President accuses KNews of fabrication

Aug 30, 2009 News

Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday evening accused Kaieteur News of fabricating news and damaging the image of the country.

He said that such reporting serves to dissuade tourists as well as persons returning home to Guyana.

President Jagdeo addresses the gathering at the PSC dinner.

Jagdeo was at the time speaking at the Private Sector Commission (PSC) dinner hosted at the Pegasus International Hotel.

He accused the Private Sector operatives of aiding and abetting what he called the sensationalising of the news, since they advertise with this newspaper.

According to the President, crime is blown out of proportion by Kaieteur News.

“Let’s look at the image of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica in the world. Jamaica has millions of tourists and Jamaica’s crime rate is five times higher than us on a per capita basis.”

The President said that whilst on a recent overseas trip to Jamaica, in one weekend there were 40 murders but it was tucked away inside the daily newspapers namely the Guardian and the Observer.

A point to note is that there is no such newspaper in Jamaica named the Guardian.

“Here if you look at the Kaieteur News and some of the others, they create a story, when they don’t have a story they bring back the last week story on the front page.”

He added this newspaper fabricated the recent story which referred to a Coast Guard rank claiming that he was at Lindo Creek.

According to the President, “We knew where Fine Man (Rondell Rawlins) had been already, we knew when he was in that area, we knew he had already come back across the river and Kaieteur News running a serial…the police are one day behind him at Christmas Falls…the man was already back in the other area, (but) we couldn’t say.”

The President was at the time responding to a guest at the dinner who sought to query what was in place to deal with the high level of crime in Guyana, given that there are overseas-based Guyanese that would like to return to Guyana but are deterred by the level of crime in here.

The President continued, “A bunch of fabrications of headlines so people would say ‘Oh, Kaieteur News knows where Fine Man is.’”

In continued tirade against this newspaper, President Jagdeo said that the reporting on the recent disclosure by a GDF Coast Guard regarding Lindo Creek was all lies and the administration knew that but could not dispute it at the time.

“So what happen here the guy said that he was at Lindo Creek…the soldier when we checked was never at Lindo Creek. He said that he never told them that he was at Lindo Creek but they create a link now suddenly with Lindo Creek; fabrication of headlines…Every single day this happens.”

Editor-in-Chief, Adam Harris, said that it is unfortunate that President Jagdeo, at a major forum, had to single out Kaieteur News for criticism. He said that this must be because of the exposures involving several over-priced contracts awarded by his government.

“Such revelations must hurt a government that seems to have a lot to hide. President Jagdeo cannot say that the contract issues are lies; he cannot say that the $60 million house is a lie; he cannot deny that he has promised an investigation that is going nowhere.”

“Kaieteur News has been responsible for news that attracted the attention of the government and the police. The police have on many occasions sought the services of Kaieteur News. President Jagdeo should acknowledge this,” the Editor-in-Chief said.

Harris acknowledged that people have deliberately misled the newspaper to create the conditions of which President Jagdeo spoke but these are rare occurrences.

Jagdeo said, though, that he will criticise but will defend the newspaper’s right to publish because “this is a free society…I will defend their right even to lie.”

“What would a potential returnee in Canada surmise when (he or she) reads the newspapers? You open the newspaper and you see this on the front page.”

In the same breath, the President claimed that he has seen a lot of Guyanese who have returned to Guyana and have a different view of what actually transpires locally.

He did concede however, “We do have our problems; I am not trying to under estimate.” And in an about face, President Jagdeo pointed out that Guyana does have a free media and that the government should not be sensitive when criticised. “When we screw up we should be criticised.”

“But it is all to sell

newspapers and its fabrication…it harms our image significantly abroad,” he said as he reversed again.

According to the President, in one year Trinidad had the second highest murder rate in the world, “and if you talk to a Trinidadian they would say in Guyana ‘you all terrible down there…you have the worst crime in the world’….this is what we live with ever single day…and who contributes to this? The same people in this room too…you contribute because you advertise and it harms your business.”

Publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, responded to the president’s statement saying, “Jagdeo as Head of State may have been caught up in so many things that personally I believe he is lashing out with things jumping out of his mouth without putting his brain into gear.”

He noted that, “Despite all the corruption we have been exposing for the past months, neither Jagdeo nor his Ministers have seen it fit to address the raping of the treasury. That is what he should be speaking to the private sector about. I heard since we broke the crooked Sanata Textile deal that they have started to look for ways to deal with Kaieteur News. We have been seeing this every now and then with the constant threats to this newspaper.

“In the coming days I will respond after consultation with my advisors.”

As it relates to the daily fabrications of news items, this newspaper challenges the President to dispute (1) “Murdered granny, 80 found nude, tied to bed” (2) “Child rescued from burial ground, kidnapper captured hours later” and (3) Bandits flee roadblock, nabbed by villagers”.

These were all front page headlines carried by the Kaieteur News yesterday that no other media house carried.

“Is this all fabricated stories Mr. President?” Lall asked. “Does our President want the Kaieteur News to look like the Mirror, Chronicle and the new kid who cannot find itself on the block, sweeping everything under the carpet? Sorry, I will never allow that to happen under my control,” the publisher stated.

Mr. Lall said that he would stand for the truth and decency at all times. He said that the President should note that it was this newspaper that disclosed the missing AK-47 from the army when he himself did not know about it.

Kaieteur News was also the first to inform the nation about the break-in at Police Headquarters, something that the administration may have wanted to downplay.

This newspaper was also the first to report on the Ramdass murder two Thursdays ago that led to three Coast Guards now being in prison.

This newspaper has been informing the nation about things that they will only read first in the Kaieteur News. So much for the allegation of President Bharrat Jagdeo as it relates to fabrication of articles.