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PRESIDENT of Guyana Women Miners Association (GWMO) Simona Broomes has expressed fear, following publication of an article, in another section of the media, which she said jeopardises her life. It suggested that she and other members have vital information on gold smuggling in Guyana.
The upset woman, accompanied by another executive member Dana Jones, visited the Guyana Chronicle, Wednesday, in an effort to clear the air on the issue.
The story in question appeared last Tuesday, under the caption ‘Gov’t willing to assist in probe of gold smuggling to Curacao, Persaud says – Women miners complain of being shut out.”
It stated that the more than 400 members of the GWMO are not given a chance to voice their concerns on major issues, such as gold smuggling in Guyana and quoted Broomes as saying that smuggling remains a problem that is not being tackled.
“Me or my organisation is not a scapegoat. If that publication has a personal issue with miners or wants to make a point, it needs to do that in a different fashion. They owe me a public apology. I think their reporter has no credibility,”Broomes charged.
Deliberate
She continued: “This is not an accident. This is deliberate. I want to know if somebody paid this young lady (the reporter) to do this, because it is not misquoting a word that I said. It is an entire story of something I have no knowledge about.”
“When people make these assertions, they challenge my personal life, my children’s life and the organisation as a whole. Smuggling and these things have their own reaches and wings. Suppose somebody comes to my gate and shoots and kills me, suspecting that I have information about smuggling that I am not giving. You are jeopardising my life. This is a real serious issue,” Broomes maintained.
She said, as President of GWMO, she is already a target for some of the things that GWMO stand up against.
Broomes said the reporter has, since, said she cannot find the relevant tape recording.
Unlike what the article claimed, Broomes said she never made a “complaint” about anything but that the reporter went to her house to ask her a question about the recent Venezuelan bust.
“I told her I don’t know anything about it. I saw that the minister met with Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association but were not invited to such forums. So we don’t have any information. We never knew what the gold was about and all of that,” she insisted.
Broomes said, when she sought to make contact with the Editor of the publication, he told her he found it hard to believe what she was saying, because his reporters would not write something that she didn’t say.
“For me, that was very unprofessional. I thought he should have waited. He said he would listen to the tape and they will retract what was not said.”
However, no retraction was made in yesterday’s publication.
An emergency meeting was called yesterday and GWMO members unanimously agreed to proceed with legal action.
The upset woman, accompanied by another executive member Dana Jones, visited the Guyana Chronicle, Wednesday, in an effort to clear the air on the issue.
The story in question appeared last Tuesday, under the caption ‘Gov’t willing to assist in probe of gold smuggling to Curacao, Persaud says – Women miners complain of being shut out.”
It stated that the more than 400 members of the GWMO are not given a chance to voice their concerns on major issues, such as gold smuggling in Guyana and quoted Broomes as saying that smuggling remains a problem that is not being tackled.
“Me or my organisation is not a scapegoat. If that publication has a personal issue with miners or wants to make a point, it needs to do that in a different fashion. They owe me a public apology. I think their reporter has no credibility,”Broomes charged.
Deliberate
She continued: “This is not an accident. This is deliberate. I want to know if somebody paid this young lady (the reporter) to do this, because it is not misquoting a word that I said. It is an entire story of something I have no knowledge about.”
“When people make these assertions, they challenge my personal life, my children’s life and the organisation as a whole. Smuggling and these things have their own reaches and wings. Suppose somebody comes to my gate and shoots and kills me, suspecting that I have information about smuggling that I am not giving. You are jeopardising my life. This is a real serious issue,” Broomes maintained.
She said, as President of GWMO, she is already a target for some of the things that GWMO stand up against.
Broomes said the reporter has, since, said she cannot find the relevant tape recording.
Unlike what the article claimed, Broomes said she never made a “complaint” about anything but that the reporter went to her house to ask her a question about the recent Venezuelan bust.
“I told her I don’t know anything about it. I saw that the minister met with Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association but were not invited to such forums. So we don’t have any information. We never knew what the gold was about and all of that,” she insisted.
Broomes said, when she sought to make contact with the Editor of the publication, he told her he found it hard to believe what she was saying, because his reporters would not write something that she didn’t say.
“For me, that was very unprofessional. I thought he should have waited. He said he would listen to the tape and they will retract what was not said.”
However, no retraction was made in yesterday’s publication.
An emergency meeting was called yesterday and GWMO members unanimously agreed to proceed with legal action.
