Dear Editor,
Thank you for fostering a discussion over my essay, “Whither Guyana? Autocracy or Democracy”. It was a necessary discussion, and I hope that Guyana will be richer for it.
Please allow me to make three brief points. First, I am grateful to those who politely offered their assessments of the situation in good faith – even if they disagreed with me. That’s what an open discussion is about.
Second, following up on one comment that mentioned ‘power-sharing’ , please let it be noted that I called for a “trusted system of governance”, to be freely negotiated among Guyanese, without myself ever mentioning what that system of governance should be.
Third, the army of vituperative reactions in various parts of the media do a disservice to the Government, which should maintain a dignified posture. A classic method of autocracy is to deploy undignified ‘hit-men’ to cow people into fear. The Government might wish to think about the image these ‘hit-men’ are giving it.
Sincerely yours,
Bertrand Ramcharan
