THE GOVERNMENT HAS BECOME A BLOG

Apr 12, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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The publisher of the Kaieteur News has only just returned from the United States of America. He hardly had time to unpack his suitcase when he was greeted with a volley from the President of Guyana, indicating that the publisher’s visa was revoked by the United States and that his business was established on ill-gotten gains.
Glenn Lall is not worried about what the President has to say about him. He knows that this latest outburst by the President is a sign of someone under a great deal of pressure. He believes that the bad blood between Kaieteur News and the government is because of this newspaper’s exposure of corruption, and the controversial deals that have been entered into between the administration, friends of the government and foreign investors.
It took the Kaieteur News to expose what was taking place, and for this it has been deemed enemy number one. Imagine what would have happened in Guyana had this newspaper not been fearless in pointing out the many transgressions of the government.
The government may have felt free to trample on the people. For doing its duty, for editorialising against corruption, this newspaper has earned the ire of the ruling administration. The comments that were made last weekend are therefore to be expected because of the watchdog role of this newspaper.
This is not the first time that a swipe has been made against this newspaper. Not so long ago, businessmen were asked whether they should place ads with a newspaper that paints a negative image of the country.
One businessman afterwards joked that they could also have been asked whether they wished to be associated with a government that has embarrassed the country because of things that were mentioned about it overseas.
Not only has the publisher and editor been attacked, persons who write for the newspaper have been called all manner of names. Also, advertising was significantly reduced forcing this newspaper to take a decision that it would reduce its dependency on advertisement as a source of income.
As a consequence, the price of the paper was increased to ensure that the paper survived. What was said at the PPP Conference at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, last weekend follows a pattern of abuse against this newspaper. The statements made were more befitting of a blog.
Kaieteur News has become immune to such things. Instead of being concerned about Kaieteur News, those who hold high office should be more concerned about the disrespect that they will bring to their office when they allow their emotions to get the better of them, as has been regularly happening in recent times.
It seems that whenever the President of Guyana goes into one of his party’s strongholds, he gets carried away. Last March at Babu John he accused persons of having blood on their hands without providing any evidence to substantiate his contention.
He was no doubt playing to the gallery but as President he must be reminded that when he speaks glibly, it reflects on the high office that he holds and it attracts embarrassment.
The country is made to look bad when we can have the highest officer in the land make such statements in public. Such statements are unbefitting of the holder of the highest office of the land.
The President’s latest outburst was at Diamond. He did not choose Linden, he chose Diamond to launch another of his attacks on Kaieteur News.
This sort of thing has come to be expected. There has been two-year long campaign to besmirch the image of this newspaper. There will be more in the future.
Instead of paying attention to Glenn Lall and the Kaieteur News, those who have only a few more months in the limelight, who will be forgotten and ignored when the power is gone, should address their minds to how some friends of the government have moved from rags to riches overnight. They should concern themselves with how some obscure figures have now become some of the richest persons in Guyana. Then the wider picture will be revealed as to just who are behind some of the sudden wealth of these friends.
Kaieteur News is not going to lose sleep over anything that is said about it. It has endured a history of smear campaigns. It knows that those whose only accomplishments have been gifted, will always feel threatened by those who have earned their success.
What bothers some people is the success and independence of Glenn Lall. They believed all along that they could control him. For the first ten years of this newspaper’s existence, Kaieteur News did not receive a single government advertisement and suggestions were made to Lall that if Adam was let go, things would be different.
They underestimated Glenn Lall. He would never give in to such pressure and he resisted it all along, in the process paying the price.
What bothers them even more is that this individual who does not have all those fancy certificates behind his name could make the Kaieteur News into the country’s number one newspaper while many are indecorous when speaking.

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