I WRITE to applaud the ruling PPP government for not victimising my friend Freddie Kissoon, outspoken critic of the PPP, data manufacturer, and news distortionist. The ruling PPP must also be complimented for not victimizing Freddie’s wife, who unlike Freddie, performed distinguished services at her government’s job. In fact, the PPP has gone out of its way to accommodate Freddie’s wife helping her with early retirement and providing her full honors. It was the complete opposite when the PNC was in office as Freddie himself penned that critics were victimized, with some even executed. Freddie wrote that the PNC regime went after his wife firing her from her job because of his claimed opposition to the dictatorship (was never seen at a picket line and was at one time flirting with the PNC) and his association with the WPA.
Freddie said under PNC rule, he could not find a job and worse the PNC exposed confidential information about him that made him difficult to get employment. Freddie was forced to emigrate to Grenada to seek employment and help Prime Minister Maurice Bishop build a socialist utopia.
After Bishop was killed by fellow socialists in an internal party feud, the US invaded Grenada and Freddie went into hiding. Freddie was rounded up and returned to Guyana where he did get employment thanks to Cheddi Jagan’s advocacy that Guyanese be hired at U.G. An ungrateful Freddie had no thanks for Dr Jagan, and he berated Jagan and the PPP for not yielding the Presidency to the WPA during PCD talks for a consensus Presidential candidate. Freddie said WPA was the largest political party and PPP a minority party. He described the PNC as a 10% party although polls conducted by TRPI showed the PPP as the largest party and PNC the largest minority with WPA a 2% party. The TRPI poll was right, as were polls conducted by NACTA, as Dr. Jagan and the PPP went on to win the 1992 election, PNC 43% and the WPA 2%. Freddie said it was because of the polls people voted that way. But he could not explain why voters did not vote according to his poll that showed the WPA winning.
The PPP never victimised or harassed Freddie for his nasty comments about Cheddi or Janet Jagan and the PPP government. In fact, former Information Minister Moses Nagamootoo hired Freddie to work for him. But Freddie was unproductive and his contract was terminated. Freddie wanted free money; he did not want to work like sugar workers who had to labour hard in the sun to get their salary. Since then, Freddie had nothing positive to say about Moses (except when he broke with PPP in 2011), Cheddi, Janet, Ralph Ramkarran, or anyone in the PPP. He also hated anyone (Ravi Dev, Vishnu Bisram, Annan Boodram, Ralph Seeram, Oscar Ramjeet, etc.) who wrote something positive about the PPP government. He has demanded that everyone attacks the PPP. The PPP government has tolerated criticism (as the country has become democratic) and never moved to have Freddie fired at UG even though “he never published” anything of substance to keep his job, a basic requirement of an academic. The PPP kept him on the payroll at UG till he reached old age when he was forced to retire for the PPP did not want to be branded as vindictive; the PPP did not deny him a pension either. The PPP also did not punish Freddie’s wife who was employed with the government. In fact, the PPP government allowed Freddie’s wife to retire early from her government job with full honours and gratuities to assist Freddie in his old age – all deserving of this hard working and competent woman. Unlike Freddie who demonstrated ‘nimakharism’, his wife was very thankful and displayed grace and gratitude towards the government.
Thank you PPP for helping my friend Freddie and for your exemplary, professional conduct towards this perennially ungrateful critic.

VISHNU BISRAM