Dear Editor,
REFERENCE is being made to Frederick Kissoon’s letter, “Lewis’ position on the State ads cutoff to SN is nonsensical” (SN Nov 11th). I thank you in advance for facilitating this response to Freddie and all future responses that are likely to be necessary in this continued saga with this gentleman. I’ve always had the inclination to believe he was sick. The content of the instant letter leaves no shadow of a doubt that he is indeed sick; a very sick man.
It is obvious that the previous exchange between him and me has left him emotionally battered and psychologically bruised, so he seeks the Stabroek News (SN) matter as an opportunity for a rematch; another opportunity for his unethical showmanship. So he comes out in a frenzied flaying of hands, screaming and frothing at the mouth, throwing abuse left, right and centre, thinking he will take his opponent by surprise. But, once again, he enters the ring recklessly. And once again, he marshalls no evidence other than his emotional outpourings to support his arguments. So the onslaught will continue in Season Two, as this dishonest intellectual destroys himself by his own mania.

He is talking about stupid and idiocy. This ‘vulgarian’ calling others vulgar (sigh!). To date, no point/argument I have made has been out of sync with the Constitution, due process and the court rulings. This is what offends him, because I have countered the mischief-making of those like him who use their privileged access to the media to sow discord and confusion in this society of ours. Some creating this confusion are not accidental on purpose; they are orchestrating disruption to law and order, peaceful resolution to conflicts, and making themselves relevant in these times. Freddie falls in the latter two categories.
The argument over the University of Guyana (UG)’s industrial climate is now a Black and Indian context for Kissoon to position himself as an East Indian victim of racism. Why? Because I dare to challenge him and bruise his ego… Lol! The UG matter is long past and gone, and I have moved on. Only to be reminded today, in this first episode of this new season showcasing the captain of chaos, raging in his glory. I encourage readers to sit back, relax and enjoy. Season Two is going to be entertaining.

Yes, I mentioned that Kissoon was behind the confusion at UG, and still hold to that belief. I have marshalled evidence in previous letters to support that argument. These statements were not made like Freddie’s are; in a vacuum.

Everyone knows that Freddie is a prolific and self-opinionated writer. His involvement and concern for his involvement at UG had to do more with the fact that he is the creator of confusion. Lying comes naturally to him. He who now seeks to distance himself from the UG matter when he publicly claimed initiating interaction with Ivor English on the issue, and the setting up of a meeting with members of the university leadership with a minister of government. He expects readers to believe that his writings on the issue were the extent of his involvement.

On the No-confidence Motion ruling, he is so full of himself and his learning, yet fails to even recognise that the court never ruled on a specific date for election. He, like many others, fails to acknowledge, or is unfamiliar with the July 12 Judgement by the Caribbean Court of Justice. Let me refer him to Item 7 of the Judgement, which expressly states: “Article 106 of the Constitution invests in the President and the National Assembly (and implicitly in GECOM), responsibilities that impact on the precise timing of the elections which must be held. It would not therefore be right for the Court, by the issuance of coercive orders or detailed directives, to presume to instruct these bodies on how they must act, and thereby pre-empt their performance of their constitutional responsibilities. It is not, for example, the role of the Court to establish a date on or by which the elections must be held, or to lay down timelines and deadlines that, in principle, are the preserve of political actors guided by constitutional imperatives.

This is the primary sourced evidence from which I make my argument on the Court not setting a date for elections, but this dishonest academic has no value for the importance of such sourcing; something that is readily accessible to all Online. The fact that he has not done this begs the question as to who is really using fictitious arguments about the court’s ruling. It is these facts as evidence which I marshall that upset the equilibrium of him and others.

Kissoon uses the SN issue to attack me, and speaks of “…the sordid political transformation of Lewis.” I would like to remind Freddie that, comparatively, we are unmatched when it comes to transformations, for whereas he is just a cheap political trickster and opportunist, intellectually dishonest and willfully deceptive, I have a consistent track record of basing my arguments on objective facts, hinged on Rights and the Rule of Law. I have permanent interests; not friends. He was not of the latter, so there is no love lost here.

Every business, without exception, thrives on work, and, better yet, on having contracts with the government. It can be the single most important economic boost for any business venture. In any context, it would be highly unusual for any business, including that of mainstream media earning millions of dollars from the government to withhold their service and further use their apparatus, in this instance the media, to launch attacks where such payments are not immediately forthcoming.

Where government is the clientele, it is customary for certain conditionalities and practices of delayed payment to constitute the contractual norm. This norm allows for payment to be received, even if there is a change of government. I know of no case in the history of Guyana where media has refused government, a multi-million-dollar- paying reliable client, access to publish ads based on delayed payment. I can think of no business locally, or in the world (as Kissoon would say) which would find such action prudent. But then again, this is Guyana, and we are in the silly season. In Season Two, Episode One, this academic continues to fail us.

Regards,
Lincoln Lewis