What’s the difference between a traitor and an educated writer, with the writer using his pen to weaken and impoverish his people, under the guise of security and national interest, to justify an oil contract so stupid and filled with incomprehensible nonsense and incomparable exploiting terms?
We have quislings among us, whose touchstone is not in the national interest of Guyana, but only to promote self-interest and obtain entitlement to power, status or money. The quisling behaviour is exemplified most fervently in an appalling and disgraceful article, published by Demerara Waves, dated November 19, 2018; where Gabriel Lall also known as GHK Lall, writing like an archangel of ExxonMobil’s Esso, literally says it’s okay to be deprived of what belongs to you.
Gabriel entered our mainstream media as a writer seeking betterment of Guyana; who is now using his pen to obfuscate, and enable the exploitation of the Guyanese people, by using pedantic and contriving language.
With inane and enchain thinking, Lall surmised that Guyana having over five billion barrels of sweet crude oil, is not the cause for the United States Ambassador to Guyana, taking the side of Guyana on territorial claims made by Venezuela.
The reprehensible and partisan regurgitation by Mr. Lall of the predictable pronouncements that we have heard from Wood McKenzie, ExxonMobil’s Esso for Public Affairs representation, Ms. Kimberly Brassington, Chatham House, British Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Sir Paul Collier, among others, all to buttress a horrifying, unconscionable and unacceptable oil contract. Guyanese must avoid being duped by puppets, parrots and snake oil sellers.
The expounder of this rubbish seems to assume that Guyanese will believe the baloney, about us being lucky to have Exxon steal our enormous oil wealth, just because in this year of 2018, the United States has found it convenient to side with Guyana against Venezuela’s absurd claim to 2/3 of Guyana’s territory.
How quickly has Gabriel moltered from being an anti-anything PPPC to pro-everything PNCR. The absolute and essential issue of our time or sine qua non for Guyanese is not about who wins the 2020 National Election, it is to have a renegotiated and fair contract for our relatively vast oil reserves. The singular focus for the unlocking of our people and country out of poverty, must be a reasonable contract with Esson, Hess and Nexen that will allow Guyanese to live like the citizens in countries that have the highest per capita oil reserves in the world – and not succumb to a colonial type oil contracts. We must be the rich masters controlling our oil resources.
What do we have to fear? The agreement with Exxon is far more harmful and odious than all the hogwash claims made by Venezuela to Essequibo. What about the New River Triangle? Will our new-found partner, side with us against Suriname?
ExxonMobil’s Esso “earmarked” Guyana for funds, from our oil wealth in Guyana’s offshore, to supposedly protect us from Venezuela, according to GHK Lall. This is a canard and disingenuous to Guyanese. What is being extolled is a form of gaslighting or mental gymnastics, where down is up and selling your soul or selling out the rights of the masses of Guyanese to our former and extant colonial masters is being deemed logical.
Our foremost hero and patriot, Walter Rodney wrote of the colonial beasts in his brilliant, inspired and widely read book: “Groundings with my Brothers”; that spoke to the importance of national solidarity and unity. The great Englishman, Thomas Paine, wrote a pamphlet, called “Common Sense”; Paine’s pamphlet is believed by many to be the cornerstone that rid America of English rule. Both gentlemen represent the best in all of us.
We must find and join this solidarity and unity within us and regardless of political party policy or political party affiliation and ensure our political leaders free Guyana from this slave contract.
Fundamentally, Mr. Lall is telling us to be happily enslaved by this contract. We must remove ourselves from under the yoke. Why praise the crumb giver?
The 67 % or 56,000 square miles claim on Guyana’s territory by our Venezuelan neighbour to the west and the Surinamese claim of seven or 6,000 square miles claim on of Guyana’s territory should not be used as a bogeyman to deny us a fair share from our oil resources. We must fight on purposefully and with a perseverance that will never allow the current oil contract from a netherworld, to take away from us, what God, providence, nature and fortune has bestowed upon Guyana. The oil belongs to us. We must strenuously insist on having the contract renegotiated to ensure reasonable terms in the oil contract for Guyanese.
Countries such as Ghana, India, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Mexico and Kazakhstan, among others; have contracts with oil companies; and all these countries have conditions and terms that offers significantly more benefits to the country that owns the oil resources compared to ExxonMobil’s Esso totalitarian contract, with Guyana.
Guyanese must put aside perceived differences; if only for this single oil contract, due to the enormous positive benefits that awaits every Guyanese and renegotiate for a fair oil contract.
Yours Respectfully,
Nigel Hinds
December 2nd, 2018