Dear Editor,
The phone gone away, the visa gone, but the story is not going away. As much as the PPP Government wishes it to fade into the mists of amnesia, the magical mysteries surrounding the PS and her phone are still here with us. Even the little that the Government-President, Minister, Ministry, and the PS herself-has confirmed that nothing of substance has been said, that the fix is in, and how. And now, SN’s sprawling editorial of Friday, April 28th titled “PS Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas phone” has only introduced more scorpions into the mix. Thoughtful of His Excellency to decide on a timely cocktail mix to ease troubled nerves.
From Assistant Accountant to the unlikely height of Permanent Secretary, to China for undisclosed training, and an official passport for an unofficial jaunt, are elements worthy of murder mystery novel because that is exactly what the PPP Government, the President, and Minister(s) are doing to the intelligence of Guyanese. The mysteries keep mounting: first, it was travel interception, then phone incarceration, followed by visa revocation, and last, watch list inclusion. The sequence is jumbled, because only the few deep within the recesses (and the highest heights) of the secretive PPP Government actually know the real facts and circumstances in this PS saga, this phone farce.
I had repeatedly and respectfully cautioned His Excellency: when cover ups become the culture, then there are these convictions of property, person, and practices that inevitably come to light. This is not clean nor upright governance and leadership. Something is rotten in Guyana, and it cannot be contained. It stinks all the way to Beijing and back.
In times past, PPP supporters and PPP brass chased away the Chinese fellow with his accusations and connections. Presently, the word is damage control, and the best approach is to muffle the sound system: nobody says nothing. Nobody knows anything. When the Oriental fellow came out of the woodwork, loud were the shrill cries about evidence. I don’t hear any of my fine-feathered friends in the media speaking about sovereignty, or ‘grave intrusion’ (in their best imitation of Ambassador Lynch or Henry Kissinger), or American overreach. Suddenly, China looks like a real perilous place to be doing business with, having any kind of interaction.
Regarding the PS’s own statement, I must say it is a masterpiece of saying something, without saying anything. This has become quite the norm for the government and its leading spokespeople. Regarding the Vice President’s extraordinary ditty about people having “multiple existences”, it possesses a Jekyll and Hyde nature. Ali himself spoke to ‘misunderstanding’ and this is between sets of English-speaking bodies and their people. Considering this, one has to wonder what kind of ‘understanding’ there could be between the PS and the Chinese. Last, I am hearing this verbal gimmickry of “routine secondary inspection” and say as follows. No one on any US Watch List being culled from the crowds and conversed with in a corner can be said to be undergoing a ‘routine’ or something indicating a ‘secondary’ situation.
Something smells in all of this, and it is not one of those passing garbage trucks.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall