Dear Editor,
I write as a private citizen of Guyana, not as a journalist. My profession and my citizenship are not the same thing. The right to speak on matters of national importance belongs to every Guyanese, and I need neither the permission of an editor nor of an employer to use it. Let that be understood.
I stand in full solidarity with Mr. Egland Gomes, whose letter of 31 October said what many of us have been thinking. The ruling PPP administration has crossed a line.
The elected Leader of the Opposition, Azruddin Mohamed, was refused bail on Friday and sent to prison until 24 November. The charge arises from the alleged leaking of surveillance footage under the Cybercrime Act. A man who commands the confidence of hundreds of thousands of voters, and who holds the constitutional office of principal parliamentary opponent to the government, now sits behind the walls of Lusignan. Where is the justification? What public danger required his removal from society, rather than a bond, reporting conditions or the surrender of his passport, as courts routinely order in far graver matters?
There is a darker thread. Mr. Gomes drew attention to serious allegations concerning the police officer who is the principal witness in the extradition proceedings against Mr. Mohamed, and to footage that bears on what happened outside that officer’s home. These remain allegations, and I do not present them as proven. But allegations of this gravity demand a prompt, independent and public inquiry. Instead, the man who sought to bring that footage to light is the one behind bars. Our citizens are entitled to ask whether the State is investigating wrongdoing or punishing those who expose it.
Reports that the Opposition Leader is held in solitary confinement, in a cell of roughly eight feet by eight feet, are deeply troubling. I put the question plainly: is it true? If so, by what authority, and for what purpose? If not, let the Prison Service open its doors to independent observers, and let the public hear it from the authorities themselves.
Are we now living in a totalitarian state? Would His Excellency the President be so kind as to tell us whether we inhabit a South American version of North Korea, so that we may all conduct ourselves accordingly? Who do the PPP imagine themselves to be? This country does not belong to any party. It belongs to every Guyanese, including those who vote against the government.
Mr. Mohamed has not been convicted of any offence in a Guyanese court. He faces serious charges in the United States, and he is entitled to contest them through the courts like any other person. The presumption of innocence is the foundation of every free society, and it does not weaken because the accused happens to be inconvenient to those in power. Equally, a government that demands accountability from others must be willing to answer for its own institutions, its own conduct and its own record.
I therefore urge my fellow citizens, whatever their politics, to demand transparency, proportionate treatment and equal protection under the law. Let us do so peacefully and lawfully, through the courts, the press, Parliament and the ballot box. A democracy is not defended by silence.
Yours truly,
Mark DaCosta
