Minister in the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar yesterday denied instigating the visit by police to Stabroek News in relation to documents in the possession of a reporter but the newspaper is standing by its report on the matter.
The Sunday Stabroek yesterday reported that Indar told the reporter last Tuesday that he would make contact with the company at the centre of the queries, Western Logistics Guyana Inc, and that the police would visit the newspaper to find out where it got the documents from.
Two detectives from the CID Division of the Brickdam Police Station visited the newspaper on Wednesday but were told that the reporter was not present. They visited Stabroek News again on Thursday in relation to the documents at which point they were spoken to by the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of the newspaper, Anand Persaud.
In his statement yesterday, Indar said: ”Today, the Stabroek News carried an article that accuses me of instigating the dispatch of police to its office, aimed at intimidating, and interfering with the work of the newspaper, among other things.
“I am obliged to clarify this false reporting designed to mislead persons about my character and conduct as a Minister of Government…
“I would like to state that I did not initiate, instruct, or use another agent or colleague to instruct the police to visit Stabroek News as they have accused me of doing”, the Minister said.
He gave his version of the events.
“The events I recalled are as follows; a reporter from Stabroek News called me on the night of Tuesday 14th June 2022 and said someone dropped an envelope at Stabroek News and she wanted to clarify some documents bearing my signature. I met the reporter and provided comments on the documents she produced. These were original corporate documents and a Board Resolution of a Company where I was once an officer of, before I took Government office. A call was placed to the current Management of the Company and the reporter from Stabroek News spoke directly to the Director of the Company who informed her that the documents in her possession was stolen as a result of a break-in of (the) company’s premises that occurred on April 14, 2022. The company official also informed the reporter that the perpetrator was not yet arrested and that the matter was reported then to the police for investigation. I was asked to provide a comment by the reporter which is reflected in the article, and that is as far as my involvement went”.
In an invited comment yesterday, SN’s EiC said that Indar in his own words was the instigator of the police visit. Persaud said that based on the reporter’s account, when she arrived, Indar asked that she hold off on the questions until he spoke with his attorney. During the conversation with the attorney Indar said that the reporter from SN was present and that he (Indar) would contact a Pradeep for him to call the Commander who is investigating the matter for them to go to Stabroek News to find out the origins of the document”.
Further, towards the end of the interview on Tuesday, Indar told the reporter that “…the police will be sent to the Stabroek News and you will have to answer where you got these documents from”.
The reporter said she then replied: “Police speak to who? Me? Not me, my boss.” At this point, Indar enquired who her boss was and was told that it was Persaud.
The EiC said that it was clear from the outset of the reporter’s visit that Indar’s sole intention was to allege that documents were stolen from his office when the newspaper had made it clear that the documents originated from the Deeds Registry.
He said that Indar was wrong when he said that the reporter had stated during the initial call on Tuesday that an envelope had been dropped off at Stabroek News. The reporter said she told the Minister that there had been allegations made in relation to him and a company and she wanted to clarify these.
Persaud said that the matter at stake has not been resolved by Indar as the newspaper is in possession of a document that has him signing as a Director of Western Logistics on October 30th, 2020, months after he had been appointed a minister. He said the newspaper has not yet seen a document on Indar’s disengagement from the company.
Persaud said that Indar’s response to the questions showed intolerance for the role of the press and his determination to claim that the documents were stolen from the office of Western Logistics was pure obfuscation.
The EiC said that the fact that the police visited the office the day after the interview clearly demonstrated Indar’s involvement. He said Stabroek News stood by its report that Indar instigated the visit by the police and that this was meant to intimidate the newspaper and interfere with its work.
Deodat in his statement yesterday also said: “Since assuming the office as a Minister, I have resigned all positions previously held in the private sector, and not for profit organizations.
“I am not functioning in any capacity at any company or organization in Guyana. These facts are reported and declared in my submission to the Integrity Commission of Guyana”.
