Dear Editor,
Fellow Guyanese, brothers and sisters and friends of Guyana, do all that you can to turn away from violence in any form – verbal abuse or physical harm. That is not a path that will lead to the unity, justice and a future for all to equally share the promised wealth of our country’s resources.
The remarkable restraint and calm of the great majority is an outstanding tribute to the people of Guyana, despite the incitement, provocation, condoning and failure to openly condemn, the verbal assaults of some against fellow Guyanese on the basis of political party affiliation or ethnic origin.
Let that be of the past. Our youth deserve a multi-racial society, built on “respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law,” as in the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement to which Guyana is a signatory.
It is shameful to our sister countries in CARICOM and internationally, that Guyana, held in such high regard, is failing to complete in a fair and credible manner, the recount of votes cast in an election some four months ago.
To the leaders of political parties and those holding the highest office in any institution of governance, some words of President Nelson Mandela, at his inauguration as President in May 1994, may well be recalled: “None of us acting alone can achieve success… Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.”
Guyana deserves the truth and honesty of Mandela to save our beloved country becoming a “failed state” that benefits no one but punishes most, the poor and vulnerable.
Yours faithfully,
P.I. Gomes
Former Secretary-General
ACP Group of States
