Dear Editor,
I provide the submission below at this crucial time in our country’s history.
Letter begins:
Say Their Names – Victims of Political Harassment and Persecution by PPP Government
In every generation, there are those who refuse to bow to fear. They speak when others stay silent. They create, resist, expose, and confront. In Guyana, these voices are increasingly under attack—not by foreign forces, but by a political elite determined to tighten its grip through intimidation, surveillance, and public shaming.
Say the names of those who have paid the price for daring to speak out, dissent, or simply live outside the reach of state control.
Say the name of Courtney Crum-Ewing, gunned down in a political execution for using his voice and urging others to vote.
Say the name of Ronald Waddell, broadcaster and activist, murdered in his driveway for exposing political violence and corruption.
Say the name of Satyadeow “Sash” Sawh, gunned down in a brutal home invasion still wrapped in suspicion and silence.
Say the names of those vilified for resisting corruption and injustice:
Melissa Atwell, criminalised for her activism.
Paul Slowe, dragged through the courts for exposing high-level misconduct in law enforcement.
Azruddin Mohamed, harassed through politicized tax investigations and media vilification for daring to exist outside the ruling power’s sphere. Harassed by Sheriff Security, a private security firm with close ties to the Vice President and President.
Mark Benschop, who spent five years in prison without trial, and continues to be surveilled and smeared for refusing to stay silent.
Lincoln Lewis, whose decades of labour advocacy have earned him not protection, but political attacks.
Say the names of those who used pen and voice as protest:
Freddie Kissoon, fired, banned, and demonized for fearless truth-telling.
Stabroek News and Kaieteur News, newspapers denied public ads and vilified for independent journalism.
Red Thread and the Guyana Human Rights Association, attacked for speaking up for women, the poor, and political minorities.
Say the name of Mudwata, the masked satirist whose vulgar honesty and comedic critiques have provoked government obsession, cybercrime threats, and desperate attempts to unmask and silence him. When humour becomes a crime, tyranny wears a smile.
Say the names of those from within the system who broke ranks:
Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan, once allies of the ruling party, later cast aside for standing on principle.
Varshnie Singh (formerly Jagdeo), who broke the silence on her treatment and refused to be a prop.
Transparency Institute Guyana Inc., now branded a threat for insisting on accountability and transparency is procurement and awarding of government contracts.
The University of Guyana’s leadership, quietly pressured, why because the government wants to install its own leadership and for promoting research findings unfavourable to ruling party propaganda.
This is not about the past—it’s about the playbook.
Today, persecution doesn’t always wear jackboots. It comes dressed in lawsuits, tax audits, cybercrime charges, and smear campaigns. It rewards obedience and punishes independence. From leaked phone calls to blacklists, public life is increasingly shaped not by democracy, but by domination.
We say their names not to dwell in sorrow—but to demand memory and justice.
Because every act of silence is an endorsement.
Because every disappearance—political, economic, social—is an injury to us all.
Because we are not fooled by billboards, infrastructure ribbon-cuttings, or diplomatic handshakes.
Say their names—so we never forget who stood, who was silenced, and who may be next.
Let their stories remind us that we deserve better.
We must continue to resist injustice, corruption, and the entrenchment of criminality within the state.
We must reject backwardness masked as development, the abuse of public procurement to enrich party loyalists and the ruling party, and the use of state power to silence dissent and punish whistleblowers.
We must speak out against a system that protects the powerful—those accused of rape, sexual assault, and other crimes—while the vulnerable, including victims are left unprotected and scared for life.
Yours truly,
C.A. Singh
