In the pursuit of information

Sep 17, 2009 Editorial

Whatever is written can no longer be a secret. Somehow the information passes before many eyes and becomes available to whoever seeks it. All over the world people recognize this and often they try to document as little as possible unless they are writing for posterity.
People have written notes that have come back to haunt them. In the trial of Mafia mobsters, the authorities have been known to rummage through waste bins to come up with documents that they later used to incriminate the people they sought for prosecution.
In the electronic age, the recovery of written information is even more pronounced. Every electronic mail (e-mail) can be traced to the sender and provide links to the recipients. Just recently, some enterprising people got hold of information sent electronically to trap an amorous state senator in the United States.
Even computers damaged in fire can be resurrected and information retrieved once the hard drive is in place.
And so it is that one is now exposed to the paper trail created to acquire the spy equipment that arrived in Guyana and was at the centre of a high profile trial in the United States. The latter has laws governing the use and export of such equipment but there are no such laws in Guyana. There are no restrictions governing the importation and use of such equipment.
The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company has laws governing the interception of calls on its landline facility. If someone taps into someone else’s landline to monitor calls then that person is criminally liable.
Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan tapped into the telephone used by former Police Commissioner, Winston Felix, and released the information. This was criminal, but it transpired that the then commissioner declined to pursue this course of action. As a result little was heard about the outcome of this.
The local phone company was able to determine that the taping was done outside, but it did not pursue any action, although some believe that it had a duty to ensure the integrity of its service and to investigate the occurrence to the fullest. It might have been in a position to determine who it was among its staff that aided in the interception and recording of calls from the Police Commissioner’s office and take the necessary action.
That is now water under the bridge. The issue at hand continues to be the entry of the spy equipment into the country. There is no law to govern such importations, but somehow one feels that the telephone companies have a right to ensure the integrity of their wireless communication systems.
In the wake of revelations that the Minister of Health acted on behalf of the Guyana Government there were strenuous denials by the Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, and he was supported by his government.
In recent days a letter has surfaced. That letter appears to emanate from the office of the Minister and it bears a signature purporting to be that of the Minister. Again the Minister has denied knowledge of the letter and it is now left to people investigating the integrity of the Minister to verify the authenticity of the signature.
Speculation, if the signature matches, would be out of the question but there would be other issues. As a member of parliament and the holder of a high Government office, should the Minister be trusted? How many other untruths did the Minister tell during his tenure? Should the government sanction the Minister?
The main opposition party, the People’s National Congress Reform, has already concluded that the link between the Minister and the manufacturers for the spy equipment is real.
It is also calling on the international community to mount an investigation. But such a call is irrelevant since Guyana is a sovereign state. Whether the international finds that the Minister was involved will have no bearing on the outcome in Guyana except at the political level.
But until the authentication of the signature and the document, there is little anyone could do. One thing is clear, though. The media is alive and well in Guyana. Acquiring that letter was indeed a boon to reporting in Guyana.
Similar kudos must go to Kaieteur News for its diligent investigation into what it is convinced are over-priced contracts.

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