c/o Guyana Trades Union Congress
Critchlow Labour College Compound
Woolford Ave.
Georgetown
Guyana.
August 20, 2009.
Dear Mr. Rickey Singh,
Recently I have embarked on a task of asking prominent Guyanese in Guyana and the Diaspora to join those at home crying out for justice. This open letter, of which a copy is sent to the regional media, is specifically addressed to you. I remember you leaving Guyana claiming that you cannot live and work under the Burnham administration whom you accused of rights violations. You were one of the persons who used the power of your pen/keyboard, not only against the Burnham regime, but to make sure that the PNC was removed from political office. This act was in keeping with your right, which I respected.
If anyone thought elections confer a democracy and give a government the liberty to do as it pleases U.S. Vice President, Joe Biden, reminds us that: “ [W]e must also focus on building and encouraging strong democracies, where basic fairness, social equality, and a deep respect for human rights and the rule of law are the guiding principles of everything we do. Democracy is about more than elections; it’s about strong, transparent governance and a thriving civil society. It is also about addressing as effectively as possible the challenges of poverty, inequality and social exclusion.”
Presently the conditions under which Guyanese live are far worse than what obtained under the PNC. I can speak of it, because I have lived it and continuously fought against it. Today the Jagdeo administration practices racial and political discrimination, tramples on human and trade union rights, is accused of the murder of hundreds of young men, tortured many, associates with drug lords and phantom squad, and commits crimes against humanity with impunity. These incidents must have engaged your attention since they are covered in the media and you write for the state newspapers, the Guyana Chronicle. I am aware the Rickey Singh column –national and regional-is never used to address the injustices meted out to Guyanese by the Jagdeo regime.
I am similarly aware that my attempt to solicit the involvement of Guyanese-born Sir Shirdath Ramphal to speak out against rights violations in Guyana has evoked your response and accusation of me being a political activist. Rickey, this is a devious act, since you are aware that I have never been a political activist, that I am a trade unionist by vocation, and up until recently you telephoned me in Barbados seeking my opinion on matters of regional import. Given this known fact I am forced to conclude the accusation is a deliberate ploy to discredit me in the hope of diverting attention from the serious offences being committed by the PPP administration.
As Guyanese we dis-qualify ourselves from speaking about any issue, in any country in CARICOM, if we fail to address the transgressions that are committed in our birth-land.
On Barbados, you wrote of “the apartheid -like immigration policies of the Barbados Government that has the support of the majority of Barbadians,” and staying “away from Barbados because [you] do not feel welcome there.” While your claim is noted, many Guyanese do not feel welcomed in their birth- land but do not possess liked means to leave. Some question why they must flee. And others see their living conditions akin to apartheid, slavery or indentureship.
Mr. Singh, Guyana has reached the point where many are unsure what are their rights and where they can seek recourse since ‘rights’ are defined by the PPP, not the Constitution; and laws are no longer interpreted in the Courts but at the Office of the President and Freedom House.
Apart from presidential and political attacks on trade unions and leaders independent of PPP control, there are attacks on leaders in the private sectors. On one occasion a notable private sector leader was attacked by President Jagdeo for questioning his government preference to an investment, which subsequently proved to be illegal and forced a retro-active legislation to cover up the transgression.
Workers experience different treatment based on their identity. For instance, in bauxite, an African dominated sector, all the workers were put on the breadline under the guise of privatization. The bauxite industry pension plan, the single largest pool of money owned by African workers, was broken up by Mr. Jagdeo; while the sugar industry, dominated by Indo Guyanese, has been given all the support to remain a state entity and funding found to support the pension plan so that every sugar worker will be guaranteed a pension on retirement. You are also aware the government has injected significant amount of funding in the sugar industry even though the prices at the preferential market continue to fall.
The illegal tapping of the former Commissioner of Police (COP), Winston Felix, telephone by confessed druglord Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan, now before the US Courts, did not raise the government ire. Rather, in response to this illegality, the Prime Minister asked the COP to explain the content of his telephone conversations. It is this said character who boasted of his close relationship with the Government and in 2006 took out full page advertisements in a national newspaper claiming to have helped the Government in crime fighting; a claim the government never denied or executed legal action.
Over the years the region has benefitted from your writings in exposing government shortcomings, rights violations, and CARICOM’s performances. Your sustained posture in the instance, and on Barbados’ position to regularize undocumented and illegal immigrants, is a reminder that you can use your pen/keyboard to hold the Jagdeo government accountable for the continuous transgressions committed on Guyanese. Taking strident positions against Barbados and other regional institutions on issues of rights and development while at the same time failing to highlight or hold the Jagdeo/PPP regime responsible for the state of affairs in Guyana that is causing Guyanese to flee to live in other countries under illegal and inhuman conditions, are noted. The seeming reluctance to see Jagdeo and the PPP as a part of the problem and the failure to hold them accountable threatens your credibility as a regionalist. For you too share an equal responsibility to hold the Guyana Government accountable for upholding rights and creating programs for the development of all.
In concluding may I advise that I am committed to meeting and working with any Guyanese who is prepared to speak out against injustices and embrace fair play, not only in others countries, but also in Guyana. It is time to join hands and stand up to save Guyana, and by extension the region.
Regards,
Lincoln Lewis
Concerned Guyanese
General Secretary (on leave), Guyana Trades Union Congress.
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