Randy Persaud responds to Kissoon’s ‘challenge’

Mar 17, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Frederick Kissoon has the habit of issuing challenges and when proven wrong, makes all sorts of excuses. His latest so-called challenge is for me to prove him wrong. My guess is that after reading my response he will hide behind the word ‘prove’ and then go on to issue his customary barrage of personal attacks. That is after all his great claim to ‘fame’.
Let us get to the matter at hand. In a Kaieteur News article – “Will you still need me…?” Kissoon wrote the following, “If the PPP wins the 2011 elections and the President remains in mental and physical shape, then…” (Kaieteur News March 13, 2010).
Kissoon is likely to say that he never mentioned the name of anyone. But remember everything according to the man himself has context. The man actually wrote a letter to Stabroek News under that title (see Stabroek News March 13, 2010).
So Mr. Kissoon let me describe the context here for you. You have repeatedly stated that there is no doubt in your mind that President Jagdeo will be the next PPP presidential candidate, and this, despite clear and unambiguous statements from the President and the General Secretary of the PPP refuting that claim. Since you like facts so much I will help you out with some of your own pronouncements on the subject matter.
We should do this systematically so no person, including you Mr. Kissoon, can claim confusion.
August 15, 2009 – Kaieteur News column by Frederick Kissoon titled – “Mr. Jagdeo will be the PPP’s presidential candidate in 2011.” Notice that Kissoon does not say ‘maybe’, or ‘perhaps’ or ‘might be’, or some such thing. He makes his statement in the most categorical terms. “Mr. Jagdeo will be…” In the said article Kissoon states the following – “My take is that Mr. Jagdeo will secure the nomination from the PPP executive to be the party’s presidential candidate for 2011.”
September 15, 2009 – “Mr. Jagdeo will be assigned the presidential slot for his party”. That statement was made by none other than Frederick Kissoon in his Kaieteur News column (Kaieteur News, September 15, 2009).
September 29, 2009 – Kissoon attended “…an intense conversation on [a] Sunday evening with the core of the debate being the third term scenario for Mr. Jagdeo”. Here is Kissoon in his own words about what happened at the ‘intense conversation’. “I was the only participant who stuck to my present belief that Mr. Jagdeo will be the PPP’s presidential nominee for 2011 or whenever is the election. I reproduced one of my columns in my defence [!!]…” (Kaieteur News, September 29, 2009).
December 2, 2009 – In an article titled, “Third term campaigners stumbled but coming back”, Kissoon wrote the following – “Since I began writing on the TT [i.e. third term] prospects, I have consistently asserted that Mr. Jagdeo wants a third term and he has sufficient votes in both the PPP’s central committee and executive committee to get it” (Kaieteur News, December 2, 2009).
January 19, 2010 – Kissoon wrote “…what is assured is that the PPP will select Mr. Jagdeo as their man to head the election list” (Kaieteur News, January 19, 2010).
These statements by Frederick Kissoon are only the highlights. He has made many similar categorical pronouncements about who will be PPP’s nominee for the 2011 elections. He has always named President Jagdeo as the 2011 PPP candidate.
I want a categorical answer from Kissoon on this. Do you sir, deny making (writing) these statements about the PPP’s 2011 presidential nominee. I demand a straight answer from you, or you should shut up.
The world knows that you have an absolute conviction that the current president ‘will be’ the PPP nominee for the next election. You have said so repeatedly over several months. Keep in mind that what you believe is not important. The emphasis is on your utterances.
Now that we have established as fact (not propaganda), that you have repeatedly made statements that the current President will be the PPP’s presidential nominee in 2011 can you tell me whose mental and physical fitness you could possibly have been referring to in your article “Will you still need me…?” I demand a straight answer again.
You and I both know the answer, yet I will allow you some options.
Option 1: You never believed and do not now believe your own statements about who will be the PPP’s presidential nominee in 2011. In this case you can simply admit that, say sorry, and move on. Guyanese are forgiving people and will excuse you. I will.
Option 2: You never believed those pronouncements but made them all the same. Be careful with this one, because it might be construed as statements made with malicious intent. That is something quite serious. It has consequences.
Option 3: You made those statements without believing them, but hoped that no one will remember them in future articles of yours. In other words you thought readers might miss the context in the “Will you still need me…” article. I take it you still believe in context.
Option 4: You still hold the view, an incontrovertible one according to you, that the current President will be the PPP’s 2011 presidential nominee. If yes, I ask again, to whom you were referring when you wrote “If the PPP wins the 2011 elections and the President remains in mental and physical fitness…” (Kaieteur News March 13, 2010). Give a straight answer here.
Frederick Kissoon also accused me of being a campaigner for a third term. I challenge him to provide a shred of evidence on this matter. Do keep in mind that you cannot reproduce one of your own columns as ‘evidence’. The people who you have ‘intense conversations’ with might buy that, but not me.
Dr. Randy Persaud

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