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Sharief Khan’s credentials as a journalist are above biased criticism

Mar 22, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
I have refrained until now to comment on Freddie Kissoon’s column on the late Sharief Khan.
Whilst I found it even more bigoted and offensive than Mr. Kissoon’s usual fare, I hesitated to invite the inevitable ad hominem attack; I have been in fear of the Kissoon’s poison pen ever since his treatment of me after a letter I wrote in the SN over 20 years ago. I was advised at that time not to reply since there was no scurrilous misrepresentation or invention Freddie Kissoon would not stoop to, for the sake of publicly defeating anyone that disagreed with his extreme views. His subsequent writings have proven that characterisation, as no doubt will his response to this letter.
On this occasion I will nonetheless venture where angels fear to tread, for a very personal reason. For nearly 38 years I have felt regret and guilt that when Rickey Singh was forced by the Burnham Government to leave the Guyana Graphic I did not resign from that company in solidarity with his principled position. Today I cannot again abandon a friend, even posthumously, whose professionalism I admired and whose contribution to Guyana I continue to recognise.
Sharief’s credentials as a journalist are above biased criticism. Nor can I let pass unworthy accusations of racism in someone with whom I discussed more than mere politics, at a time when governance issues were paramount but prompted deeper social analysis.
We live now, alas, in a time of sharper polarisation and greater reach of the various media. Whilst I am sure Mr. Kissoon’s column has all the more value to your circulation numbers for its intemperance and foolhardy excess, perhaps not all his readers will discount his entertainment (to which I must admit an addiction) by an allowance for his way with facts.
Even after our last conversation late last year, Sharief Khan remains firmly among my media heroes, alongside Rickey Singh, David De Caires, Anna Benjamin and, among others, yes, David Granger.
Gordon Forte

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