Dear Editor,
Everyone has the right to express his or her opinion, and this right is enshrined in our Constitution, the supreme law of the land. Article 146 of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana guarantees the right to freedom of expression.
This protects the rights to hold opinions, receive ideas, and communicate information without state interference, as well as to maintain privacy in personal correspondence. However, over the years, this right has constantly been abused by persons who feel that they have the right to peddle lies, deception, and misleading statements ad libitum. Unfortunately, social media inherently fosters a culture of deception because it allows users to meticulously curate, exaggerate, or completely fabricate their realities.
Moreover, what is more alarming is the use of social media platforms to warp political discourse by prioritising engagement over truth, using algorithms that reward sensationalism, extreme ideas, and misinformation. This ecosystem thrives on “echo chambers” that validate user biases, while emerging AI technologies enable the rapid creation of hyper-realistic synthetic media that makes distinguishing fact from fiction increasingly difficult.
However, there is a duty and responsibility that, in the exercise of free speech, no one should infringe on other people’s protected rights, such as the protection of reputation from defamation, libel, or slander; preventing incitement to violence, hate speech, or endangerment of public safety; and protecting individuals from harassment or the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information. It would seem that the opposition leader and his members of parliament are oblivious to this or hold the opinion that this does not apply to them.
In Guyana, there is a growing tendency for politicians to use (or misuse) social media to peddle false and misleading information to the public. These are not ordinary politicians I am referring to; these are duly elected members of parliament who have a civic duty to be truthful to the masses and those who voted for them. It is a fact that Members of Parliament (MPs) have a fundamental ethical duty to be truthful to the public, grounded in democratic principles of accountability, integrity, and transparency.
Elected officials serve as fiduciaries of public resources and trust, meaning deliberate deception can severely undermine democratic institutions. Recently, we witnessed an enormous decay of public trust and disillusionment created by the Opposition Leader and his MPs. I will just deal with a few from the extensive list of prevarication and disinformation that has now become the trademark of the WIN party.
The Opposition Leader himself began an unholy crusade against the PPP/C Government and its Ministers, specifically targeting at least two Ministers on social media, namely, the Minister of Agriculture and members of his family, and the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce. Photographs and pictures of the properties owned by these Ministers became the subject of a public display, with serious distortions and unsubstantiated statements of corruption.
He introduces these slanderous videos with an opening statement: “This is what corruption under the PPP looks like….” This opening statement is not a mere “allegation “; these are peddled as facts to the public, thereby infringing the rights of these people. The Leader of the Opposition ought to be cognisant that there is an Integrity Commission established by the Integrity Commission Act (Chapter 19:12), which provides the legal mechanism to address and resolve issues of corruption, with final resolution by a court of law.
However, the Opposition Leader feels that his popularity will improve immensely if he can create a perception in the minds of the people that there is a struggle between the ‘poor and neglected masses’ and the ‘corrupt self-serving elite’. This was what he was doing from the inception but has now increased the crescendo. Mr Azruddin is quite comfortable using this strategy to improve his popularity, hoping that eventually he will be removed from the fugitive offenders list.
Another quite recent example is the use of the plight of the 38 Indian nationals who were allegedly exploited by their employer, Ekaa Quarry, for political mileage and again lambasting the PPP/C Government. Ekaa Quarry is a private company based in India. The opposition leader has already, without an impartial investigation, concluded that this is a case of “human trafficking” and that the Government is complicit. Again, Team Mohamed’s FB page contains numerous videos that sought to smear the Labor Minister and the Government.
It is very misleading to juxtapose a picture with the President and the owner of the company; the implication is clear – this is the culture of deception practised by the Leader of the Opposition. What Mr Azruddin fails to realise is that a Government can only act if it becomes aware of the wrongdoing, and then there is due process involved in order not to trample on the rights of the employer or the employees.
The Government or the President cannot make pronouncements without due process. Azruddin should learn that running a Government is not his private business. The Minister made it clear that “due process must take precedence over immediate public pronouncements.”
Unfortunately, the Opposition Leader could not pass up such a juicy, sensational opportunity to boost his personal popularity; he ensured that each and every bit was caught on video, even down to the feeding of these hapless persons. But the photo opportunity cannot be missed. As the Attorney General concludes, the public display of feeding the Indians “lacks genuineness, sensitivity, and humanity and is staged”. Definitely, it would seem that these Indian nationals are being exploited twice.
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition is not a personal office that can be used to foster his personal vendetta to extract his pound of flesh from the Government. He must ensure that he disciplines and trains himself to present clear, actionable policy solutions and gains public trust – not with lies and deception.
An Opposition Leader must not merely criticise the status quo at every opportunity and blame it for everything under the sun.