Dear Editor,

Although I live three thousand miles away from Guyana and follow with great trepidation the steady decline of this country, I must confess that I was not prepared for Thursday’s brazen attempted assassination of Ms Maria van Beek.  I cannot adequately convey through this letter, the grief that so many of us in the diaspora continually experience at the state of affairs in this country.  Although I open your newspaper daily fully convinced that I am ready for whatever it may contain, I must confess that the news out of Guyana continues to prove me naïve.  It is a sign of how far this nation has fallen that a gunman can so brazenly attempt to assassinate a public official, in broad daylight, in the nation’s capital, without any apparent regard for its consequences, and escape without a trace.

The question presented by this gaping tragedy is who would have the motive to want Ms van Beek dead?  That is where this investigation must begin.  The victims of the Clico disaster are well aware that Ms van Beek was not responsible for the company’s collapse and so would have no motive to have her killed.

It is noteworthy that the government has merely issued a statement lamenting the attempted assassination of Ms van Beek.  This is troubling.  This is an incident of such magnitude that either the President, if he was still in the country when it occurred, or the Prime Minister who is acting as President in his absence, accompanied by the Commissioner of Police, should have appeared before the nation not only to condemn this dastardly act but to assure the nation that no efforts would be spared to find the perpetrators.  The reticence of the government in the face of this brazen attempt to assassinate a public official is troubling; it does not inspire confidence in country’s leadership.

I hope that this incident causes the people of Guyana to reflect on the current state of affairs in this country, and to realize that their only hope lies in changing this government.  I am not optimistic.

Yours faithfully,
Terrence Duncan