Dear Editor,
As a Guyanese American citizen, I take umbrage at the fact that Mr Bart S Fisher of JJ&B would lend his firm’s name and reputation to cover up what can aptly be described as a political coup. By all indications this was a blatant attempt to rig an election, disenfranchise tens of thousands, and undermine the legitimate aspirations of the Guyanese people.
Of course “Guyana elections battle matters to the US” as stated in his opinion piece dated June 19th 2020 in the Washington Examiner. However, what matters more to the US and the world is Democracy and the rule of law. As the leader of the free world, the US has been a leading advocate and voice in the fight for democracy and freedom. Accordingly, it is in this vein that I see his efforts on behalf of his client, APNU+AFC as an attempt to undermine democracy in Guyana and to deny the people of Guyana the same freedoms he enjoys in the US.
While I recognize his contractual obligation to represent his client fairly, he also has a moral obligation to uphold the truth. To date none of the claims made by his client, A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) has proven to be true. Moreover, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and so far, his client has not provided a shred of evidence to substantiate any of its claims, rather, most of these claims have been publicly repudiated.
It should come as no surprise therefore that his specious defence of his client has put him in direct contradiction with all and sundry. This list includes: All International observer teams, the Organization of American States, the Caricom initial observers and recount teams, the ambassadors of the US, UK, Canada, and the European Union, Caribbean Heads of State past and present, and lastly the Chair of Guyana’s Elections Commission.
In addition, more recently a member of the APNU team, the Justice For all Party, along with a former Minister in the APNU government have both called on APNU to concede the elections. As a long-time friend and supporter of the coalition I am adding my voice to this growing list. Perhaps it’s time Mr Fisher’s firm does the honourable thing and advise his client to accept the will of the Guyanese people.
The time tested proverb “a drowning man will clutch at a straw”, may explain his client’s continued acts of desperation, but pray tell, what in good conscience would explain his unyielding desire to continue promoting these falsehoods? While this may serve some benign business purpose, wherein the ends justify the means, there is something unwholesome and reckless about knowingly inciting the wrath of countless innocent supporters by creating an expectation based on a false narrative.
Yours faithfully,
Floyd N. Haynes
