Phillip Bynoe’s accusation

Dec 05, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

I want Mr. Bynoe to know that I am not afraid of him. I am not afraid of anyone. That is not bravado. That is not chauvinism. That is how some people are. I believe in the legal struggle to create Velvet Revolutions that sweep all types of dictatorships – elected or unelected – out of power.

I have known no other life except political struggle which began when I was the youngest polling agent in Guyana at the age of sixteen years. I am in constant receipt of advice to be careful with my security. Again I repeat: I am not a chauvinist so I take those exhortations seriously.

Life cannot be shaped the way human beings want it. John Lennon of the Beatles and fashion icon, Gianni Versace, had absolutely no control over their fate. They had no latitude to stop their deaths. But we do have some limited scope to rendezvous with fate and that is a covenant that we, humans shape for ourselves.

I am not afraid to tell Mr. Bynoe that he has leveled a nasty accusation against me which is contained in the reporting of his pardon in this newspaper on Wednesday. I wrote over twenty-five articles of the Buxton conspiracy for Kaieteur News and the Chronicle under Anthony Calder’s editorship.

At no time did I say that Mr. Bynoe was part of the conspiracy and or was the leader of that concatenation. But my research revealed to me that both Mr. Bynoe and Mr. Mark Benschop were not unfamiliar with the territory. I did extensive investigations on Buxton that almost cost the life of my wife when a bullet missed her by inches when my Wortmanville home was shot at.

I cultivated the confidence of police, soldiers, Buxton villagers, Government Ministers and people close to the escapees, one of them being Dale Moore’s associates whom I knew when he was a little boy to whom I gave CDs. Before moving to Turkeyen last year, I lived my entire life in South Georgetown.

I knew the Bacchus family tree from Princes Street very well. George Bacchus came to my home to tell me his secrets.

There are things a media operative cannot publish. I knew that Mr. Bynoe was not in hiding for over a year now. I hope Mr. Bynoe would account for his open movement in the Kwakwani area. Mark Benschop spoke about this in the Wednesday newspapers.

I would like Mr. Bynoe to tell me if he was wanted by the state for treason then how come he was in public contact with personnel from the Forestry Commission.

I know the people at the Forestry Commission that Mr. Bynoe was in constant touch with. Let me refer Mr. Bynoe to a statement of mine in my column: “…observing the hypocrites as they would mingle with the good people we meet” carried in the November 9 issue of Kaieteur News.

I wrote: “Last week, I invited Colin Smith (editor of the Catholic Standard) to a secret meeting with a source that gave me confidential information on a high level deception…”

Now that Mr. Bynoe has been pardoned, I can reveal the contents of that discussion. A very high-level official of the Forestry Commission wanted to reveal the relationship between Mr. Bynoe and his employers. He told me that Mr. Bynoe was extremely rude to him over an administrative decision.

As is the normal situation in these journalistic scoops, I invited others to be with me for my own protection. Dale Andrews of this newspaper failed to show at the last minute but Colin Smith of the Catholic Standard accompanied me. We met an early morning at the Garden Café on Main Street.

I then checked out the information I received. Forestry Commission employees, Jones and Chakan, refused to speak to me but they also refused to deny my suggestion that they facilitated Mr. Bynoe as part of their job. Three times I asked them: “Have you spoken to Mr. Bynoe as part of a relationship between a concession-holder and Forestry Commission officials?”

Their answer was for them to speak to me, they had to get permission. They did not deny that they spoke often with Mr. Bynoe.

The top Commission personnel who spoke to me explained that Mr. Bynoe walked about freely, even in view of policemen. Mr. Bynoe needs to go further and tell us how long he has been in hiding.

If what I was told is true, then the pardoning of Mr. Bynoe becomes very interesting. Mr. Benschop is also saying the same thing.

I hope Mr. Bynoe and the Government explain this intriguing situation. Finally, can Mr. Bynoe provide the specific article in which I linked him to Buxton?