Mr. Harmon is trying to demonize me/The other side of the coin

I WISH to make it pellucid that my heart stands for that which is right and that which is beneficial for Guyana. I will never do anything in our country, or anywhere else for that matter, that would be inimical to law, order, goodwill, and/or harmony. I have always been a man to follow the ideals of peace and justice, and I will forever be that man to uphold these ideals.

I am writing this missive with a great deal of pain and sorrow in my heart for what is currently prevailing in our country. It breaks my heart that there are political forces that are seeking to create disharmony and affect lives, even as the country weeps, in order to push their sinister agendas.

Unquestionably no question, the murders of Isaiah Henry, Joel Henry, and Haresh Singh was absolutely barbaric, uncivilised, and incomprehensible to ordinary minds. I cried a lot, my family cried, almost everyone cried. In the tragic murder of Isaiah and Joel Henry, one could see that it had no bearing to coconuts. The manner in which they were murdered — with the X on their heads — suggested gang violence and/or drug connections. I am not suggesting that these young men were involved in drugs, but this theory of being gang-related was somewhat confirmed when their childhood friend, Haresh Singh, was murdered in a similar manner just days later. I am saying they may have seen something which these gangs felt they needed to wipe out. However, the political rhetoric and the visitation of the various areas by the opposition, where people suddenly turned up, showed interference in the police investigation to create disharmony and possibly, in some misconceived way, the downfall of the government of Guyana. Innocent people suffered, men were killed, stripped, beaten, chopped; women were robbed and violated. And, to add salt to the victims’ wounds, the encouragement by the opposition was deeply disheartening. Leader of the Opposition Joseph Harmon went on to vociferously encourage protesters, “this response is a correct response, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

It boggles my mind to think that certain political powerhouses do not understand that when they do these things, it has a tendency to affect them in the long run. In the scheme of things in the universe, what you put out is what you would receive. One of the Henry boys’ father indicated that they do not want any of this kind of behaviour. They are God’s people, and they love and value all races. But his voice and the voice of that of his wife went in vain to those with sinister plans.

What has happened in Guyana in these last few days has placed certain political personalities into a position where they would be looked down upon for a very long time to come. It is troubling that in a time of mourning, their goal is that of dominance. Instead of listening, being responsible, loving, and fair, and inspiring others to live in harmony and peace, they swept the words of the parents of the Henry boys under the rug and used the opportunity to fan racial and political warfare.

As a result of what was happening, the violence against a specific ethnic group, that is, I gave some advice as a Security Operative Specialist. I did the same thing in Bath Settlement when the school bus was attacked. The children were injured and I condemned it. Likewise, I condemned the incident that occurred recently. As I mentioned earlier, I gave advice on how to protect themselves, Guyana, or in this case, the people who were beaten and killed in the community “to form protection groups, equipped with batons and sticks for self-defence only.” This was intended to say, do not bring sharp tools or other equipment that could seriously harm others. Use them only for self-defence, if, under threat, protect your group, defend it, but never be the aggressor. I really cannot comprehend why the opposition and certain people are holding this against me and why they are trying to get an argument out of it. Is Mr. Harmon trying to shift the tension on me so as to take the pressure off his back for what he and Mr. Granger said while visiting the families of these youths? I mean, since my comment, political personnel have used their social media trolls to try to disaffect me and make me uncomfortable by the use of intimidation when it was THEY who made racial and divisive statements. I, on the other hand, gave only protective advice. In the words of Mr David Granger, after visiting the families of Isaiah and Joel Henry, he said, “We have to establish some self-defence in our society to protect our children, protect our women, our young people. Unless we protect ourselves, nobody is going to protect us.” This, he said, in response to protests which broke out calling for justice for the teens. Am I missing something here? Shouldn’t they call themselves out as well?! Is the pot really calling the kettle black?

I wish to make it pellucid that the word ‘Indian’ is not an obnoxious word, nor are the words ‘indigenous’ or ‘African.’ In this case, it was the Indians who were beaten, mauled, trashed and killed, whose homes and vehicles were burnt and for whom the APNU or the ERC, for which I am ashamed, did not even — after asking them to do something — make any criticism or consideration of the Indian people who suffered. So, I used the term ‘Indian,’ the same way I would have used the words ‘Indigenous,’ or ‘African,’ or ‘Chinese,’ or anyone else being taken advantage of; I would have had to identify them. In Guyana, the Indians are progressive and contribute to its national growth and development. I reiterate the term Indian is not an obnoxious word. Buy why is Mr Harmon and now in the league with the ERC, make it seem that the use of the term Indian is a dirty word?

I am disappointed that the ERC has allowed itself to be manipulated, which seems to be dominated by Mr Joseph Harmon, while at the same time making statements to try and humiliate and destroy me. The Chairman of the ERC, without consultation or discussion from my perspective, or following the proper protocol, went to the media and engaged in the defamation of my character which is currently being investigated by my lawyers. I am of the view that the ERC’s senior management needs to demonstrate more decorum, professionalism, and management skills in order to prevent the ERC being looked down upon as an unprofessional and biased entity. Subsequently, I would like to also highlight the fact that there is one commissioner, who is considered to be extremely difficult, and who has written the Chronicle — during the previous government — to say some very negative things about Justice Claudette Singh. Negative remarks, which included that she is “mentally ill.” However, the leadership of the ERC and Mr Harmon did nothing to bring attention to that commissioner. So, why was I handpicked by Mr Harmon and the ERC? It is my personal opinion that Mr. Joseph Harmon has plants in the ERC who carry out his biddings. I have never held this opinion before, I have always been objective and professional, but my stance has changed after witnessing the skulduggery that took place just before the elections, after the elections and at the count and the recount. I am convinced that he has plants, or “intelligence specialists,” as he says, to get his intelligence. He has various people around to seek employment in various organisations, including my own, to pick information and take it back to him.

All of this made me remember the number of individuals in the former governing coalition who tried to destroy me and my business. I feel that now that they are out of power, and because I — in unison with the United Nations, the United States of America, India, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, CARICOM, Suriname, most of South America, the African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries, aka as the ACP countries, and the Mandela Elders Group of South Africa — stood up, as an observer, to say what they were doing was wrong; they are out to disaffect me, again. I had to speak the truth at the count and recount of the polls and stand with those who helped Guyana secure a democratically elected government. In addition, I am actively involved in reading newspaper articles and making commentaries, all in my personal capacity which has all gone viral. For this, I was clearly marked and heavily branded by the coalition. In view of all this, there has been a conspiracy to use their trolls to threaten anyone or anything that has to do with me in order to create pressure.

Now that we have a democratically elected government, I had hoped that the opposition would embrace civilised norms and strive for goodwill and integrity in Guyana. For almost half a year, we have seen their devastation in their attempt to steal an election and a country. Their attempts clashed with further economic destruction caused by the prevailing pandemic which added more pain to our citizens and country.

I have repeatedly said that Guyana is on the throes of greatness and that the opposition needs to establish a close relationship with the government, and vice versa. They need to build an environment of trust and faith, so the government can look at the possibility of shared governance and the possibility of constitutional reform that will offer power to the various segments of our society. But, then came the death of Isaiah Henry and Joel Henry. With immediate effect, a lawyer and two social commentators associated with the former government, now the opposition, began to incite people. If Sherod Duncan of the AFC, Mr. Chris Jones of the APNU, and Attorney-at-law Darren Wade, who were apparently sent by their leaders, had not used the opportunity to incite people, but instead had advised them to wait and see while the police were investigating, innocent people would not have been killed.

Our country is greatly blessed with an abundance of natural resources that make us the envy of the world. What else do we want? Guyana’s political leaders, I speak as an Ambassador for Peace and a man who genuinely loves this country: you all need to find ways to talk with dignity and to build a state of calm in the minds of the people. You need to find ways to eliminate in the minds of those with a penchant for revenge, those who are hurt by the events of the past days, and find mechanisms to compensate those whose homes and/or businesses have been ruined and whose lives have been lost, so that their families can survive fairly well, albeit in a lifetime of pain and depression.

I call on those political leaders who want to ruin people’s lives to realise that these things are not healthy. No one lives forever, none of us do; the little time we have left, according to our ages, is the best of wealth. We must use this little wealth of life in such a way as to secure a place in history that our Creator and Lord will be pleased with us. In the end, we are all going to leave this world and the legacy we create — good or bad — is what people and history are going to remember us by.

A part two will follow in the near future.

Sincerely,
Hajji Dr. Roshan Khan