Dear Editor,
Evidently President Jagdeo takes pride in what he calls “cussing out” the media and has escalated his tirade as an election campaign strategy which suggests this nation is exposed to a man who not only treats the office he holds with contempt, disrespects the people who pay him and whom he should be serving, but may also have serious behavioural issues, which singularly or collectively is/are injurious to this nation. While the President has lost his sense of propriety and decorum, as a people our survival, peaceful co-existence and development are hinged on us not joining him and those of like mind.
The PPP’s presidential candidate Donald Ramotar assured this nation, if elected, he will continue President Jagdeo’s policies and is currently a presidential adviser. This nation is chartering very dangerous waters and Ramotar needs to come out and say if he supports Jagdeo’s debased behaviour, and if he does not, then he needs to join us in putting an end to this forthwith by telling Jagdeo to desist from same or seek intervention. The failure to see any of these actions will confirm to this nation Ramotar’s comfort, input and satisfaction with this escalating depravity.
The people’s tax dollars must not be used to attack, abuse and violate them and having suffered for so long it’s time they be brought to an end.
We are confronting a situation where the government is consistently failing to positively execute its duties and create the kind of environment for good governance yet when the media report what they are doing they become offended.
Each and every one of us must have direct interest in media freedom as this is foundational to free, fair, transparent and credible
elections and forging a society where the rule of law and good governance can prevail. It is the media’s role as a pillar of democracy to protect the rights of every citizen and where necessary expose those who violate the laws of the land and the rights of others.
The PPP’s continued attacks on private media are because they clearly do not desire the nation to work towards these goals and for their activities to be exposed. They would prefer Guyanese live in ignorance of their misdeeds and corruption, their lies, nepotism and criminal associations such as Roger Khan.
In the party’s usual dastardly way of pinning their misdeeds/crimes on others they attempt to equate “certain media houses” with creating the environment that led to Rwanda. The truth is Rwanda did not start with media fuelling the flames of divisions and urging ethnic cleansing, but with divisions created in the minds of men who sought to oppress and deny others their freedoms and consequently executed the most heinous crimes on a vulnerable group to achieve their ends.
Rwanda is a symbol of what governments that disrespect rule of law, human rights, peaceful coexistence and rights of others to occupy the same space as them inevitably do to the nation. Rwanda is a symbol of power gone crazy and the PPP is demonstrating that they are a threat to unity, internal stability and freedom.
The case of a young boy, being thrown in the lock-ups for days for sticking his finger son of power gone crazy.
So too is the case of Mark Benschop who mercifully survived five years of his young life in grossly inhuman conditions of the Camp Street jail, Frederick Kissoon being taken to courts to silence him, the closure and constant harassment of CNS 6 owner, to name a few.
Our journalists and media houses must embrace the lessons of Rwanda. They must remember that it is thanks to the free and fearless media that the world became aware of the violations of a section of the people of Rwanda.
Guyanese must know the lessons of Rwanda are many and it speaks to a psyche that has no value for human life and the rule of law. The death squads unleashed on this nation leading to hundreds being murdered, the failure of this government to utilize international support and their undermining of the UK security reform project to help in crime fighting even as Guyanese citizens were being murdered and affected by rampant crime are symbols of the psyche of those in power being similar to those in Rwanda.
Rwanda did not happen overnight but took decades of oppressive development and silencing of a people vulnerable to the excesses of government.
Ours become the collective task to ensure Rwanda does not happen here by speaking out as one against the government’s violations, whether directly or indirectly affected. Ours become a shared civic responsibility to ensure the common good prevails.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis