(By Aubrey Retemyer)

Once when reading an article on slavery, I came across a strange word – “drapetomania’. It made good sense for me to check on the meaning of the word. I found out that according to the slave masters no slave in his/her right mind would run away. The runaway slave had to have been suffering from a certain disease. No matter how cruel, he was treated. No matter how hard he worked, was starved or beaten. The conclusion was that, the slave had to be affected by some disease in order for him to even think of escaping from the shack he lived in or from the shackles that bound him.

According to the slave master, the idea that a human being should love freedom was out of the question. The slave had to have been suffering from this disease called “drapetomania”. While I thought that this conclusion must have been absurd then, today we are witnessing the same kind of behavior from the minority PPP government. We see the same kind of arrogance, power drunkenness, abuse and disrespect of the poor and the working class and contempt for the rule of law. After 20 years, the PPP has been most corrupt and reckless in behavior.

In the November 28, 2011 general and regional elections, Guyanese went to the polls in large numbers to express their dislike, disgust and distrust of this most despicable PPP regime. Over the years they have watched the display of cruelty by the PPP. They know of the extra-judicial murder of Journalist, Ronald Waddell and the assassination of more than 400 innocent Guyanese men and women. Most disgusting is the burning and disfiguration of the genitals of  an innocent 14 year old child who is yet to be given his compensation of $6.5 million by the PPP minority government even though ordered by a judge.

Guyanese are fully aware of the relentless and unmitigated corruption of the PPP cabal. They are aware that some PPP members who before becoming ministers had nothing much in their bank-accounts or any major property, but who within 2 -3 years after their appointments were able to build mansions with swimming pools. They are also informed that the minority PPP government is hiding $50 billion of taxpayers’ money in secret bank accounts inside or outside of the country.

Mr. Ramotar has refused to increase the wages/salaries of civil/public servants but at the same time he is paying their cronies huge salaries in excess of US $10,000 or G$2 million per month.

The Guyanese people have witnessed incompetence that would even make the mentally retarded look like college professors. The people are tired of being treated like slaves. Tens of thousands have run away from Jagdeo’s and now Ramotar’s paradise and those who did not, or could not leave, voted for change. It is true they did not cater for rigging. They did not expect to find themselves still oppressed by the demonic PPP minority regime.

It has been said that Mr. Ramotar is threatening to call snap elections. If this is so, then Guyanese must ensure that the PPP is given a sound thrashing at the polls. It is time for Guyanese to show the PPP that they do not have that disease called “drapetomania”, but that they simply love and want freedom. Freedom from tyranny is their God given right