Clairmont Lye returns national award-cites governmental excesses, withdrawal of SN ads

Businessman and civil society activist Clairmont Lye, a recipient of a national award for his role in the fight for democracy, has returned it "in protest against the excesses of the government over the past years, but more specifically because of the withdrawal of advertisements from the Stabroek News."

In returning the award, the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) - the third highest national award - to President Bharrat Jagdeo, Lye said in a letter to the President dated January 25, 2007 that it was "with great regret and sadness that I return the Cacique Crown of Honor conferred on me by President (Dr Cheddi) Jagan in 1993.

In the letter Lye said he was "very proud" of the award given to him in recognition of his contribution to the return of democracy the previous year. "Much was promised at the time, and people's expectations of transparency, honesty, democracy, good governance and the end to race politics ran high. We had, after all, been promised the Dawn of a New Era (the PPP/Civic campaign slogan in 1992)."

However, he continued, "all those promises of a better Guyana seem to have ended with the death of Dr Jagan (in 1997). Events in the past years, and more so in recent times, have caused me much concern, and have, in my opinion, tarnished the true meaning of democracy in Guyana and consequently reduced the value of the award."

"For this reason," he said, "I can no longer truly treasure this award, and so I now return it to the Office of the President from which it originated."

Ending the letter, he said, "I can only hope it is not too late to alter the course that has been taken, and so bring the peace, harmony and equality that Dr Jagan promised us all."

Lye was the former project director of the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB), which came into being in 1992 for the purpose of ensuring free and fair elections and a return to democracy after there had been years of rigged elections. "It was my first experience of politics," he said.

He feels that the achievements of the early 1990s were now being undermined by the "undemocratic processes we now see."

Asked whether the returned CCH had been accepted, Lye told Stabroek News that he had received a letter of acknowledgement from the President's Confidential Secretary.

Asked to elaborate on the reasons for returning the award, Lye said that over the years, he has seen a gradual deterioration of democracy in the country and more so in recent months. He said, "It seems as though the victory at the polls was meant to establish an elected dictatorship" when in reality "it is not a mandate for the establishment of an elected dictatorship."

He said that if he had to single out any particular event, the most recent issue, the withdrawal of ministry ads from the Stabroek News, was a telling point.

While he was neither for nor against casino gambling in the country, he also questioned the kind of consultation that the government claims to have had with stakeholders and citizens "after the fact." It was evident that the government had already taken a decision on the issue so that consultations did not matter.

He said he "was disappointed to learn that Dr (NK) Gopaul, a colleague from GUARD (Guyanese Action for Reform and Democracy), (and now at the Office of the President) could have supported the government's decision to withdraw the ads. I am similarly disappointed that the Prime Minister (Sam Hinds), also a leading light in GUARD, could have said he would meet with church representatives on the casino bill, but that the government had already made up its mind. This made a mockery of the consultative process."

Lye said that "Politicians need to be reminded ever so often that they are the servants of the people, not the people's masters", adding that, "We have to ensure that the democratic gains made in 1992 are consolidated, not eroded. I support the belief that the price of democracy is eternal vigilance. However too many of us have become silent now."

The return of the award, he said, was to register "my displeasure with the way this much vaunted Dawn of a New Era has been contaminated and a statement by a private citizen displeased with the direction the country is being taken by this administration."