Dear Editor,
Phillip Bynoe’s presence on the PPP/C stage for its Sunday, October 16 Linden rally is a stark reminder of the nature of the governance Guyanese have suffered for 19 years.
Along with me, Mr Bynoe was on July 15, 2002 charged with treason. This charge which suggests the accused was engaged in acts inimical to the state’s interest, was the result of my presence in front of Office of the Presi-dent, to lend solidarity to the Lindeners’ struggle for equal rights and justice. I had a loud hailer in my hands appealing to the armed presidential guards not to shoot the unarmed protesters who were seeking an audience with the President. At that time Mr Bynoe and others were leading daily vigils in front of State House with persons primarily from Linden who were seeking the attention of the government to ensure social and economic justice for their community. This was the call the PPP resisted.
Having spent over 5 years in the Camp Street jail, in solitary confinement (and my case called just once in the High Court, with 11 of the 12 jurors bringing back a ‘not guilty’ verdict), I was finally released on August 27, 2007, with a critical period of my youthful life spent behind bars on a charge I was never guilty of and which President Jagdeo used as a pretext to show his omnipotence by saying he has forgiven me and hopes I have learnt my lesson.
During these five years Mr Bynoe was on the run, seeking a pardon. Pardon for what? Was he guilty of a crime when the court, which has the authority to make such a judgement, never ruled on the matter?
As for the people of Linden who in 2002 were protesting for social and economic justice, their conditions are worse today than in 2002. Among some of these injustices are high unemployment, increasing poverty, poor school conditions, absence of a pension and where such exists, it is measly, and injustices meted out to workers employed by the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI), a company owned by the Government of Guyana and RUSAL. And even almost 10 years after the protest, Lindeners have still not achieved economic and social justice. Yet, Mr Bynoe wants Lindeners to support a heartless regime.
It is under this PPP administration the people of Linden have been targeted in a manner never seen before in this country. Bauxite which has been the mainstay of this town has seen the government caring little or nothing about what happens to this industry, and how the workers are treated. Over the years bauxite workers have had to suffer such injustices as the government taking away their tax free overtime they fought for, in as much as they keep it for sugar workers; the wrongful dismissal of workers by the BCGI and the refusal of government for almost two years to enforce the labour laws to ensure justice prevails.
For the many without a job, they have to subsist with the help of overseas support or having to do menial day-to-day jobs, in as much as they are highly skilled.
Linden, a once thriving town, is now dying as a result of the vindictiveness of the PPP regime. The people are crying out for economic and social justice – theirs are like voices crying in the wilderness. Having spent my early years in Linden (and a product by birth) I know the people of Linden are proud. They are not lazy or incompetent but want what is theirs by right. This is the town the PPP chose to make its political pitch on Sunday October 16, touting it as the largest rally in history when it came nowhere near the tens of thousands that attended rallies during the earlier years of the PNC. This is the town the PPP punished for 19 years even though Prime Minister Sam Hinds was rescued by Linden and worked in bauxite. This is the town the PPP wants to ask for another 5 years, making false promises of value added products to bauxite and bringing 2000 new jobs when truth be told they took away thousands of jobs.
Bynoe did what he thought he had to do, but for those who know better and believe in better his support of the PPP and calling on Lindeners to support the party knowing full well that given the people’s sufferings under the PPP regime, it is mere pandering and singing for one’s supper.
I ask the people of Linden not to vote PPP. They deserve better. They should not be fooled by promises, free t-shirts, a small piece to attend the rally and wine down. Time to take back Linden.
Yours faithfully,
Mark A Benschop
