Dear Editor,
Reference is made to PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee’s December 30 letter ‘A group is trying to push an extremist agenda on the administration’ (SN) in which my name is mentioned as being part of this alleged group. According to the Oxford dictionary an extremist is “A person who holds extreme political or religious views, especially one who advocates illegal, violent, or other extreme action.” This term is chiefly used in a derogatory sense, and is today used to link one to terrorist activities or to goaders of terrorist activities.
As such serious objection is taken to Mr Rohee’s statement, which is devoid of any evidence linking me to any extreme act, be it in word or deed. Even moreso, the attempt to so link me, a public figure, to extremism is that such an association poses a threat to my free and un-harassed movement in and out of this country. This is not a statement to be taken lightly.
We live in a dangerous world today. Ever so often in the news there are reports of the horror wreaked on lives and communities from persons engaging in extremist acts. Mr Rohee, who is a member of the National Assembly, paid by the taxpayers of this country, including me, is engaging in a reckless act to categorize me in such terms, when under his watch as Minister of Home Affairs state guns were turned on unarmed peaceful demonstrators in Linden on 18th July 2012, killing three and injuring dozens.
In 2009 Mark Benschop, Norris Witter and I were engaged in demonstrations in different parts of Georgetown calling on the PPP/C government to respect the laws of Guyana. On 15th July 2009 we were thrown in the Brickdam lock-ups under Rohee’s watch as Minister of Home Affairs. The charges included one, that had we been found guilty, would have carried prison time. It is this reckless and oppressive conduct of the PPP/C that saw Mark Benschop, Leonard ‘Junior’ Wharton, Major Bruce Munroe and his wife, Carol-Ann Munroe languishing in prison for years on trumped up treason charges.
Mr Rohee is called on to provide the evidence (word or deed) of the extremist conduct I am being accused of. The media is being asked, since it facilitated this unsubstantiated and dangerous attack on my character, to facilitate the process of having the evidence produced. Extremists are wreaking havoc on the lives, livelihoods and ways of life of people around the world today, and given that Mr Rohee has so placed me in this category it has to be followed up with the evidence.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis
