Dear Editor,
This invasion of the PNC Office at Lethem, Rupununi must be seen for its deeper diabolical intent. Statements from the government side, sections of the media and the PNC itself have not taken cognizance of the whole story and the wider underpinnings. First, the timing of this destruction and the removal of documents, including those related to claims and objections is of great significance. The deadline for submission of claims and objections was Thursday, March 2, 2023, the same day on which the building was desecrated. It is no secret, and the facts confirmed from my investigation, that Venezuelans were involved in this brutal exercise, as we say in Guyana, at the ungodly hour at 1:00 am.
When will we get a credible explanation from the government quarters, since they claim they acted legally and properly, and why was the exercise not conducted during normal working hours, why did they choose to move like the proverbial ‘thief in the night’? Claims and Objections documents were removed from the Office, during the invasion, in the wee hours of Thursday morning by PPP/ Government Officials. A substantial number of objections to the names of alien Venezuelans were in that office. One is only left to surmise as to the real reasons why Venezuelans, who were alleged to be present during the exercise, were not there for honourable purposes.
This is reminiscent of the circumstances surrounding the genesis of the Rupununi Uprising when Venezuelans trained at the instance of the Harts and Melvilles, Rupununi citizens to stage the failed Rupununi Uprising of 1969. Allow me to share my knowledge – there was a derelict abandoned structure, which we believed was one of the staging posts of the insurrection. There was no evidence that the land in question was state property, as the Harts and Melvilles controlled most of the area and there was a gray line between their private property and government property. Party funds were used to rehabilitate the building in 1975.
The fact that Venezuelans were involved in the removal of documents is noteworthy and Guyanese must not lose the significance of March 2, 2023 by a cabal with the same mentality of the Harts and Melvilles to ensure that the same Venezuelans involved in the Rupununi Uprising are again to play a pivotal role in the upcoming Local Government and later Regional and National Elections. I have no doubt that Venezuelans in other bordering areas are being used to pad the voters list. I was told yesterday, when I tried to contact the Commissioner of Police to ascertain the role that his ranks played in this removal of documents and other articles of the PNC Office, that he was in the air on his way to the Rupununi.
This quick movement by the Commissioner of Police is highly commendable, but is there more in the mortar than the pestle? Yesterday’s event must be seen in the context of an emerging group with an abundance of money who somehow feel that they now possess the divine rights of kings and the rest of us are their vassals and subjects with no rights. Dear Editor, I remind all Guyanese that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Thursday, March 2, 2023 must go down as a day of infamy, with the same beliefs and philosophy as those who orchestrated the Rupununi Uprising in 1969.
Sincerely,
Hamilton Green
Elder