Latest update May 8th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 25, 2014 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
I am pleading with the President and begging for his personal intervention into a matter which if left unchecked could easily descend into legal, mafia-style governance.
We the common law-abiding, hard-working, tax-paying citizens of Guyana would like to know how the fundamental rights which are guaranteed us by the Constitution of Guyana are allowed to be trampled upon by public officials in broad daylight in the presence of the community at large and without the fear of consequences. In democracies, public officials when dealing with the public must be mindful of violating the constitutionally-protected guaranteed rights of ordinary citizens.
I for one don’t feel like I live in a democracy or a democratic state. I’m afraid for my life, I feel weak and helpless against the powers meted out against me in recent encounters with two public officials (names provided), emissaries of an unidentified power only described to me by one of these individuals as (“Higher Up” and “Bigger Boys”). Even in the face of a non-violent sit down protest I am met with force, intimidation and retaliation.
There is no accountability. No documents detailing by whose orders these public officials act.
In this particular instance, I did some in-depth research on how to acquire a piece of land to conduct my business. I saw a piece of land in the neighbourhood where I grew up. I enquired about the land through the Lands and Survey Department and Deeds Registry, these are places where records of land ownership can be found. You can find out who legally owns any particular piece of land throughout the entire length and breadth of Guyana.
According to the records at the Lands and Survey Dept. and the Deeds Registry, the particular piece of land of my interest did not belong to anyone. It was later determined that the land belongs to the government of Guyana. All land which is not owned by private citizens and/or companies fall under the jurisdiction of the Government, therefore I am within my rights guaranteed me by the constitution of Guyana when I acquired the land I currently possess for the sole purpose of or in pursuit of being a productive citizen of this country.
As a Guyanese, I grew up singing theme songs like “this land is my land, this land is your land” and it’s almost embedded into me like a religion of sorts. I literally grew up believing that this land is my land, my research further led me to the constitution of Guyana which to date still states “land to the tiller” which means to me that if I/you see a piece of land which is unoccupied not owned by anyone in accordance with the constitution of Guyana, I could utilize that land in pursuit of being a productive citizen and in pursuit of my happiness and prosperity. These are rights guaranteed citizens of this country by the constitution.
To date there is no record of ownership to the piece of land I enquired about and now possess. A piece of land which was literally filled with twenty-foot bushes and a swamp – which with several years of my hard labour, proceeds from my hard work and contribution to this country I cleared, land-filled and developed, is now being snatched from me by the current City Council of Georgetown without even the common courtesy of a written notice. It is not only a violation of my rights to due process as a citizen of this country it is also a human rights violation.
I delivered personally and by mail my complaints to one of these official’s superiors, the current Town Clerk, Police Complaints Authority and a few others but to no avail. This official is now allowed to retaliate, unleash his vengeance upon me. He obviously came to the location with the intention to arrest me. It’s anyone’s guess what would have happened to me on the road.
It is very clear that with each successful use of the abuse of power the abuser grows more emboldened. Since there is no due process (no paperwork) involved, I am unable to determine with any degree of certainty, who was responsible for this official’s presence at the location, despite my previous complaints against him.
How are public officials allowed to dispense their agenda and thus their powers without first addressing citizens’ rights to due process of law? Who are supposed to be tasked with first being mindful not to violate these rights of ordinary citizens in broad daylight and without the fear of consequences in a democracy?
Mr. President, we the citizens of this country do not believe that this is the “return of democracy to Guyana” which you personally and proudly promoted in a recent string of events.
We the people believe that there is a phantom power operating within your government, a power your humble law-abiding subjects cannot or are not allowed to identify. It does not have a name or a face, it does not recognize and/or respect the fundamental rights guaranteed the citizens of this country by the written constitution.
This unbridled phantom power cannot be readily identified, for it does not have a face or an office address, it does not recognize or respect citizens’ rights to due process and/or notice of its intentions, nor does it wish to be held accountable for its actions. The only name it is known by is “Higher up” aka “The bigger boys”. However, we do know the names and can identify at least two of its emissaries and dispensers of its wrath. I would like to know if this is the return of democracy to Guyana which you proudly promoted in a recent string of events.
Julius Belgrave
GRA catch EXXON trying to hunch GUYANA over 11 BUS dollars in one shot!!!!
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