The gods are destroying people

Jul 03, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Remember that ancient Greek saying, “Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad”? This phrase has become quite common place in political commentary.

Dictators, sensing that the end is near, tend to become irritable, doing and saying strange things.

Commentators and analysts tend to use that ancient quote to describe falling oligarchs. My very personal belief about the Roger Khan saga is that it will bring down the Jagdeo Government.

We in the media have information that certainly contradicts the official version of who knew Khan and who didn’t. As the Khan trial nears its opening stage, tempers are flaring and policy-makers are looking unhappy.

The gods are at work. Even supporters of the government felt that President Jagdeo had violated protocol when he composed his tirade against Mr. Yesu Persaud at the launching of the Guyana Times newspaper.

Minister Clement Rohee suffered an emotional tempest on Tuesday at a press conference he called to discuss the Lindo Creek massacre.

The Minister embarrassed himself and his government; the image of this country is being rapidly devastated by a Government that the gods are gradually destroying.

Three egregious characteristics were present at Mr. Rohee’s media meeting. First, he called for the culture of speculation to end in the private media.

This was a mediocre response by a politician known for descending to levels of appalling intellectual aridity. Speculation is a psychological imperative in the context of unknown answers. It inheres in the human being.

If people are not given incontrovertible proof to simple things, then scientific foundations go out the window and logical phenomena will remain mysteries.

Minister Rohee has left a permanent stigma on his political coat because he refuses to explain why the US Embassy denied him any form of visa for six months. I know the reason, thanks to a very good diplomat at the Embassy who became a friend of mine (he has since left).

His condition is that I must never reveal the reason only if Mr. Rohee agrees that I can write about it. If Mr. Rohee can assure me that he would accept my disclosure as part of political debate, then I will tell what I know.

From this visa incident, Mr. Rohee should know that speculation is the other side of the coin to secrecy
What was absolutely obnoxious about Mr. Rohee’s press conference on Tuesday was that his attitude contributes to the spiral of guesswork.

He is pugnacious in his affirmation that he won’t give answers to the media. Then guessing and rumours will take over. This was an immense political faux pas for which Mr. Rohee should be demoted.

Here is what he did. He went to the media and said that something is moving in the pond but don’t speculate on what the object is. Then when the media said that the authorities caught a monster, he said I cannot answer that question. Well it may be a fish but the media will say it is a monster because Rohee is not telling us what his men caught.

When one accuses Minister Rohee of intellectual dwarfism, one comes across as a chauvinist but Minister Rohee falters too often when it comes to the finesse of politics.

Secondly, he chastised a reporter when the reporter questioned the motive of the press conference seeing that the Minister consistently asserted that he cannot give out information. The Minister exclaimed that the journalist should show respect.

Again we see a lack of appreciation by the Minister of important concepts in psychology and sociology. Respect of one person for another naturally emanates when the recipient is someone who carries him/herself in ways that causes one to admire and honour the person.

Respect for public officials will never be displayed by the average citizen if those in authorities give no recognition to the important values that hold society together.

Thirdly, in what has to be the poorest understanding of the role of government in a country by any Minister in any part of the world, Minister Rohee failed to grasp the essential nature and function of government when he angrily indicated to the media operatives questioning him that he doesn’t work for the people but for the government. Doesn’t Minister Rohee know that the government is the employee of the people?

Can you imagine what would happen to John Mc Cain or Barack Obama if they had made that jejune observation?
The media did its job on Tuesday by putting pressure on one of the ministers. It is time the reporters display the same journalistic fortitude when they engage President Jagdeo.

There are too many questions that are not satisfactorily answered by Mr. Jagdeo at his press conferences and the reporters either get cold feet or they are downright scared.

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