THIS country is a moral jungle where principles, human decency and basic character do not exist. This country is a political jungle where predators appear as saviours then morph into Dracula and suck you dry.

I had learnt this lesson when I was very, very young.
So after living long in Guyana, no one can fool me; once I have a pen and a voice, I will expose predators that cannot save themselves from moral redemption much less save others. Go to the Kaieteur News (KN) for yesterday (Monday).

You will see a story of an open air seminar on Israeli genocide in the Gaza held at Cuffy Square last Sunday. At the head table were former President Donald Ramotar and I. The chairs were close so it would be difficult for the photographer to get a clean shot of me or Donald.

KN cropped my photograph out and printed a slanted face of Donald. They didn’t want to carry my image. I remind readers that Mr. Ramotar won a 20 million dollars libel case against Glen Lall. This is the second time KN cropped off my image.
A few months ago, in a pro-Palestinian march around the city, I was marching next to Nazim Baksh, the former journalist from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. KN carried the photo and chopped off my image and left Nazim’s.

After more than 55 years of activism and 35 years in journalism, I don’t need for my photograph to be carried. But what’s the point. People like Lall preach anti-PPPism not twice a week but daily.
He is absolute in his condemnation that the PPP government has leaders that are not accountable and fair minded.

But research into Lall would reveal that Lall is a billion miles away from anything close to accountability.
So are people around Lall that is on Lall’s bandwagon. I wrote for 30 years for KN, paid NIS and paid taxes. Lall got on his radio station and said he fired me. To date, I have received not one cent from Lall based on the Termination and Severance Pay Act.

Those close to Lall that every day join Lall to hammer the government for lack of accountability refuse to do the moral thing and tell the leader of their team that Lall has to pay me.
One of Lall’s sidekicks wrote a letter recently in the Stabroek News chastising the society for remaining silent on Bharrat Jagdeo’s condemnation of the Justice Kissoon’s decision on the teachers strike. He hasn’t called on his friend to honour the labour laws of Guyana.

Enter the Stabroek News. The newspaper cuts out any reference to my name in its letters and columns. The newspaper removes any mention of my name in the comments in its online edition. This is the same newspaper that does 365 editorials a year in which it lambasts the government for lack of fair-mindedness. For KN and SN, the only people who have rights in this country are the people that KN and SN identify; others in the eyes of KN and SN are not entitled to fair treatment.

Enter Article 13. This is a so-called civil society group that held a picket exercise in front of the Office of the President calling for accountability in the oil industry. Jonathan Yearwood told me he was requested by his colleagues in the leadership of Article 13 to contact me for identifying someone as being part of the leadership of Article 13.

Yearwood approached me, I revealed the name and apologise because the person, Lincoln Lewis, I wrongly attributed to being part of Article 13.
Yearwood said even though he was part of the leadership of Article 13, he was not consulted when two bigwigs arrogated to themselves to speak on behalf of Article 13, without consulting other leaders.

They published a vile letter on me describing me in unsavory terms and referring to me as a coward. Article 13 intervened with Glen Lall to prevent my reply to the nasty letter. Glen Lall, Article 13, Stabroek News are the very people who have been playing a stuck record of lack fairness in the governance of Guyana.

Enter the Alliance For Change (AFC). No matter what complex analysis you use to account for the loss of power by the AFC in 2020, one simple analysis stands out.

The AFC lost a legitimate, legal and free and fair national election in March 2020 because Guyanese people on voting day reflected on the days of AFC in office and this is what they murmured to themselves: “We gave them our vote in 2015, thinking they were better than the PPP; they were far worse.” Guyanese need to be aware of charlatans who are out to fool them.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.