Dear Editor,
How do freedom, truth and justice die? They die when we allow ourselves to be misguided by lies and misinformation; when we allow desperate and shameless people to corral our minds; when, like bleating sheep, we mindlessly follow leaders who don’t care about our country, and will throw us off a cliff the second we are no longer useful.
Many of us cheered as our elected leaders tore apart the rule of law. Others hid their heads as lies and obvious deceptions distorted our national history and official records. They would rather cut out their tongues than question what they’ve been told.
We who were silent have contributed to the death of freedom, truth and justice.
Civil society was built on a few simple ideals, and I have been thinking of the most important ideals we seem to have forgotten. The first is the rule of law, which is our agreement that no one should be above the laws we have agreed upon, and which are enshrined in our Constitution. Not so with Mingo, and certainly not with Lowenfield.
Another is the peaceful transition of power, which means that if you have lost the election, you must return the power that was lent to you by the people, because they have chosen another to lead. This is the most important function of a democracy, and it is not what we expect, but what we DEMAND from any of our elected officials. It is not too late for Brig. General Granger to respect this fundamental law of society, and concede that the people have spoken and he is no longer the choice of the majority. In fact, to do so would be an act of unity and incredible courage, which would do much to heal the divisions the election has caused. To do otherwise would lead this country down a dark and terrible path.
The other ideal I’ve been thinking about is civic duty. It means that we, the people, would not allow the rules and freedoms we have agreed upon to be tossed aside; that we should take an active role in determining the future of our country; that we should listen to each other, and encourage debate, and stand together when anyone tries to break our rules or pollute the public discourse.
And yet, for all the shame I feel that we, as a people, have compromised our integrity and our honour, there is an opportunity to stand up for justice, stand up for truth, and stand up for freedom; to not be complicit in the division of our country; to begin examining not just ourselves, but the people we put our trust in; and to make an effort to display what represents Guyana best. The idea of One People, One Nation, One Destiny.
We can reject tyranny and ignore the power-hungry that exploit divisions, and focus on building instead of breaking. We can choose democracy.
I invite all freedom-loving Guyanese to speak out against this despicable act committed by this Regime. I invite you to take part in the public discourse, to begin healing divisions.
We must defend the integrity of our electoral process. We must follow that process with an eye for truth and an ear for feeble lies. We must stand for justice, truth and freedoms.
As long as we protect the integrity of our system, the people of Guyana will win, and we will be stronger together.
Sincerely,
Vishal Ambedkar
