Dear Editor,
In response to Minister Kellawan Lall’s letter ‘The truth is not important to some people’ in Stabroek News (SN) of September 21, WPA says the following:
The truth to the WPA is very important. We wonder if it enjoys the same prominence on the Minister’s agenda.
In the WPA’s estimation one of the great strangers to the truth is none other than Minister Kellawan Lall himself. The records will show that on every occasion when he found himself out on a limb as a result of the irresponsible, irrational behaviour he is known for, he then compounds the problem by making very ridiculous statements. One of the latest in the series of his famous blunders was during the most recent garbage crisis which citizens of Georgetown were faced with. Arrogant, bumbling incompetent that he is he expressed at a press conference his wish for the emergence of a health crisis to provide him with the solution to resolving the problem between the government and the Georgetown City Council. He seemed to have forgotten that after he was confronted by the media reports of the incident he first attempted to deny he had made the remarks and eventually, claimed that he was misquoted. What cooked his goose was the very explicit television coverage of the event. In any other place he would have been removed from office for even daring to make such an explosive statement, but not in Guyana.
Further, he seems not to understand that, not because he, a Minister of government deems something to be true, it makes it true. In the particular case in question, the truth of the matter could, and would only have been established through a comprehensive, impartial police investigation. When Commissioner of Police Henry Greene apportioned blame at his press conference on September 7, before the conclusion of the police investigation, one could not help but conclude that what was implied in his remarks was that not all of the pertinent facts in the case would have been considered.
WPA’s point about “a little tin god who breathes fire and brimstone when he is cornered” is aptly underscored by the tone and content of the Minister’s letter. When he takes the time to assess his comments he will come to the realization like the WPA did – that both of his letters are self serving and are only intended to absolve him of blame for the accident. Mr Lall must understand that in a democracy it is the courts which are the arbiters in these matters. It is not the Commissioner of Police, the WPA, the Kellawan Lalls of this world or the political parties they belong to that are endowed with the powers to determine right or wrong. It is the courts. But in a situation where political affiliation to the ruling party influences the course of justice and cover-ups are the order of the day, the WPA remains concerned about the breakdown in law and order and the violations of the rule of law. It is why we are forced to speak out whenever we sense that the interest of justice will not be served in a given situation. WPA inserted itself in the matter after Commissioner Greene’s statement to the press on September 7. The need for a comprehensive investigation was compromised and could not be forthcoming and the interest of justice served. Even in the face of the Minister’s threats we continue to hold fast to that position.
The threat in the Minister’s letter of September 21 of his intended court action against the WPA was intended for the specific purpose of restraining the party from making further criticisms of him. He has been around long enough to know that the WPA will not be intimidated into silence. Mr Lall is also aware that history is replete with instances of libel being used as a weapon in an effort to extend a rule of tyranny over the poor and the powerless. WPA is therefore not surprised by Mr Lall’s declared desire to subject WPA to another libel action.
Mr Lall should ask members of the public, not Desmond Trotman, to say how they feel about his refusal to comment to Stabroek News when he was approached by one of its reporters.
The Minister’s statement, “These days people enjoy a democratic Guyana but they do not subscribe to the responsibilities that this democracy brings” should be looked at carefully by him and he should ask the question to what extent it applies to him.
Members of the WPA were deeply involved in the struggle to return democracy to Guyana. In the process the party suffered tremendous losses both in human and material resources. We therefore understand the importance of protecting those gains and will not falter in our efforts to do so. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the PPP. That is why the country is today mired in the stench and filth of decay and the struggle, eighteen years after 1992, is once again focused on returning Guyana to the democratic path.
Minister Lall and other ministers of the government must understand that as holders of constitutional offices who have sworn to respect and uphold the rule of law, their behaviour is always under the microscope. As such their conduct at all times must appear to be above board. Any deviation from the norm holds them and the government up to public ridicule. It is therefore the duty of the opposition to expose them whenever they falter and we are obliged to do so without fear. In this context I challenge the Minister to deny that it was he and not anyone else, who opened the doors to allegations of criminal misconduct on his part, when his first public response about his involvement in the matter was via the publication of an explanation by his legal representative. The old, time-worn adage, which says he who has not done anything, fears nothing, and having nothing to hide has no need for legal representation, appears to have made no impression on the mind of the Minister.
Threats against the WPA including the Minister’s intended libel action are nothing new. We have heard and seen them before and it is very likely that we will hear and see them again. A lot of those who sought to gag the WPA by way of court actions/orders are long gone and WPA remains and continues to do the things that will haunt the Kellawan Lalls. WPA takes this opportunity to assure Minister Kellawan Lall that no threat of libel action or any other kind of threat will deter or sidetrack Walter Rodney’s party from vigorously pursuing issues of wrongdoing which exist in Guyana. It was not so in the past and will not be so now.
WPA sees nothing wrong with being described as a fringe party. The Minister is fully aware that the WPA’s history is replete with instances of being defined as a number of things including the “Worst Possible Alternative” and even “dead and buried.”
Let me remind the Minister in case he has forgotten that on every occasion on which the WPA has been labelled it had to do with its fearlessness and its forceful, persistent and effective pursuit of issues that adversely impacted this nation and its people. It will be no different in this period. We understand what is at stake and the steps the government of which Kellawan Lall is a key player, is prepared to take in its attempt to strengthen its hold on power. The threat of libel action against the WPA for expressing its opinion on this and other matters must therefore be seen in the context of the need by the government to straddle each available plank in its efforts to silence a member of the political opposition, albeit a fringe party. Further, WPA will not be surprised that based on its past and present proactive history, this ‘fringe party’ is perceived by the government as a real threat to its future hold on power which will result in the ruling party warning that “its steel is sharper.”
Finally, WPA is optimistic that the people in Guyana like people in other places will one day use the power at their disposal to deal with this oppressive government.
Yours faithfully,
Desmond Trotman
Administrator
Rodney House
Working People’s
Alliance
