Dear Editor,
RECENTLY, the NY Times’ Clifford Krauss travelled to Guyana. Many Guyanese applauded the move, thinking that he was there to bat for the country. Far from it, Krauss was there simply to mark his spot at the wicket the way a batsman does when he is about to bat. Right now, he is surveying the field.

Put another way, Krauss went to Guyana to thread the needle; which is to say, he was looking for a way to spin a narrative that people would latch onto. And the only reason he decided to go there is because Exxon has been showing so much success. This could get bad for Guyana in the future, and here is how. If Exxon continues to be successful discovering well after well, then Krauss and his backers would look for a pretext and stitch Guyana into a straight-jacket, for their convenience, and through machination hijack the country’s petroleum pursuit.

It is true that Krauss is just a journalist, but many reporters are pawns working hand-in-glove with the government and private enterprises for a price. Bear in mind that it is the NY Times that was caught red-handed canoodling with Hillary in the last US election. And, just recently, the paper stood solidly behind Sarah Jeong, a newly-minted editor with numerous racially incendiary tweets to her name.

But the paper has its reasons, however ironic, just as Krauss and the people behind him have their own slanted reasons for wanting to go and paint Guyana in a corner.

It is basic psychology: If you beat up on someone and constantly portray him worst off than he really is, sooner or later that individual would come to believe it. From that point onward, controlling and manipulating the target is a cakewalk. It is no doubt that Krauss and his ilk are up to the same game. Put Guyana down and then march right into the pie itself, using one of the “three paved highways”.

It seems that the Guyanese who are celebrating Krauss have a short memory. Remember the days when the CIA actively worked to destabilise Guyana. Many seem to forget that entire “cloak and dagger” period, spanning decades, when Guyana teetered on the edge, engineered by operatives hell bent on sowing seeds of distrust and mayhem; never mind the welfare of Guyanese, many of whom had to run helter-skelter, forced to migrate overseas.

And when you think of it, these dark days could plausibly come back. With the US riding a wave of populist nationalism, Guyana might not seem important. For now! But given that China is creeping into every nook and cranny in the hemisphere, even in big, bold ways such its $50M space station in Argentina’s Patagonia region (“China’s Long, Quiet Push Into Latin America, NY Times, 7/29/18), things could change in a flash.

It is exactly this kind of thrust that would force the hand of the US to re-enter and expressly counter the outstretched but far- reaching tentacles of Beijing. Guyana’s strategic position is unrivaled and could prove crucial if the chess game gets too one-sided for the US to live with. And thus, this is just one of the ways it could begin to unfold.
Someone like Krauss shows up and begins the process. Soon, Guyana is virtually nailed to a cross, crisscrossed by people who are out to hoist the country on a stake, while they make it their religion to tell you about “pie in the sky”, which, incidentally, fits in with the mantra that Guyana is not ready.

Guyana does not need a pen-and-paper specialist. If the country needs professional opinion, it should seek out and hire an expert. I believe that the President is on the right track by making history and education priorities in his administration.

The great philosopher, George Santayana, nailed it with this quote: Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.

Regards
Ram Narine