Dear Editor,
Jason Hinds in his letter captioned “Mr Lye’s return of his award was ill-conceived” (07.02.20) questions the rationale of Clairmont Lye’s returning his CCH award to the government as a protest over what he sees as government’s attack on the press freedom of the Stabroek News.
Returning Medal of Service Awards has been an established and legitimate form of protest all over the world. Several Guyanese returned their OBE and MBE awards to the Queen of England in protest over some action or another of the British government.
Why is Jason Hinds having such a hard time understanding a very legitimate form of protest? As Mayor Ed Koch would say,”I can explain it to him, but I can’t comprehend it for him”. Really no one can force Jason Hinds to understand it against his will.
Further Jason Hinds says the act of being able to return the medal in itself is freedom of expression”. This is really scraping the barrel.
In 1991 Sonny Ramphal visited Guyana. There was a picketing demonstration outside the Tower Hotel against Mr. Ramphal. Mr. Ramphal challenged the demonstrators saying, “How can you claim there are no human rights in Guyana, when you are right now exercising your right to picket”. Guyanese reasonably and justifiably equated lack of human rights with lack of free and fair elections. Jason Hinds today, like Ramphal in 1991, chose to engage in an extreme form of political cynicism.
Jason Hinds assumes for himself the role of tearing down anyone who takes a position against the government on the press freedom controversy.?
Finally, he lectures Mr. Lye: “Come on Mr. Lye, returning your award was ill-conceived and achieves nothing”. How judgmental can you get Jason Hinds?
I congratulate Mr. Lye on his courageous and principled stand. This is the whole idea of democracy and freedom of the press: Not only for Mr. Lye to be able to protest government’s policy but also for the SN to be able to exercise its independent editorial and reporting of news without the government using its “power of the purse” to discriminate against the newspaper.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Persaud