| By Ralph SeeramThe WikiLeaks cables have been making the rounds in the local media for the past few weeks and if some of the memo is to be believed, some senior government officials could find themselves guests of the U.S. Federal Prison, courtesy of my tax dollars. The cables are very damaging to the Guyana Government and to President Jagdeo, but if one is to believe the Government media outlets, the Guyana Chronicle and Guyana Times, the cables are all about the publisher of this newspaper, Glenn Lall.I made it a point to read most of the cables in the original texts to assess them myself, then peruse the local media the see their versions/interpretation of the U.S. Guyana Embassy cables.From the Chronicle and Guyana Times point of view the only villain is Kaieteur News publisher,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, not President Jagdeo and the entire Guyana Government. More than ninety percent of the cables relates to the government, if they carried the cables verbatim that would have been fine, but they choose to distort the facts placing Mr. Lall in danger.One must bear in mind that these cables are based on rumours, opinions and assessments gathered from hearsay reports.One has to try to separate facts from speculation, and most of the cables are about speculation,Cheap Jerseys China, not much grounded in facts. So what was so damaging about Glenn Lall?He was mentioned in two cables. One stated that he had a “sketchy past”. What that means is anyone’s guess. According to the embassy political officer report he translated a shoe trading business into a muckraking independent newspaper.That’s it people. I would take that as a compliment if I achieved that. I don’t know about the muckraking part. I certainly do not think Kaieteur News fits into the category. Is it an aggressive newspaper? Yes, and the reading public agrees as seen in its circulation.Oh! And Mr.Lall supposedly “has his finger firmly on the pulse of Guyana underworld”. Does that mean that he knows what goes on in the crime world? I should hope as a newspaper publisher he does.When I was a journalist way back in Berbice I certainly knew the underworld and to a large extent, the crooked politicians at the time. That’s what journalists are supposed to know.One may recall that during the crime wave it was Kaieteur News breaking the news culminating with an interview with “Fine Man”. So what’s wrong with that?Mention was made of an alleged conversation about “Buddy” Shivraj experiencing difficulties in financing his hotels. The Embassy Political Officer, Benjamin Canavan, summarized his report by saying that Shivraj was seeking financing from narco-criminals. Those are Canavan’s words. not Glenn Lall’s, that is if that conversation ever took place.No Guyanese would describe a drug dealer as “narco-criminal”. That is an American term. So the Chronicle and Guyana Times attempt to link Mr. Lall to that report is all “hogwash”.At best it is a mischievous attempt to tarnish the reputation of the Kaieteur News publisher.Now if the Government and it mouthpieces accept the cables as’ gospel truth’ then it cuts both ways. We can’t “cherry pick” what is truth and what is fiction. What is “good for the goose is also good for the gander.”So let us examine the government’s role in the cables. The cables claim that the PPP Government has been giving protection to drug dealers, re Roger Khan etc. Now this is a very serious charge. It infers that drug dealers have infiltrated the higher echelons of Government,jerseys cheap nfl, including the present Commissioner of Police.How sad is that. When these situations occur the Americans would deem that country a narco-state. I don’t think that is a label the PPP Government wants.However, it is clear that the U.S is keeping tabs on cocaine dealers in Guyana and it is only a matter of time that some of them will be joining Roger Khan. The Americans have patience. If they want you they will get you legally or illegally. Ask Osama Bin Laden. There are a few people who will not dare leave the shores of Guyana, if those cables are to be believed.One report talks about the “extreme level of fraud” in Guyana. The Embassy has no faith in the civil documents issued by the Government. Birth certificates and passports are viewed as fraudulent documents. The Americans tried to assist the Government of Guyana in producing fraud proof birth certificates.Guyanese now realize why they “get a hard time” at the U.S. Embassy. They view local documents as fraud until proven true; they use DNA to verify family relationships, to the detriment of some fathers who found out that “they were mining another man child”What you will not see in the Chronicle and the Guyana Times is the reference to the President’s marriage and his sexual preferences. I would like to remind my readers that in the third paragraph of this article I drew attention to the fact that these cables are rumours, opinions etc. not necessarily grounded in fact. And what is said here about President Jagdeo is not necessary true in fact it may be unfounded.A cable dated around April/March 2007 talks about the President ending his marriage which was not a shock to anyone. “Rumours of adultery, separation and domestic violence have been rife for some time”. The report went on to state that there have been all sorts of salacious rumours surrounding the Jagdeo’s marriage” and went on to state that the political opposition,wholesale soccer jerseys, including Robert Corbin, pushed the unlikely rumour and insinuated that the President prefers members of both sex.If you believe what was said about Glenn Lall, then you will also have to believe what was said about President Jagdeo. There is but one major difference. Glenn Lall does not hold political office or control or spend taxpayers dollars. He is a private citizen; no accountability on his part to taxpayers,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, but for the President that is quite a different matter.He holds elective office and is answerable to the people. Remember as I said in the heading of this article,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, its all about “sex, drugs,Jerseys NFL Cheap, lies and distortion”. Is there a video next? What do you believe?Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected] |
