Dear Editor,
THE Kaieteur News, in an Editorial published on Monday, March 7, sought to compare the leadership of Guyana and Ukraine in what could only be viewed as the latest installment in its ongoing anti-development campaign against oil and gas and national prosperity.

Ukraine, a country in the throes of war, facing brutality at the hands of Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, is being compared with Guyana, at the level of national leadership. The Editor compares President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky’s stance against the invading Russian army with the government and opposition’s stance on Exxon. One would think Exxon invaded Guyana and is illegally occupying the offshore oil blocks while forcing the government to accept the billions of US dollars it is getting from oil production.

“Why have they not declared some form of war against Exxon and its warrior band throttling the Guyanese people and their interests?” the Editorial asks. The asinine nature of such commentary would be discounted as mediocre writing if the context in which it is being made was not this serious.

Guyana is on the move. We should surely criticise government policies and programmes and ensure the actions being taken by those elected to lead are in the interest of the people.

But spewing venom does not speak to activism and holding the government accountable. It is more indicative of weak and broken minds, unable to engage in constructive dialogue. Instead, resorting to vile and reprehensible rhetoric is the preferred course of action.

As if the absurd comparisons between Guyana and Ukraine were not enough, the author then throws in a dash of sexism for good measure, stating, “When Guyana needs warriors to fight for it, all it gets are these wimps behind skirts, who daintily skirt the confrontations that should be had.”

This coming just a day before the observance of International Women’s Day under the theme ‘breaking the bias’ shows that gender bias is alive and well and is being perpetuated by a daily national newspaper.

Sincerely,
Romel Khan