NOTHING surprises me in this country. I still think Guyana ranks as one of the weirdest or perhaps the weirdest nation of Planet Earth. Do you see more appalling written nonsense, shocking written absurdities coming out in a newspaper than what we have seen with Stabroek News (SN). Maybe the exception is the United States.
Guyana’s politics has always been left-wing in perspective and orientation. Both the PPP and PNC are parties with a huge ideological belief in anti-imperialist narratives. I cannot conceive since the demise of the United Force, a newspaper in Guyana would carry a column heaping praise on a former Mossad chief.
Mossad is the intelligence agency of Israel. The past 60 years Mossad has been a state terrorist organisation. It goes around the world killing officials belonging to governments and organisations that support Palestinians’ struggle for their own land occupied by Israel. The victims of Mossad’s assassination include Iranian scientist, Iranian intelligence operatives, government officials from Arab countries, academics that write in favour of Palestinian statehood and journalists that expose Israel’s emulation of Nazi barbarities.
So, the former head of Mossad, Yossi Cohen, wrote his autobiography and SN columnist, Bertrand Ramcharran reviewed it and referred to Cohen as a philosopher and humanist. Cohen left out in his memoir all the assassinations around the world that he ordered. Now if Ramcharran is a fool (and that is putting it mildly) to praise Cohen, where was the editorial judgement of SN editor, Anand Persaud?
Should a newspaper in Guyana carry a column praising a notorious state terrorist from Israel? Since SN announced it is closing its doors, the outpouring of admiration has gone in berserk direction. And berserk is not the relevant word.
A harsher adjective is needed. Read now what Ralph Ramkarran wrote: “… the restoration of democracy in 1992 and its survival in 2020 would not have been possible without the Stabroek News.” The fight for free and fair election began in 1968. SN was born at the beginning of 1987.
So, all the efforts of the PPP, WPA, trade unions, the smaller political parties, the Catholic Standard, the Catholic church, the Anglican church, the Guyana Human Rights Association, GUARD, Patriotic Coalition for Democracy, Bar Association and organisations and individuals were small and hardly mattered until the SN came along in 1987, and in six years SN played the central role in Guyana’s road to have free and fair elections? This is what I mean by the bizarre outpouring of eulogies.
Here is a Guyanese newspaper operating in a country that has from day one supported liberation movements, aided anti-imperialist efforts around the globe and established diplomatic relations with strong anti-imperialist nations, and it publishes a column praising a globally known state terrorist and not one of SN’s sycophants could muster the decency to ask SN for an explanation.
Just look at what we have become as a nation. Not one person in Guyana and in the diaspora found Ramcharran’s praise of a known Israeli state terrorist obnoxious and asks SN how it could allow for such a publication? Even though the paper is gone, the eulogies of SN will continue in the Kaieteur News. And no one will use their moral compass and pen at least one line expressing their disagreement and there is so much to castigate SN for.
On its final edition last Sunday, SN devoted almost two pages to Alissa Trotz talking about her 18-year-old stint as editor of “In The Diaspora.” Interestingly, in the same edition, the two co-owners, Brendan and Isabella DeCaires signed off with these words: “Over time, this newspaper has earned a reputation for editorial independence.”
These two co-owners would not recognise “editorial independence” if it appears as an elephant on the step of Isabelle DeCaires’ favourite building – Moray House on Quamina Street. In 18 years of publication, In The Diaspora (ITD), has not printed one (not three or ten but just one) column in support of Dr. Ali’s presidency.
Ms. Trotz is a shameless editor. And to think in all the cascading panegyrics of SN, we haven’t sent one human belonging to the nationality named Guyanese that has asked the DeCaires siblings why after 18 years, their friend, Ms. Trotz has not featured a column positively assessing President Ali’s accomplishments. ITD never carried a column that denounced the 2020 election conspiracy.
Just imagine, not one of the misplaced, soulless minds that are heaping sermons of adulation on SN can muster just an ounce of objectivity and ask Mr. Anand Persaud and Brendan and Isabella DeCaires why SN never carried a pro-government columnist but all, every one of its commentators have been anti-government. Yet, the siblings have the temerity to say the paper had editorial independence. Stabroek News was once great. Then, one day it slipped and fell into the gutter.

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.