Former Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj is suing his successor Gail Teixeira for defamation over statements she allegedly made about him which were contained in a US diplomatic cable released by the WikiLeaks website.
The contents of the cable, which were originally written by then US Charge d’Affaires Michael Thomas in 2006, were carried in Tuesday’s Guyana Chronicle in full. A summons was served on Teixeira yesterday morning at PPP Headquarters at Freedom House. Upon being served the summons Teixeira looked over the document telling Stabroek News that she was shocked.
She noted that to be sued by Gajraj for $10M dollars over defamation of character by callous slander and libel came as a surprise as she had explained earlier during a press briefing yesterday that what was published in the Chronicle were not direct quotes from her.
She had stated earlier during the press briefing and prior to being served “I questioned what is written there in the cable and what is taped.”
“For example it said that we had a discussion (about) Henry Greene’s suitability as Commissioner of police December 23, 2005 this never took place. In 2005 December Mr. (Winston) Felix was the Commissioner of Police and at no point, there was no discussion as his retirement would come up in June/July of 2006,” Teixeira said.
She said that “the way the Chronicle article is written, there are certain things which were the Charge d’Affaires’ opinion (and) is being pursued as if I said that. I did not…”
She noted that at the time the cables were written her office was inundated by US Embassy reports that there were fraudulent passports and birth certificates being circulated which was substantiated with evidence.
Teixeira emphasised that the cables “are confidential communications between American Embassy officials and their headquarters and their relevant departments.”
She noted that since the cables first became available in 2011 she had already addressed the concerns with a public statement.
In 2011, Teixeira stated in the Stabroek News that “l wish to say that two thirds of what is reported by the then Charge d’ Affaires Michael Thomas appear to be his opinions and certainly do not reflect the content of conversations between him and l.
“Factually and historically the cables are inaccurate and replete with his own personal views and deductions.
“I could not have had any discussion on Henry Greene’s suitability as a Commissioner of Police on December 23, 2005 or any other time as this was not on my agenda. My focus was the violent criminal wave that was (wreaking) havoc on Guyanese society and killing innocent people. I was concerned about who were the political masters trying to destabilize the country in the period leading up to and including the 2006 general and regional elections.
“I have no doubt that the Americans like the British and Canadian diplomats were more concerned with Roger Khan and certainly this was the focus of many of their representations.
“However, it was the Charge’ who released the CD to me with the taped conversation between the PNC MP Basil Williams and Commissioner of Police Felix in March 2006 advising me that they had been given it by Roger Khan. This followed after the theft of weapons from the GDF compound. The Government officially asked the US Embassy in March 2006 to assist in checking whether the tape had been tampered with to which they responded 2 months later that they could not ascertain whether the tape had been tampered or not. This was also done officially through written correspondence”.
Gajraj’s lawyer Arun Gajraj told Stabroek News yesterday that his client had up to a year from the publication of the article to file a complaint, which he has now chosen to do. He said that for now he was still receiving instructions on the matter. The Chronicle is also being sued.
The Chronicle’s publication of the cable on Teixeira and Gajraj follows reporting by Stabroek News last week on US diplomatic cables from 1973 to 1978. Following the reports in SN, the Chronicle began reporting on the cables from the period 2003 to 2010 which had already been reported in SN and other media in 2010-11.
