AFTER reading the article titled: “The WikiLeaks cables on Guyana show the fall of U.S. power” I was very amused. Normally I would let Freddie Kissoon go untended, but in this case, I thought it wise to make a few comments. First, according to the writer, when one “juxtaposes the nature of the Hoyte administration with the Jagdeo Government, there is nothing, absolutely nothing to compare. Hoyte strove for discipline in governance, compromise in the stakes of politics, and sincere attempts at democratization.” So I see here three good features of the Hoyte governance that are notably missing from the Jagdeo regime. These three features are not delineated. To me, this is tantamount to saying that Pele is the greatest football player and not providing supporting evidence. The writer needs to ‘bring the evidence.’ It is quite laughable to attribute anything remotely resembling “democratisation” to the era of Desmond Hoyte. So again, I repeat my request: please “bring the evidence.”
Now regarding the Jagdeo era, if Guyana is still at ground zero in every area, it has certainly championed and established a new tradition of ‘fair and free’ elections. All the way up to 1992, this was unthinkable. Yet the writer attributes the word ‘democratisation’ to a leader who cemented ‘rigging’ from 1985 to 1992.
I see elections as one of the great palladia of democracy. Without ‘fair and free’ elections, with the concomitant ‘transparency’ there is really no nation. I vividly remember how Desmond Hoyte resisted in this area. Even as he was buckling, he wanted private counting of the ballots. Imagine! Citizens of any nation must have their will reflected in the choice of their leaders, and this became a reality only in the post 1992 era.
Secondly, and yes, I agree that the writer is speaking in a singular and myopic voice. It is indeed for him and him alone that “…the most important of all the cables came from the pen of the Ambassador at the time, Roland Bullen. (when) He wrote that Roger Khan may have compromised the Government of Guyana. And that nothing is wrong with this statement by itself. It is when you read how the US Embassy perceived Khan…that you see most graphically that the US as the world’s only superpower, is fading. I can only say ‘well, well, well.’
It seems as though Freddie Kissoon has taken it upon himself to pass final judgement and make ultimate analyses upon everything and everyone. This is so ludicrous. So the US has not invaded this land, and Kissoon thinks that this should happen so there exists a faux pas. Anything that is not Kissoonian is folly. This is the impression I am getting. I gather that the existence of this writer is really the life of a single man upon a single island. His laws are according to him.
I also take umbrage with this article when the writer says that Guyana is “totally dependent upon reliance on international funds, and influence in the international system, and that Guyana is a total non-entity in the global system. The article also describes “Guyana (as having) zero influence in the world system (social, political and economic).
This pronouncement is sweeping stupidity. If I only posit the financial recovery of Guyana, that statement comes to naught. At the critical 1992 juncture, Guyana had to use well over 90 % of its income to service foreign debts, and no one will ask who bequeathed this onerously suffocating ‘inheritance’ on the country. Now look at what is obtaining: development for the hinterland peoples and Amerindian communities; huge inputs into education; housing projects all over the country etc. etc. etc. I simply rest my case. I care little what others outside of Guyana say and do. Guyana was in the abyss prior to 1992. This has changed and is changing.
In closing I express my doubts about the “dinner at the Pegasus” anecdote. Somehow I feel that thee figments and fantasies are ‘dropped in’ to bring some measure of authenticity and veneration to the writer and his superficial compositions.
I do not believe for one ‘evanescent’ second that “…one of the (US) Embassy’s senior diplomats told (the writer) that if the Guyana Government continues to refuse the establishment of a DEA office in Georgetown, then influence will come to bear on the World Bank, IMF and IDB…” This appendage has the touch of spuriousness about it. Freddie Kissoon has his place as a teacher, but nothing else. He is ignored otherwise.