Columnists versus jumbies and ghouls

Aug 19, 2009 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

I was a little bit surprised that Dr. Prem Misir, given his authority at GINA and with the state-owned media, sought to lecture me, who writes in a newspaper that is totally independent of state funding, rather than to those in the state media whose misuse of the media makes this country look extremely foolish in the eyes of all those who take an interest in Guyana.
I see nothing wrong with Dr. Misir taking umbrage at some of the contents of my columns. I concede that I write more against the Government than in favour of. I concede it is a legitimate right for someone to ask why this is so. What is shocking to me is how Dr. Misir could attempt to put a stranger’s house in order and not his own.
His essential argument is that the Freddie Kissoon Column is not offering readers the entire picture of national development. In order words, the column is flawed. I am in two minds as to if I should debate Dr. Misir, meaning defending the column against his charges rather than put out a challenge to him and when he takes that up, then I will deliver my explanation as to why, as he claims, I ignore the positive developments under Mr. Jagdeo’s presidency (“Columnists presenting unverified information’” letter section, KN, Aug. 14).
I believe most Guyanese will accept the position I will now adopt and it is for Dr. Misir to put forward his defence. It is Dr. Misir who first opened the question – the Freddie Kissoon Column is media work that is flawed because the writer presents unverified information to his readers. Should Dr. Misir not follow up on the challenge offered here, I honestly believe many would be disappointed and he would open himself up to questions about his willingness to debate Government’s critics.
Here is my outline. Dr. Misir by virtue of his office of Press Liaison Officer to the President, who is the Minister of Information, has the moral obligation to offer his perspective on the letter pages of the Chronicle. This is a section of the Guyanese media that is offensive, pornographically shameless, morally invidious, ethically repulsive, and is an uncivilized descent into journalistic miasma.
It consists of hundreds of fictitious names that abuse critics of the Government using semantic that no tabloid would dare publish. Yet Dr. Misir writes for this newspaper and sends his letter to be printed in that obnoxious section of the newspaper. There hasn’t been a word of condemnation of this aspect of journalism by Dr. Misir.
Now instead of focusing his attention on what his own media outfit is doing, a media house that is owned by the people of Guyana, Dr. Misir zooms in on all that is wrong with the Freddie Kissoon Column. His contention is the publication of unverified information.
A column is an opinion piece. It performs the same function as a letter to the editor. Why then would Dr. Misir find unpalatable unverified information coming out of the Freddie Kissoon Column and not the Chronicle letter pages? I would ask readers to bear in mind that I am not asking Dr. Misir to remove the atrocity of journalism that characterizes the Chronicle opinion section. One would like to think that Dr. Misir would have to put that proposition to the President since he is the Minister with the relevant portfolio. All I am suggesting is Dr. Misir indicates to readers what his perspective is on the appalling nonsense that emanates from the fictitious letter-writers of the Chronicle.
If Dr. Misir refuses to address the issue raised in this article, then I cannot see how he can in the future accuse me of misrepresentation in the Freddie Kissoon Column. I could add more claims to my argument here but there is the fear that I may be placing too much of a burden on Dr. Misir.
I could ask him about unverified information that comes out of the Office of the President in the person of the President himself who, may I remind Dr. Misir, is the Minister of Information. Does the President have verified information that I am a sleaze ball which he openly shouted out at one of his press conferences? Wasn’t it the President who accused Dr. Yesu Persaud of being ignorant of the tax laws when it turned out that it was the President who was in possession of unverified information on the tax laws resulting in illegal concessions to Queens Atlantic, subsequently corrected by legislation made retroactive. I await Dr. Misir’s response.

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