Lewis Slams Gov’t, Calls for Mass Action as He Declares “Emancipation Is a Continuing Struggle”

General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis, delivered a blistering and uncompromising Emancipation message, warning that freedom in Guyana is under siege and urging citizens to rise, organise, and confront what he described as escalating abuses of power.

In his Eye on Guyana column published last Sunday, titled “Emancipation Is Not a Holiday—It Is a Call to Continue the Struggle,” Lewis rejected any notion that Emancipation is merely ceremonial, insisting it must be treated as an urgent and ongoing fight for justice.

“Full Emancipation in 1838 was not handed down by a benevolent master. It was won through blood, sacrifice and relentless resistance.”

Grounding his argument in the brutal history of enslavement, Lewis pivoted sharply to the present, warning that modern threats to liberty are no less dangerous.

“The enemies of freedom no longer carry chains or crack whips. They occupy positions of power.”

Lewis’ intervention comes amid national anger following the July 18 MV Barima disaster, which left 73 dead and exposed serious concerns about governance and accountability.

Rather than uniting the country, Lewis charged that the government moved unilaterally, bypassing constitutional norms and excluding key stakeholders.

“That approach offends not only human decency but the Constitution itself.”

Referencing Articles 13 and 149C, he underscored that inclusive governance and participation are constitutional obligations rooted in decades of struggle by workers and civil society.

“When governments substitute consultation with command and participation with political convenience, they do more than ignore constitutional obligations. They diminish democracy…”

Even as he condemned the state’s response, Lewis pointed to a rising counterforce in the streets.

“Across Guyana, citizens have poured into the streets in peaceful protest, demanding truth, justice and accountability.”

He framed these demonstrations as a necessary assertion of people’s power, stressing that sovereignty rests with citizens—not those who govern.

Lewis reserved particular praise for young Guyanese, describing their growing activism as a powerful rejection of fear and political passivity.

“Their courage and resolve affirm that the spirit of Cuffy, Quamina, Damon and Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow still lives…”

In one of his most pointed interventions, Lewis addressed supporters of the governing People’s Progressive Party, urging them to reject blind loyalty.

“Holding a government accountable is not betrayal. It is patriotism… No political party is greater than Guyana. No leader is greater than the Constitution.”

He called on workers, farmers, professionals, and ordinary citizens to reject marginalisation and demand real inclusion in the decisions that shape their lives.

“The marginalised must refuse to remain on the fringes… Every Guyanese must insist upon a seat at the table where decisions affecting their lives are made.”

Invoking Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis cautioned that the fight for justice cannot be confined to any single moment or issue.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

He closed with a blunt and uncompromising call for collective action and democratic vigilance.

“Let us organise. Let us defend our Constitution. Let us hold power accountable.”

“Our ancestors did not endure the auction block so that future generations would become silent whenever democracy is threatened. They fought so we could stand erect, not kneel; speak without fear, not whisper in submission; participate as equal citizens, not spectators in our own country.”

Lewis leaves no ambiguity Emancipation is not about remembrance—it is a call to act. In today’s Guyana, he makes clear, the struggle continues.