The President and Joe Harmon owe me an apology

Mar 11, 2017 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

In what has to be one of the most incredible moments in irresponsible politics ever witnessed in Guyana, Minister Joe Harmon issued a press statement on one of my columns without even a cursory ear lent to a tape recording that contains the material I cited. Most shocking is that I quoted the words of Mr. Harmon’s colleague, Raphael Trotman, and Mr. Harmon took Trotman’s words and put them in my mouth. Even more appalling was that I cited the media sources from whence the Trotman words came. Yet Mr. Harmon chose not to secure the tape and listen for himself.
It is my inflexible position that the President and Mr. Harmon discussed my column and thus came the following words from the Government’s release; “Hon. Joseph Harmon has refuted claims made by Kaieteur News Columnist, Mr. Freddie Kissoon, who, in his column on March 4, 2017, accused the Head of State of acting in contravention of the Cummingsburg Accord by arbitrarily appointing three Ministers of Government.
‘The President did not act on his own so any attempt to assign a label to His Excellency in the performance of his duties is malicious. Mr. Kissoon should clearly speak to those Ministers that he referred to in his article and find out from them what the true facts are,” the Minister said. In his article, Kissoon said that if the President appointed three Ministers in the persons of Mr. Raphael Trotman, Mr. Noel Holder and Mr. Dominic Gaskin.” (end quote).
I have listened to that tape umpteen times. Mr. Trotman words have been carried by media houses. Let me repeat for every person inside and outside of Guyana who take an interest in this country. At an AFC press conference, Minister Raphael Trotman told the reporters that outside of the Cummingsburg Accord, President Granger chose three ministers, meaning that those were not selections from APNU and the AFC. His description of what the president did lasted for more than two minutes in which the named the three Ministers – him, Business Minister, Gaskin and Agriculture Minister Holder.
Mr. Trotman particularly mentioned the President’s son-in-law telling the reporters that the business portfolio (which Mr. Gaskin holds) was not part of the Cummingburg Accord. He ended his discussion of what President Granger did with the following words, “WE ARE THREE EXTRAS.” Those were his exact words. Having repeated what Mr. Trotman said in a second column, it is for the President and Minister Harmon to listen to the tape and to speak to Mr. Trotman.
I am numb with chagrin that the President did not seek a clarification from Mr. Trotman with whom he shares a very close friendship. It was Mr. Trotman who told Guyanese that after the Coalition victory in May 2015, Mr. Granger called him and said, “Raphael, this is Nassau,” meaning some discussion the two had way back about the shape of Guyanese politics at the airport in the Bahamas. Surely, on reading that I quoted Mr. Trotman on the President’s selection of his son-in-law, the President could have called Trotman for an explanation.
That didn’t happen. Instead, I was accused of accusing the President of patronizing his son-in-law. There is no other country like this God-forsaken land. I am not going to be insulting to President Granger by using harsh words, but one would have thought that the elementary thing to do was to listen to the tape.
How can a senior minister (for many, the deputy president) respond to a columnist without reading the document from which the columnist got his information? Surely man, this is the type of crazy thing you expect one of Donald Trump henchmen to do.
Mr. Harmon mentioned mischief on my part. But I am wondering if there wasn’t mischief on the part of Harmon and the President that they chose not to correct me by outlining my misquotes but chose to attack me deliberately ignoring the fundamental research principle that govern law, journalism and academia. Both Harmon and Mr. Granger ought to know better. Harmon is a lawyer. He has to read the document from which his client claims libel. President Granger is an academic. He had to read source documents for the books he wrote.
Having written what I have written above, I would expect the President and Mr. Harmon to go back and listen to the tape of the AFC press conference. I would gladly make it available. After hearing what Mr. Trotman said, I would expect an apology from the President and Mr. Harmon, Failing to provide one will surely be an education for the Guyanese people.

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