The truth does not wear clothes: the APNU/AFC Opposition lied

Dear Editor,
I am livid and upset as I read the ongoing debate about holding a Commission of Inquiry into the deaths of Guyanese souls during the crime spree which lasted from 2002 to 2008. One thing is certain: we need answers in regard to the circumstances which led to the demise of those souls.
I know that scores, if not hundreds, of lives were lost during that period of darkness in our country’s history, when there seemingly was a politically motivated crime spree. There can be no doubt that this COI is long overdue, and would bring with it healing and reconciliation for many families, both at home and abroad. This COI would also bring closure to the many wounds that are still open and festering.
The PPP General Secretary, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has always been supportive of this COI, but has maintained that it should have a joint terms-of-reference and a mandate aimed at bringing truth to light. He has said it should be expanded to include political elements and personalities who had been egging on the criminals at the time, and justifying their crime.
President David Granger appeared to have started the process. He got as far as to have it reported in the media that commissioners were being considered. Then, I believe, the state, police, PNC and PPP would have already had their own pool of information and evidence to assist with the probe. But suddenly, to my surprise, Granger made a U-turn in 2019, and the public was told there was little evidence on which to have a COI.
After campaigning for years on this promise, Guyanese were left empty-handed and without closure. I have held this against the former president ever since, along with how his administration handled the socioeconomic fabric of our society during the APNU/AFC coalition time in office. Granger failed young people of this country time and time again.
Now Nigel Hughes, in a letter dated 20th January 2025, seeks to kerfuffle the public and insult our collective intelligence. I am no fool. That letter was a sad attempt at platitude and fancy expressions. It said nothing, but was big on diverting and distracting the public’s attention from the bigger issues at hand. It missed the mark, and was not the letter of an aspirant to the political presidency. Or was it?
No one “fundamentally misapprehends the gravity of the issues at hand and the solemn duty we owe to the memories of those lost”. No one is trivializing this matter. It is more than a statistical squabble for me, because I know how numbers can affect the accuracy of a story or statement. Hughes’s revisionist history must be challenged because it is wrong and is a dangerous lie.
I suggest that numbers matter a lot, and that verifiable, credible numbers matter even more in this day, time, and age. It matters if one were to say 400 or 1000, or even 10,000 were killed or died during the crime spree in Guyana. I agree that every Guyanese life matters, but the facts, truth and justice matter even more.
The fact is that, for more than two decades, he and the Opposition in Guyana have lied to the Guyanese public about the number of people who died in direct exchange with law enforcement officials as a result of the crime spree. They lied about the PPP being responsible for the killing and deaths of young men of African descent. Hughes and the Opposition lied about the circumstances that led to those deaths in many of the incidents, while giving the public the impression that Jagdeo and the PPP were responsible.
The truth is that the AFC is not a serious political establishment. This is so because Hughes lies; he bobs and weaves every time he is met with a difficult situation or question about the past, or something he has said that is not true. He runs from accountability and transparency, but preaches every day to the current Government that it lacks the same in governance. I have no respect for him if he fails to see how much his words are hurting young males, more specifically African Guyanese.
When the opposition (PNCR or AFC or any party) uses this very sensitive issue at elections time and stirs up the race card in the public, I am profusely annoyed. It is wrong to use race baiting and to stir up ethnic strife. It is hurtful to the families who need answers and justice. They are not to be treated as collateral damage to get to score cheap political points, and this is exactly what Hughes is doing: nothing more, nothing less.
It is injurious to pour cold water on the facts in this matter. Hughes must act responsibly and stop trying to divide and mamaguy us. He does not care what is true about the deaths of these men. I am disappointed in Hughes, and call on him to stop using this as a political football.
It is objectionable and shameful to downplay the importance of the questions that the young people are asking you. They want clarity and answers. They are holding your feet to the fire. You didn’t misspeak; it was intentional.
President Mohamed Irfaan Ali has said he would make sure Guyanese get the COI and answers soon. The Vice President has said he is willing to cooperate. I have confidence in these men that they would deliver when the time is right. The record matters. Your words, Hughes, matter. Your numbers matter. More and more I will boldly challenge these attempts to throw a political punch and hide from accountability.
It is often said, “If you tell a lie long enough, it sticks and becomes true.” This will not occur; not under my watch.
Interestingly, like a good and well-schooled investigative journalist, I came across this dossier that can be found on the AFC’s website. It contains a full list of the killings committed between 1993 and 2009 at a total of a mere 449. Shockingly, it was an extended period of close to 16 years, and the list included Guyanese of all races. This is on the AFC’s website, the link of which I will include here https://afcguyana.com/afcnew/wp-content/uploads/dossier.pdf.
If anything should come back in style in Guyana, my unwavering view is that it should be shame and a yearning desire for the truth and nothing but the truth. The APNU/AFC lied barefacedly to young Guyanese, and in particular Guyanese of African descent. If this is what it means for better to come, we certainly do not want it!

Yours truly,
Michael Younge