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PNCR: Another despicable act to victimise outspoken media, citizens

Nov 16, 2010 News

… Freddie’s trench clearing fiasco

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has condemned a recent drainage clearing exercise, in which a trench in front of the home of newspaper columnist Freddie Kissoon was skipped.
“It is another despicable act of President Bharrat Jagdeo, acting through his agents, and part of the continuous victimisation of the media and prominent citizens,” says PNCR leader, Robert Corbin.
According to the Opposition Leader, the constitution clearly gives the citizens the right to criticise.
“Jagdeo and the government must be condemned for the act and there must be a great resolve by the people to get rid of this dictatorship,” he said.
The official also made reference to past attacks on others who exercised their rights to criticise, including prominent citizens like businessman, Yesu Persaud, and the “Correias”.
Corbin’s criticisms mirrored those of a number of Opposition officials who also slammed the incident.
Government has largely kept quiet with many officials saying that they did not read the subject newspaper or disagreed totally that it was a deliberate act.
Leader of the Alliance For Change, Raphael Trotman, called for the removal of the PPP/C administration also for the incident.
According to Trotman, it was clear that the act was a deliberate one to stifle press freedom.
According to Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali, the charge is ridiculous.
“It is ridiculous to assume that the incident was done on purpose. The day had come to an end…Workers would not purposely take care of every gap and leave one out, which happened to be Mr. Kissoon’s.  It was cleaned (on Thursday).”
On Wednesday, workers preparing for the upcoming UNASUR meeting in which several Latin Heads of Government are scheduled to come to Guyana later this month, cleaned a trench in front of Kissoon’s home but skipped the section in front of his home on the Railway Embankment at Turkeyen.
After the photo was published in the Thursday edition of Kaieteur News, workers were seen cleaning the swath of weed that they had left behind.
Many had contended that Kissoon’s unrelenting criticism of the administration has led to this ‘vindictive’ response.
On Thursday, PPP/C General Secretary, Donald Ramotar, said that he had spoken to the foreman of the clearing exercise yesterday on the report that was carried in this newspaper and the official denied that he even knew that Kissoon lived there.
“I think that it is nonsense to say that Freddie Kissoon’s home was bypassed.” The Parliamentarian said, there were no instructions to skip the area in front of Kissoon’s home.
The outspoken columnist last week described it as a clear act of discrimination.
On Thursday, President of Guyana Press Association, Gordon Moseley, in a comment on the incident, said that he hopes that it is just a mistake or a lack of judgment.
“I hope that Guyana has not become that petty as a nation.”
According to Kissoon, workers told him that they had been contracted to clean the canal, located immediately south of the embankment. They also said that they were ordered not to clear the trench in front of Kissoon’s home.
Asked to explain this, Works Minister, Robeson Benn, on Wednesday said that there were two teams clearing the canal and they were working from the two extremities. He said that when they called it a day they had reached the section of the canal outside Kissoon’s home.
Minister Benn had said that anyone who concluded that Kissoon was being targeted is promoting a conspiracy theory.
It was only a few months ago that Kissoon was attacked during a visit to a supermarket on Robb Street. At that time, the columnist was about to enter his vehicle when a man threw faeces on him. His attacker then escaped in a waiting car.

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