Dear Editor,
The arrest and detention of former Head of State and now Opposition Leader of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, must be condemned by all civil and religious organistaions, as well as trade unions and Guyanese at home and in the Diasporas.
The arrest of Jagdeo is not in keeping with political respect for the former Head of State and office of the Opposition Leader.
I am calling on the Government of Guyana to offer a humble apology to the former President and let political maturity and humbleness prevail.
The former President along with former Ministers of Government were questioned by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) as being the recipients of house lots which is alleged to have been acquired below market price in Pradoville 2.
From all indications and signs, the arrest has nothing to do with stealing State assets as is being alleged by SOCU. Instead, the issue at hand, is simply, wanting to have the right price being paid for the house lots.
If all protocols were followed in the acquisition of house lots by the recipients of the same then the burden of proof remains on the State to prove its case of stolen State assets against the value of the house lots awarded.
In keeping with respect for the former President and Ministers, a more respectable approach should have been and remain so, on the way forward, by SOCU in their attempt to recover what they deemed or termed stolen State assets.
Careful note must be taken of the approximate 20,000 comments and views on the said issue where the positive outweighed the negatives. I am appealing to our leaders in both Government and Opposition to desist from using words or actions that would only serve to further bring division among Guyanese. The once vocal voices of the representatives of the diplomatic community in Guyana has for some strange reason gone silent.
In my opinion, Sam Sittlington, the British citizen who is the advisor to SOCU is over stepping and his visible presence and pronouncement on the controversial Pradoville 2 recipients leaves more questions than answers of foreign ‘meddling’ in our internal affairs as a country and people.
Sincerely,
Sherwyn Delano Downer
