Indian extraction who suffered at the hands of thugs during post-election violence between December last year and January to come forward and state their case so that they can be dealt with.

The group has also started to put pressure on the government by calling for a Commission of Enquiry into the attacks on Indians which included destruction of property during the street protests which were organized by the opposition People's National Congress (PNC) to demonstrate the party's dissatisfaction with the elections which they said were far from fair.

The demonstrations escalated into riots which crippled commercial activities especially in the capital, Georgetown and damaged several business places while others were looted. In a full page newspaper advertisement on Jun. 28, the organization asked victims of beatings, robbery and other forms of attacks during the riots to appear in person to give evidence to officials or to submit written reports which it will pass on to the Commission.

On July 19, GIFT again paid for a full-page advertisement in which it published the findings of the survey conducted to determine the number of Indians attacked by rival Black supporters of the PNC.

It says the names of 303 persons -- all Indo-Guyanese -- were submitted to it by Hindu and Muslim religious organizations. Testimonies of 228 persons were collected and these showed a clear pattern that all of the complainants were set upon because of their race and sometimes because of race and perceived political affiliation.

"The Guyanese Indian Foundation Trust is convinced that if these violations were, or are ignored, it would lead to simmering resentment which would impact negatively on the society as a whole," a statement from the group said.

"A preliminary (check) based on the present testimonies show that a sum of over 3.235M ($22,000 US) in cash was stolen from victims as they were systematically robbed," the statement added. Police have not confirmed this.

Indians make up 50 percent of Guyana's population now numbering 760,000 while Blacks make up 39 percent. Amerindians, Chinese, Whites and other groups make up 10 percent.

Guyanese have always voted along racial lines, with Indians backing the PPP and Blacks the PNC which led the country for 28 consecutive years before it was defeated at the polls by the PPP in 1992 and again in 1996.

Indians dominate the economy and Blacks the government service and military. When the PPP split in 1955 most of the Indians stayed with the party then led by late socialist leader, Cheddi Jagan and Blacks went with the more moderate Forbes Burnham to the PNC. Racial tension between Blacks and Indians has always existed here. In the 1960s race riots left 150 persons dead, millions of dollars in property damage and a massive migration wave to the US and Britain.

And for some observers GIFT'S presence in the country only serves to further highlight the racial division existing in this South American republic.

On the other hand, there are others, even among the Afro-Guyanese community who are of the view that the emergence of a body such as GIFT may help to pave the way for open discussion on racial issues.

For instance, there are those who believe that President Janet Jagan's origins is a factor in the increased racial tension now existing in the society and this is one issue which people should not be afraid to discuss openly for fear of reprisal.

Jagan has been living in Guyana for the past 53 years, arriving there as a young woman of 24 after she married late President, Cheddi Jagan whom she met in Chicago.

But what many call her impressive record of service to the nation is taking a back seat to the fact that she was not born in Guyana, that she is white and still speaks with an American accent. This, some say, is unacceptable in a country whose people are predominantly of East Indian and African descent.

Stan Cooke, a senior officer of the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) says he has only one major problem with GIFT.

"It appears that it is concerned with Indian domination and is uninterested in leaving space for other race groups. We hope we could meet them in the future. We also reject comparisons with GIFT. We believe that there should be space for everybody, but this does not appear to be the case with GIFT. Odinga Lumumba the PPP's advisor on empowerment says groups like GIFT should not be condemned.

"When you look around you have ACDA, several Amerindian organizations and others representing particular groups. I think we should wait and see before passing judgment. In fact, I think it is good for the country. We have to strive for national unity while being different. That's a fact," he says.

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