An open letter to Norman Faria

Sep 20, 2009 Letters

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Dear Mr. Norman Faria,
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 made by you in condemnation of several positions I have taken on contemporary issues and more so those pertaining to Guyana.
Today I wish to reiterate my position that I stand on the side of justice and fair play regardless of who heads the government. I stood against what I perceived to be unjust actions of all former governments, and I shall continue to stand against any form of injustice at this time when it is clear that those who are given the privilege to lead consider the country their personal property and the citizens their subjects.

As Honorary Consul to Barbados it is your responsibility to, among other diplomatic tasks, represent the rights and dignity of Guyanese citizens in Barbados. This is however not without serious concerns for your obvious willingness to export and advance the partisan and corrupt politics of the PPP government, whose disregard for human rights is being exposed daily.
I am concerned that while you seek to tell us about transgression of Guyanese rights in Barbados at the same time you are silent or embrace programmes of rights violations and slow genocide by the Guyana Government against some Guyanese. This is a double standard.
I am sure you are aware that the Government of Guyana continues to refuse to disburse to the Critchlow Labour College monies budgeted and approved by Parliament, and more so seeks to deny the college any future allocations. The funding that I am referring to belongs to the taxpayers and was given to the college from its inception in 1968.

This college provides training and education for taxpayers some of whom are prepared to upgrade their skills and desire a second chance to complete a high school education. The fact that this denial affects a student population which is predominantly African, feeds the Social Sciences programmes at the University of Guyana, and was the subject of discussion by a current government minister who said the College is “established to put black people in the University of Guyana through the back-door” leaves one to conclude that the Government’s decision is a deliberate act to limit the development of the African community. Additionally, the Government has also refused to disburse to the Guyana Trades Union Congress a grant approved by Parliament, and has since established a parallel trade union federation to validate its human rights abuses. This grant was in place since independence and was never denied even though there were instances when the trade unions and former governments were at logger-heads.
You are also aware that there were many state agencies that had in their employ a dominant African labour force, which over the years were either closed, or significantly downsized and no efforts made to create employment opportunities for those affected or protect their pension plans in as much as proposals have been offered by the trade union community and other interest groups. Juxtaposed this with the government’s continued investments in the areas such as, sugar and rice, among others, and the impact of our concerns become even more disconcerting.

The repeated attacks on Dr. Kean Gibson, UWI Lecturer, even going the distance to attempt to silence her by writing the General Manager, CBC-TV, was nothing short of denying her the right to freedom of speech, in an attempt to prevent her from giving her understanding of the racial and political oppression in Guyana. Similar attempts have also been made to silence or demonise others in and out of Barbados who have taken not un-liked position to Dr. Gibson in speaking out against the transgressions inflicted on Guyanese at home. This assumed role is inconsistent with the mandate of Honorary Consul since no government should be involved in attacking its citizens’ rights regardless of where they are located.
Within recent years law and order in Guyana have been under siege. There have been many murders where guilt and reasons for such actions remain a mystery. Many have fallen victims to mass murders, drive-by shooting, profiling, single executions, violence, robberies and justice is yet to be served. Persons deemed to be criminals have been murdered by the police and army and no inquest held consistent with the law. Hundreds have died at the hands of the death/phantom squad(s) supported by officialdom and rouge elements in the Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force.

Mr. Faria, you will agree had a civilized approach been taken the appropriate investigations would have been conducted; those identified would have been charged; evidence presented in court; found guilty; and the victims’ families would have received justice, having been clear in their minds, who were responsible for the demise of their loved ones. The society too would have been better served from these experiences.
As a Guyanese I share the concerns of those desirous of seeing the country return to normalcy, where our laws are respected and, everyone, regardless of race, creed or political persuasion, can have equal access to the country’s resources. Guyana is in crisis and every citizen who believes in a just society is expected to uphold the Constitution and laws. The Government and its representatives have a greater responsibility and as such your voice is needed to speak out against the lawlessness, injustices and inequity committed daily.
Lincoln Lewis
General Secretary (on leave) GTUC

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