Dear Editor,
I believe it is hypocritical for your newspaper to publish a letter calling on Mr. Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohammed to be “transparent and accountable” while deliberately concealing the identity of the writer. (March 31, 2023) You might say it was done to protect the writer from reprisals, but from whom? If it’s no one in particular, then every contributor’s name, including mine, should be withheld on grounds that someone might retaliate. What is unmistakable is that the anonymous letter and your decision to publish it is tantamount to a smear campaign against Mr. Mohammed and he is owed an apology.
The insinuation is that there is something nefarious and odious about the integrity and character of Mr. Mohammed. The reading public is left guessing, is it because he is wealthy or is it because Mr. Mohammed is an observant Muslim? According to the letter, Mr. Mohammed, a citizen of Guyana who has never been charged with a crime anywhere, should tell voters “IF” he has been restricted from travelling to the United States. The question is puerile. What does permission or restriction from entering the United States of America say about a person contesting local government elections? Absolutely nothing.
What it does reveal is the false value that some people ascribe to an American visa. Guyanese citizens are required to apply for a visitor’s visa if they wish to travel to the U.S and there are a myriad of reasons that U.S. consular officials use to determine who gets a visa and who doesn’t. In the event that your visa application is declined, you are not sent a letter outlining the reasons even if you screamed and shouted from the top of a coconut tree. A U.S. visa is not a criterion to hold public office in Guyana or anywhere in the world as far as I know.
Even “if” Mr. Mohammed was unsuccessful in obtaining an American visitor’s visa, of what concern is that to anyone? There is no denying that Mr. Mohammed has been overtly transparent in the many notable charitable and philanthropic causes he has consistently and graciously supported over the years. As for his commitment to accountability, the surest way to find out is for voters to elect him to office and then hold him accountable for the promises he made while campaigning.
Sincerely,
Nazim Baksh
