Worst examples of political persecution seen in Guyana for decades

Dear Editor,
The recent charges laid against former Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh and former NICIL CEO Winston Brassington are the worst examples of political persecution seen in Guyana for decades, and reek of desperation on the part of the military dictatorship Government anxious to protect its stranglehold on power in the run-up to the 2020 national elections.
Several prominent stakeholders in society, including the leadership of the Private Sector and other civil society organisations, have already expressed outrage at the obviously politically motivated charges laid against Singh and Brassington. These charges are a clear example of political persecution. Both Singh and Brassington are well known for their high standards of professional integrity and competence. These men were also highly regarded by former Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar, who both spoke about the professionalism and integrity displayed by these two former officials throughout their respective tenure in office.
The charges are designed to besmirch the character of these two professionals, and persecute them because of their service in the former PPP/C Government. This kind of harassment is reminiscent of, and worse than, the atrocities during the pre-1992 PNC dictatorship. During that time, political opponents were singled out for harassment and persecution, simply because they were viewed as belonging to the opposite political side. Acts of persecution were also perpetrated in order to distract domestic and international attention from the substantive issues of the day.
In recent times, the APNU/AFC coalition Government has been embarrassed by a succession of scandals in which its officials have been reported to have been caught involved in obviously corrupt practices. These practices would rock any democratic government, but this APNU/AFC Government is apparently unembarrassed by the mounting evidence of corruption under its watch – committed, facilitated, or condoned by its high-ranking members. The reason it is so unfazed is because of its willingness to use the weapons of fear, intimidation, and brute force, in order to hold on to power at all costs.
Everybody knows that what the Government is doing is wrong, but nobody is prepared to come out publicly and say it, because they know that if they do, the Government will target and victimise them.
The result is that fear stalks the land. We live today in a climate of fear and intimidation, at the mercy of a brutal and uncaring military dictatorship. Gone are the days when you could speak badly about a Government official, and not have to worry about doing so. Today, if you speak badly about anybody in Government, you immediately have to be fearful for your life and livelihood. I understand that they have even taken to Parliament a law making it illegal to speak badly online about the Government. If that is not evidence of dictatorship, then I don’t know what is.
Sincerely,
Concerned citizen