THE Office of the President (OP) has categorically condemned the publication of an article titled, ‘The man who disappeared in 2010’ by Frederick Kissoon in Kaieteur News on January 13, 2011. According to a statement from OP, the article is riddled with outrageous inaccuracies and outright falsifications, and can serve no other purpose other than to injure the good reputation of Dr. Randy Persaud.

The following vicious falsifications by Kissoon in the said article have been established:– Dr. Persaud did not live on the West Coast of Demerara as stated in the article; he did not leave Guyana forty years ago, he did not have an argument with Errol Arthur, he was never robbed of personal property at his home. The statement by Kissoon that “thieves carted away all his stuff and those of his family” has absolutely no basis in reality whatsoever. No such incident ever occurred.

OP said the article must be read as a cheap political ploy intended to damage the public standing of Dr. Persaud who has been attached to the Political Affairs Division of the Office of the President.

“The Office of the President notes with dismay the fact that a major newspaper will allow its pages to be used for the prosecution of a personal vendetta and calls on the editors and the publisher of Kaieteur News to take immediate action on this matter,” the statement said.

The Office of the President also acknowledges that Dr. Persaud has made an invaluable contribution to Guyana through his services at OP, and elsewhere in the country. While here, he gave several public lectures, including one at the University of Guyana, and to date has donated more than $1,000,000 in books to the University of Guyana.

Dr. Persaud came to Guyana through a leave of absence from his university and returned to the United States as scheduled.

Dr. Persaud is a tenured faculty member in the United States. He holds a Ph.D in political science and is an established scholar in the field of international relations. Dr. Persaud’s previous appointments include Assistant Director of the Center for International and Security Studies; Interim Director – Council of the Americas; Director of Comparative and Regional Studies; Consultant to TransAfrica Forum, Program Chair of International Political Economy of the International Studies Association; Finance Committee of the International Studies Association; Consultant to the US State Department; Consultant to the United Nations University; and Consultant with the Council on Foreign Relations (US).

Persaud has published extensively in academic outlets and has given papers and lectures in twenty one countries. The records will show that Freddie Kissoon never published a single academic paper in all his years at the University of Guyana.