Guyana Observer News

Open Letter to Sir Shridath Ramphal

Saturday, 01 August 2009

Dear Sir Shridath,
Fraternal Greetings,
This is an open letter with a copy forwarded to Barbadian and Guyanese media. I have chosen to communicate with you both privately and publicly since the issue that prompted this engagement emanated from public statements attributed to you. I could not help but take notice about your references to “ethnic cleansing” first reported in Stabroek News (Guyana) June 26, 2009 in relation to the case of Barbados exercising its sovereign right and legal means to regularize undocumented workers and illegal Guyanese immigrants. One notes that without compelling evidence there was an almost indecent haste to publicly accuse and castigate a sovereign nation and label the regime of Mr. David Thompson as one guilty of “imitations” of the most heinous crime against humanity.

The denotation and connotations of “ethnic cleansing”, the gruesome images it conjures up, and the international concerns that such claims are capable of evoking are not made less impacting by the qualification of “imitations”, particularly when made by a distinguished knight of the British throne for whom credibility comes with little question, particularly in our hemisphere and Third World. This makes your statement even more troublesome and dangerous for a developing nation like Barbados. Based on your stature and intellect, recognized and respected throughout the world as shrewd, many would find it difficult to appreciate that such apparent thoughtless mis-speak was not driven by emotional racial considerations

Whereas you live in Barbados and are not affected by the conditions creating turmoil, anguish and desperation of your countrymen in Guyana, you would appreciate that the rising number of immigrants to Barbados and Guyanese fleeing their homeland to live in foreign countries is a sign of the nation’s failure to provide for its people, and to prevent them from migrating under any conditions.

As the human rights of Guyanese at home continues to be eroded under the Jagdeo/ PPP government, your voice Sir Shridath is not noted as one seeking the relief and upholding of law and order, of justice, and the respect for trade union rights and upholding the Constitution. Under President Jagdeo there was/ is a death squad which was headed by US prisoner on trial Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan and which government Ministers Ramsammy and Gajraj are implicated in. Taped conversations also implicate President Jagdeo , other top ranking government and police officers of being associated with drug kingpin Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan .. Hundred young black males were brutally murdered and went missing as the government used their murders and torture for political gains. The Guyanese landscape is stained with rampant government corruption at all levels, money laundering, narco trafficking, an unharnessed criminal underworld with government connections and support, mismanagement of the affairs of government, nepotism and racial strife promoted by a dictatorial megalomaniac and a government that is more an “ethnocracy”. The Guyana Constitution is being violated with impunity and there is no regard for the separation of powers of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The right to freedom of expression, dissent and association is being eroded. All Guyanese are living in fear but remain divided by racial tensions fueled by a government supported by an Indian base who are kept in fear of their black brothers and sisters who the PPP constantly criminalize and deny the right to a court trial. Africans are being accused then murdered as in the case of Minister Satyadeow ‘Sash’ Sawh case which is now closed after the torturing and subsequent murder of accused David ‘Biscuit’ Leander even as he was in the police lock ups.

Torture is the mode supported by and tolerated by the Jagdeo government to get accused men to give statements implicating themselves. Torture is done by the death squad members as reported in the case of Axel Williams and Mark Thomas also known as Kerzorkee; by PPP supporters identified as community police who are being armed by the state; by rogue elements of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

Guyanese no longer have peace nor a safe environment which they can feel comfortable to raise their families and participate in the development of this nation for all to be able to enjoy regardless of race, or political persuasion. 43 percent of our nation’s gross domestic product is remittances. It is the highest in the hemisphere. The PPP government needs this and is perhaps motivated to engage in a sophisticated form of trafficking in persons as part of it developmental strategy. It is recognized that in excess of 80 percent of our university graduates migrate. Nurses and teachers, among other professionals are also leaving in droves. In response to the exodus and the public concerns about the exodus, the government is on record saying people can leave and it will train more. This is indicative that they are not prepared to put systems in place to create decent jobs as a part of its developmental thrust.

As a young man I was engaged in struggles against previous administrations alongside Dr. Jagan, the PPP, Walter Rodney and others. Today, Freddie Kissoon, Senior Lecturer at the University of Guyana, and political analyst, compares the grievances under the PNC to “boy scout mischief” in comparison to the evil that we see unleashed on Guyana by the Jagdeo/PPP regime. The principles, I stood for are still held dear and sacred. They are built on the understanding and respect for human rights and dignity which fundamentals are being trampled on by President Jagdeo and the PPP regime. Today the PPP is committing crimes against humanity with impunity. There is no excuse for extrajudicial murders and there should be no tolerance for state associated death squads and narco militarism

Dr. Rupert Roopnarine in Stabroek News article published July ,26th 2009 compared his experiences of being locked up for arson under the PNC and noted that: “Apart from the discomfort of being handcuffed behind my back for a night, I suffered no physical abuse. The other comrades who were held at other police stations around the country experienced no physical abuse. Three days later, in response to writs of habeas corpus, we were placed before the Magistrate’s Court where Walter, Omawale and I were charged with arson and released on bail. Mr. Troy Small’s misfortune is that he came under suspicion of having committed the crime of arson not in the dark night of dictatorship but in the bright noon of democracy.”

Sir Shridath, African Guyanese need your distinguished voice raised to defend their rights which are being violated in Guyana under an Indian based government. All Guyanese need the support which you can bring to this nation by lending weight to our cries for true democracy , good governance , accountability , justice , the upholding of human rights for all, an end to the lawlessness and government death squad narco relationship .

We need your voice to be raised against the slow genocide that is occurring in Guyana, where the life of Africans, like the days of slavery is losing value, apart from being a useful tool for wealth production.

You are also encouraged to speak out on other aspects of political and worker discrimination, which I am sure you would be apprised of in the media and international reports.

I remind you of the words of US President Obama: “No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end”

Guyana needs your voice. I am willing to meet with you to discuss further ways in which you can be of service to all our people. I can be contacted at the above address , via GTUC, and email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Attached are some newspaper articles and other reports that you may find useful for preliminary enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

Lincoln Lewis
Concerned Guyanese Citizen
General Secretary (on leave) Guyana Trades Union Congress.

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