Media and character assassination
-‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we try only once to deceive’
NO SANE individual who has been living in Guyana for the past six or eight years could dispute the fact that some media houses are heavily involved in character assassination. Their main targets are high  government officials, ministers of the government and supporters of the ruling PPP/C. The most recent victim of these vile and unfounded attacks is the Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Irfaan Ali. Only a few days ago, the Honourable Minister was singled out by the Kaieteur News which unleashed its acrimony on Mr. Ali when the newspaper and its editors printed what has been described as ‘wicked and vicious lies’ in connection with a house and pool house belonging to the minister.
The publication in the Kaieteur News of the minister’s house and pool house, has not only provoked the anger of the Honourable Minister and his immediate family, but indeed the thousands of persons who have had  dealings with him whether by work, business or pleasure.
The peace-loving Guyanese people know that when some people are questionable characters and had run afoul of the law before,  they stop at nothing to drag others through the mire, in their bid to feed their insatiable ego.
The people recall that more often than not this publication and its owner and his toadies have strewn dirt on quite a few impeccable  characters in society, and in the name of decency, while some ignored, others felt that enough was enough and it was time to resort to legal proceedings, as is the current case with Minister Irfaan Ali. He has threatened to take legal action against the owner and editor of the Kaieteur News, and has, in fact, sued the entity for in excess of $100M.
This move by the minister has brought a great amount of relief to a large number of persons  throughout the country who could vouch for Mr. Ali’s unblemished record since he became minister of the current government a few years ago.
All Guyana and indeed the world know that the Kaieteur News relies heavily on sensationalism and in order to fill this need, the owners of this ‘lying machine’ do all in their power to keep the “mill” grinding.
But, oh, what a tangled web we weave when we try only once to deceive. As far as we know, Minister Irfaan Ali has never been involved in any ‘Clarkes’ shoe scandal. The story about this scandal goes like this: A certain businessman imported several containers of this faked Clark’s shoes from Taiwan with the Clark’s stamp affixed to them.
These faked  Clark’s were selling like hot cakes in Guyana and the businessman was enriching himself by dishonest means.
However, his sordid scheme came to an end when the scandal reached England from where the real Clark’s originated.  This prompted the British Company to dispatch one of its officials  immediately to Guyana, who before long found the architect of the faked Clark’s. The matter went to the court, and Clark’s of England was granted judgment.
The Guyanese involved in this scheme is currently in the limelight. I know the man, you know the man, ‘all awee’ know the man. There is also another story about this man who has been fingered in the illegal backtrack business. I know the man, you know the man, ‘all awee’ know the man.
These are the characters who, today, are strong defenders of press freedom and freedom of expression, but like the proverbial ostrich, they push their heads into the sand.