Dear Editor,
John F. Kennedy remarked that “[t]he great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.” I hope these words will inspire the people of Guyana as this nation marks its fifty-fourth Independence Day. This is not a day for celebration, but for reaffirming a commitment to freedom. It is a day to repudiate the attempts of GECOM and the incumbent APNU+AFC administration to hold this nation at ransom; 85 days have elapsed and the March 2, 2020 elections have not yet concluded. This travesty lies at the feet of the Chairperson of GECOM, Claudette Singh, and the senior staff of the commission.
I can only imagine the pomp and ceremony when at midnight, on May 25, 1966, the Union Jack was lowered and the Golden Arrowhead raised for the first time. What a hopeful sight! Citizens witnessing this history-making moment must have felt a tingling sense of excitement tinged with a shudder of fear: excited at the hopeful promise to chart their country’s destiny, and fearful of the inherent uncertainty of that future.
A fairy tale, this was not to be; Guyana endured may travails, post-independence, that saw it ultimately in the grips of a ruthless PNC dictatorship. It took Guyana almost three decades, and many innocent lives, to free itself from the yoke of oppression. Today, Guyana is at a crossroads: Guyanese are faced with the most formidable fight of their lifetime – safeguarding their independent right to choose a government in a free and fair manner. The stakes have never been higher.
This time, Guyanese sovereignty is not threatened by external forces, but by an incumbent administration, relics of the PNC era, and their abettors within GECOM, who, collectively, are intent on dragging the country to an abyss. In hindsight, the ability to shame the colonial administration was an important tool in fighting for freedom. Unfortunately, Guyana is fighting an existential battle with people who are incapable of being shamed. These individuals have mastered the art of Orwellian double speak, and pander to the worst of the human condition. They continue to cling to power, as if this nation is their personal fiefdom.
Guyana must win this fight, “for what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?” (Emerson) Tyranny!
Yours faithfully,
Kowlasar Misir
