Working People’s Alliance (WPA)’s Executive Member, Dr. David Hinds is standing by comments he made that are now the subject of an investigation launched by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC).
Dr. Hinds, during his “Politics 101”, made disparaging comments aimed at some Afro-Guyanese who have aligned themselves with the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
In his defence or lack of, the WPA said that Dr. Hinds used “everyday folk language” to reinforce the seriousness of the practice of the PPP/C recruiting Afro-Guyanese to garner votes outside of its predominantly Indo-Guyanese base.
The party said that Walter Rodney in his time, described these actors as “lackeys”, “soup drinkers”, “misfits”, “stooges” and “square pegs in round holes.”
It said that Dr. Hinds’ “Lick bottom” comment has been added to Rodney’s aforementioned descriptions.
Regarding the ERC probe, the WPA said it welcomes it.
“We intend to use the ‘trial’ if it materializes to put the ERC on trial for its gross dereliction of duty when it comes to real expressions of racial hostility and hate in the public space. The ERC must say whether its remit is to police public utterances by opposition figures. It must say whether intra-racial self-criticism amounts to sowing racial division. It must say whether government officials and members of the ruling party enjoy immunity from ERC’s gaze,” the party said.
Below is Dr. Hinds’ statement:
In response to calls from some quarters for me to apologize for the statements made on my podcast which have been given legs by the PPP, I wish to categorically say that I will not make any apology. What am I apologizing for? I have not offended any ethnic group. All I did was to caution some individuals of my own ethnic group about a practice that could bring dishonor to the group.
My sin lies in my courage to raise in the open a dangerous development whereby the ruling party is using some of its new converts to go into selective communities to solicit the votes of poor people in exchange for government and State resources. Such action is called “vote buying,” a practice that is not permitted by the constitution or by statutes and flies in the face of democratic engagement.
In passing let me say that I was part of the Walter Rodney cadre of Freedom Fighters. We fought for the right of Guyanese to join any political party of their choice. We fought for the right of political parties to recruit in any community. I will fight to protect and preserve those rights till the day I die. But we did not die and go to jail for the right of political parties to use State resources to buy votes. I will fight against such practice till the day I die.
My critics are preoccupied with my descriptive words, but they deliberately ignore the message. I chose to use folk language. The words used are borrowed from the title of a calypso sung by Trinidadian calypsonian Cro Cro in 2011 in which he scolded Afro-Trinidadian members of Indo-Trinidadian led parties for denigrating African leaders. I have not given fifty years of service to the struggle for justice for some selective “outragers” to tell me how I must express myself. I have earned the right to scold members of my race for potentially and actually hurting the race.”
