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Correcting an inaccurate impression

Dec 05, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
Thursday, November 18th, 2010 was the 32nd anniversary of the infamous Jonestown Massacre. The Guyanese people, wherever they are, should be recollecting/reflecting on a message from this episode in our sordid history.
Guyanese should be resolving to draw signal lessons, if they have not already done so, from this catastrophe in our past and steeling themselves to do everything in their lives to ensure that our nation is never exposed to this kind of betrayal, ever again.
However, I am a political truth teller. I pride myself in this regard.
It pains me to realise that in my recent letter, “Putting Kissoon’s assertions in proper perspective”, (Kaieteur News, November 15th, 2010), I inadvertently, created the impression of a close friendship between Freddie Kissoon and Bharrat Jagdeo.
In that article I wrote: I have vehemently defended Freddie’s right to conduct his journalistic pursuit against the current government, especially given what I knew of Freddie’s close friendship with Bharrat and his circle {consisting of Malcolm Harripal, Rajendra Rampersaud, Robert Persaud, Aditya Sukdeo among a few others} in the early days of the PPP Administration.
Freddie has now asked for an offer of immediate retraction of that “statement” which he says offended him; that the statement is, “completely and shockingly fictional” and has called for an obligatory retraction, after volunteering a “complete history of my acquaintance with Bharrat Jagdeo”.
Mr Kissoon finally asks the question, “Where did Lionel Peters get that close friendship from?” Fair question!
Freddie, I sincerely appreciate the humble nature of your response and disclosure of the history of your acquaintance with Jagdeo.
Incidentally, your account of the meetings at the Castellani Swimming Pool is precisely where I saw you in the company of the Junior Minister, Jagdeo, in 1994, just two weeks after the end of the PPP’S Congress at Queen’s College. I myself had gone there to accompany a group of PYOites from Accabre for a session at the famous pools
Now, that in itself was not a problem. I knew Bharrat and of the few friendships he was cultivating. He had come back from Moscow and joined the Campbellville Group {not Section K Campbellville Group that I had launched} of the PPP. This group included Roger Luncheon, Donald Ramotar, Repu Daman Persaud, Ralph Ramkarran, Harry Persaud Nawbatt, Sugat Ramsaroop, Aditya Sukdeo, Bherri Ramsarran, Malcolm Harripal, the Khame Sharma brothers and Prabhu Dyal Sattan.
So I knew of Bharrat’s inclination to associate with stellar groups of his choice. Therefore, seeing you in one such grouping, I was left with no choice but to link you with him at that level.
We in the leadership of the PYO could not get Bharrat and young Nokta to identify with one of our daily outreach campaigns across Demerara, although several of Bharrat’s batch mates from Moscow, like Nirmal Rekha, Dr, Laljee and Dr Frank Anthony did. It was as though he was advised to avoid those chaps in the PYO, Khemraj Ramjattan, Rohan Singh, Anann Boodram and Lionel Peters.
Therefore, I hereby unreservedly and humbly offer an immediate retraction of what is now, manifestly, a completely and shockingly fictional “assumption” on my part, of your so-called “close friendship with Bharrat Jagdeo”.
In fact, it is a tremendous relief to learn that you did not allow your self to be influenced by that individual for so many apparently, insidious reasons now emerging/known to the Guyanese people.
Like you said in your last piece on this matter, I abridge and repeat, “Let us dedicate our lives to work for the social elevation of the Guyanese People”.
Keep up your brave pursuit for the truth in our daily lives. Remember that if Jesus were to return now he would not be allowed to be King in his own Kingdom. It is the price we pay. It comes with the territory.
Lionel Peters

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