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Freddie Kissoon accuses Ramon Gaskin of hypocrisy

Jun 14, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
One day in March I picked up the Stabroek News to find a letter by Ramon Gaskin that made hair-raising criticism of my character. Titled, “Kissoon has behaved like the rest of them,” SN, March 24, 2015, Gaskin derided me for taking money from businessmen for building my house (which is not true; I assistance from friends I knew thousands of years ago).
Gaskin wrote; “Mr. Kissoon has gravely damaged his reputation as an independent commentator and FATALLY (my emphasis) damaged his integrity as a journalist. As a person, he has behaved just like the rest of them.” The next day, Mr. Gaskin got his friend, the frequent letter-writer who hates to publish his first name, GHK Lall to pen two letters further vilifying my character. Lall went so far as to say that I am contaminated.
I responded to Gaskin and Lall with colossal transparency. I said I will name the four businessmen to the editors of the KN and SN because it was risky to openly identify them with the vindictive PPP Government around. One has to be drunk, indecent and silly to deny me similar requests from Gaskin and Lall.
What I demanded was tiny and modest. From Gaskin I wanted to know how long he has been an employee of BK Tiwarie. From Lall, I said that he should name the reliable sources that told him I took money from businessmen. Gaskin did not respond. Lall was pompous and arrogant and failed to see the stupidity in his hubris. He wrote back to say whether the money was from corporate Guyana or my friends I should pursue the public identification of these men and asserted that he will not respond further.
Time moved on, the vindictive PPP lost the government and I am now prepared to publicly name these businessmen without consulting them. The Guyanese people have my word on that. I will identify them even without a casual telephone call. Gaskin and Lall got their convoluted information on my house from a speech Jagdeo and Ramotar made in 2006 at Babu John at Jagan’s death anniversary
I am naming names not because I have any respect for Gaskin and Lall. I have known Gaskin since the seventies when I was a scrawny half-starved youth and I had no admiration for him with his flashy Fiat sports cars from Italy, his three story house on Durban and Palm Streets and his big job as the CEO at the then Prashad Hospital. I don’t know who is GHK Lall, don’t want to know and I don’t think the Guyanese people are interested in Lall’s interest in me. Why Lall doesn’t ask Gaskin about who helps Gaskin  Gaskin
I am naming the names because that is my life – it has always been an open book. No one gave me money to build my residence. My friends helped me when they learnt I was building a home at Turkeyen. These are people I knew many, many moons ago. I must be the only public figure in the world that has to identify friends who are generous to me in my personal life. But what the hell; I have nothing to hide. This entire country will laugh when they are told who these four persons are and how the generosity came about. Gaskin and GHK Lall will end up being fools. At the time Jagdeo and Ramotar made their Babu John announcement about my home, only one businessman was identified. My lawyer Anil Nandlall at the time, I guess told Jagdeo and Ramotar who the businessman was. In 2006, I had no idea that Nandlall was in the PPP camp. I admitted later that it was four helpers and not one
In the Wednesday edition of KN, Gaskin wrote a letter accusing me of character assassination. This is sickening and atrocious from Gaskin. This man started the exchange by assaulting my integrity and principles as a media operator. He tries now to claim sympathy by making a character assassination accusation against me. The editors and readers of this newspaper can Google my writings since March 24 when Gaskin attacked my morality and they will find that all I have asked of Gaskin is to describe in time and space his association with BK Tiwarie. Gaskin is a hypocrite to say that I have attacked him. For a man who opens his mouth every second of every day, he needs to provide the evidence
If Gaskin and Lall think I am finished, I am not. I haven’t got anything to hide so there is no fear on my part. It was Gaskin and Lall who started this scandal. They have to finish it. Not me.
Frederick Kissoon

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