Dear Editor,
I, like my fellow Guyanese brothers and sisters, have stood and watched in complete disgust the emanations of the March 2 General and Regional Elections. It has now been 49 days since I ventured out early in the morning to cast my vote for the party which I personally felt can restore this country to its former glory, a party which I truly believe won those elections.
However, what has taken place since, has enraged me to the point that I can no longer remain silent as silence in times of injustice only strengthens the oppressor. I am obligated to publicly vent my abhorrence for a truly indigestible concept as to why men I once held in such esteem and admiration have been blinded by the prospect of power and personal gain. Men who have elevated themselves above country, above truth and above justice.
One such man is the Right Worshipful District Grand Master and attorney at law Roysdale Forde. I am a member of the fraternity, the same as Mr Forde, an organisation founded on the very principles of justice and truth, cornerstones of which a compromise must never be sought nor must it be accepted. I have seen Mr Forde standing in our courtrooms in defence of the fallacy of a coalition victory in the March 2 elections, which, mind you, was condemned by every fore-thinking Guyanese and practically the entire world to be lacking credibility and transparency.
Brother Forde himself I believe, if he is as quick-witted as I once regarded him to be, must be aware that the shenanigans which took place during the tabulation of the Region Four results, possessed too much drama on the part of the coalition to have not been rigged. I have seen him at the forefront of an unconscionable lie perpetrated by the hands of men who are devoid of the very principles the fraternity has taught us to embrace and emulate.
I have seen the politicising of the fraternity through brother Forde and a few others, which has effectively resulted in my stepping back from an organisation which I truly love and which continues to be contaminated with the ambitions of the unjust. I have always believed that as human beings, we must never attach ourselves to our politics to the extent that truth and justice are relegated to mere secondary considerations.
I call on you brother Forde, do not abandon your integrity, intelligence and moral standing in defence of a flagrant lie, which I believe is intelligible by any Guyanese with an iota of brain. Justice must always be the very spirit and letter of the life of any free-mason, if it is not, he has forsaken the very right to be deemed a member of this most prestigious fraternity.
The idea of our own material benefit must never outweigh the concept of standing for what is right, regardless of the consequences, we are duty-bound by an unflinching oath to embrace equity and reject corruption and lawlessness whenever it rears its ugly head. The truth is yet to be unveiled, and decent law-abiding citizens shall continue to proclaim their indignation for wickedness and the subversion of democracy and also for those like yourself, who condone and enable these atrocities.
I believe that there is yet time brother, a window in which you can redeem yourself. Speak out against what has been done and play your part in the restoration of our home, the country of our birth. Redeem yourself and your uprightness in not only my eyes, but the thousands of Guyanese who once regarded you as one of our great legal minds, as Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth.”
To you and those who are willing to perpetrate, encourage and defend this sin against our people, I also remind you of these words once uttered by former UN Secretary General Kofi Anan: “Whenever a Government loses the legitimacy to govern, the United Nations has the power to invade and restore law and order.”
The decision is yours brother, choose wisely.
Sincerely,
A son of the soil
