…says they ‘bay at the moon’
HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday slammed the editors of the Stabroek News for allowing the newspaper to be the conduit for misrepresentations from writers like Janette Bulkan and Christopher Ram. He was speaking during his post-Cabinet press briefing held at the Office of the President, at which he addressed a number of issues.
“The most recent public criticism of the LCDS and objection to the use of the GRIF funds by Ram and Bulkan, Cabinet felt needed to be further examined,” he said.
He called Stabroek News editorial staff ‘inept’ for carrying such articles and said that the paper assumes the responsibility for the articles as much as the authors are culpable.
Dr. Luncheon said that such persons were “baying at the moon” and that as long as there is a newspaper like the Stabroek News, people like Bulkan and Ram will have an outlet for their views. He said that the writings critical of the LCDS have had little effect on the success of the initiative as evidenced by the Norwegian Government making available all of the money hitherto promised to Guyana for the stewardship of the forest under the REDD plus initiative.

According to the Cabinet Secretary, it was felt that the criticisms levelled by especially Ram and Bulkan needed closer scrutiny, noting that the “gross inaccuracies in their representations” needed to be addressed at the level of the editorial staff of the publisher.
“The question to be posed is how could Stabroek News be absolved of any responsibility for foisting such ignorance by Ram and Bulkan on the public. Stabroek News’ editorial staff seem grossly inept to allow such obvious inaccuracies to be published in the pages of the Stabroek News,” Dr. Luncheon said.
Alternatively, the HPS said the newspaper’s staff may be considered to be dismissive of Ram’s contentions by their very inattention to the accuracies in his arguments.
Pointing to specific inaccuracies, Dr. Luncheon said that it was “inexcusable” that the newspaper that has written “exhaustively” on both topics could allow Ram to associate the construction of the Amaila Falls Hydropower with Synergy Holdings.
“Everybody knows, every newspaper in town, spit press tells you Synergy is road and Sithe Global is Hydropower,” the HPS declared, pointing out that, “ as a credible newspaper and one that panders to the notions of ethic and proper journalistic, professional practices, they should have edited that.”
Recently, the Cabinet Secretary had cause to rebut Ram’s position on the LCDS, urging the Attorney-at-Law turned talk show host, to get his facts right.
In his letter, Ram made several points to justify his claim that the government is “intolerant of independent voices and critical views”, and bemoaned a lack of “openness, transparency and accountability”.
However, the HPS said that Government whole-heartedly defends Ram’s right to express his views critically and independently noting that it is a free society, where everyone is entitled to say what they wish, within the law.