Dear Editor,
I bring to the attention of the public a website, liveinguyana.blogspot.com, operated with the clear intention to defame, libel and vilify persons perceived to be critical of the PPP administration. An examination of this website makes it quite obvious that it is operated by persons either sympathetic to the PPP administration and or directly associated with the PPP.
The latest victim of the malicious smear campaign is a young Guyanese named Christopher Watson, who lives in the United States. Mr Watson apparently became the target of the smear machine because at some point he, like many Guyanese and people around the world were alarmed and appalled by the torture of a teenager whose genitals were burned while in police custody. Mr Watson subsequently took it upon himself to raise funds in the United States to donate money to the teen and his family to cover his medical expenses. Like many who were outraged by the government’s handling of the case, Mr Watson was publicly critical of the PPP administration. One should bear in mind that a trend of torture and brutality by the police of Guyanese citizens has gone on with impunity under PPP administration.
As a result of Mr Watson’s criticism he is now a target of the website liveinguyana. blogspot.com. The website published Mr Watson’s picture, email address and phone number, and made various outrageous allegations against him. At the very least the allegations are a malicious lie. The expressed intention is to besmirch a young man who has a stellar reputation and is concerned about frequent human rights violation in Guyana. We are in the process of tracing to whom the website is registered through “whois.com.” The potentially serious consequences of this allegation in the viral electronic environment must be underscored.
This website is being published in defence of the PPP administration. It is therefore incumbent on the administration to distance itself from such vicious and malicious libel that is spread on its behalf. This deliberate libel against someone of good character is the lowest political act.
It is important to note that every dollar collected on behalf of the tortured teen was accounted for and given to the tortured teen. It is also important to note also that Mr Benschop was used as an intermediary to remit the money to the tortured teen and his family. There is no ongoing relationship between human rights activist Mark Benschop and Christopher Watson.
Yours faithfully,
Dennis Wiggins
