Dear Editor,
October 6th, 2024 marks the 44th Anniversary of the fraudulent 1980 Burnham constitution. As a visual artist I have recorded this day as the Death of Democracy, for it sent Guyana way back before the year 1215, the year of the Great Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was the first document to put into writing the principle that the King and government were not above the law.
Article 182 of the Guyana constitution provides as follows: (1)Subject to the provisions of article 180 the holder of the office of President shall not be personally answerable to any court for the performance of the function of his or her own office or any act done in the performance of those function and proceedings whether criminal or…
The masterminds behind the formulation of the 1980 constitution abolished most of the fundamental principles enshrined in the Magna Carta. The intention was to destroy the very essence of our humanity; the vision of a morally responsible society of a free and independent people who are a covenant to each other and to justice, peace and stability, and the common ground of the society.
What Guyanese politicians have done over the past 44 years is to strangle our democracy and the life of the Guyanese nation. The 1980 constitution was ushered in leaving behind a bloody trail, the blood of Walter Rodney and many others. It sparked off an unprecedented wave of migration that continues unabated.
Yours faithfully
Desmond Alli
