Dear Editor,

Many have been the accolades heaped on the late Clarence Ellis. And indeed he’s probably worthy of the praise. But Ellis stands in a long line of erudite, accomplished Guyanese who faithfully supported the regime of Forbes Burnham and whose voice was singularly silent on the issue of rigged elections. Now, supporting a particular party is an acceptable personal choice, but supporting rigged elections is indefensible by any yardstick. However, it is not my intention to detail this component of Ellis’s reality but to simply point out that those who ignore or gloss over it are the same people who, because they disagree with President Jagdeo’s politics, fail to appreciate his singular achievement of winning the UN’s top environmental award. By no stretch of the imagination can the UN be accused of playing politics or of being biased and/or partisan in handing out this honour.

Be that as it may, Editor, please allow me to congratulate Guyana’s Head of State on a superb achievement. His recognition brings credit to Guyana and his selfless gesture in donating the money that comes with the award to the Amerindian community is indeed the icing on the cake.

Congrats to the President!

Yours faithfully,
Annan Boodram
The Caribbean Voice