I, David Denny, General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, issue this urgent and militant statement in solidarity with the people of Guyana, and in demand for the immediate release of Azruddin Mohamed, the Leader of the Opposition in Guyana.
This is a disgraceful period for the Caribbean.
Not one Caribbean government has issued a statement to condemn this behaviour. Not one has spoken out against the imprisonment of the Leader of the Opposition in Guyana.
As General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, I have not heard from any of the progressive forces in the Caribbean about this behaviour that has imprisoned the Leader of the Opposition. This silence is shameful. This silence is complicity.
Let me be clear: We may disagree with the politics, or the ideology, or the philosophy of Mohamed. That is not the issue.
If there is one thing we must defend in this Caribbean region, it is the principle of human rights. This is a human rights struggle. This is a human rights issue.
You cannot have democracy in the Caribbean if you can imprison the Leader of the Opposition. You cannot have CARICOM if you can jail your political opponent and the rest of the region stays silent. Today it is Guyana. Tomorrow it can be any other country in the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration therefore demands:
1. The immediate and unconditional release of Azruddin Mohamed, Leader of the Opposition of Guyana.
2. That all Caribbean Governments, the Chairman of CARICOM, and the Secretary-General of CARICOM break their silence NOW and condemn the imprisonment of the Leader of the Opposition.
3. That all progressive forces, trade unions, churches, human rights organisations, and political parties in the Caribbean speak out. You cannot call yourself progressive and remain silent when democracy is under attack.
4. We call on all Guyanese and all Barbadians to organise some form of protest action to demand the release of the Leader of the Opposition in Guyana, Mohamed.
We call on the Guyanese diaspora in Barbados, in Trinidad, in Jamaica, in New York, in London, in Toronto, to stand up. We call on the people of Barbados to stand up. We must organise pickets, marches, vigils, and protests in front of the Guyana High Commission and Diplomatic Offices in front of CARICOM offices, and in our communities.
We must show the Guyanese people that they are not alone. We must show the Caribbean people that we respect the Guyanese people’s struggle for the release of Mohamed.
The Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration stands with the people of Guyana in their fight for democracy, justice, and human rights.
We will not be silent. We will not be intimidated. We will not allow the Caribbean to become a region where opposition leaders are jailed.
Yours truly
David Denny
General Secretary
Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration
