Dear Editor,
The attempt on the life of Lincoln Lewis, General Secretary of the Caribbean Congress of Labour must not be ignored; these are very dangerous times and the incident is frightening. The GTUC made the point that Lewis stood up to the governments of Forbes Burnham, Desmond Hoyte, Cheddi Jagan, Janet Jagan and now Bharrat Jagdeo. He was never faced with any threat to his life before last Monday.
This country is littered with guns and hired guns stalking the land looking for ‘employment.’ People have been killed for $20. There is absolutely no opportunity for young people.
Lewis has a reputation for being fearless, and observing his resilience after the attempt on his life I am convinced his fearlessness has not been threatened.
While this fearlessness is admirable, Lewis is a son of the soil and the government, PNCR, AFC, PPP/C and the police must be held responsible for ensuring his safety and rights. The trade union community must notify their regional and international bodies about the threat to the life of a member. The Caricom governments must also be apprised of this incident.
It needed someone of Lewis’s stature to get up and tell the government, PNCR, AFC and the entire establishment the truth. I have seen the disgust expressed with the AFC and PNCR’s tactics of using the voters to get into Parliament then failing to represent their interests.
I have had the opportunity to read Lewis’s human rights address in its entirety in the Guyana Observer online edition.
It was a power punch. Rights activists and law-abiding citizens will recognise Lewis is onto something and will join the call for a return to normalcy, decency and justice in the society.
Lewis promised to take Guyana’s case to the UN Human Rights Conference in Geneva next year. Brother Lewis, I am sure the labour stalwarts would be proud of you. For me, I applaud your stick-to-it-ness and determination and wish you all the best.
Yours faithfully,
Hector Chalmers
