Guyana Observer News

 By Freddie Kissoon

Look who they sent to Bartica to mollify the miners. In the history of politics, no country has produced such incompetent rulers. Except for the public sector managers who are not known for egregious policy-making, the three politicians who turned up in Bartica on Saturday to address the miners are disliked national figures. The first name to take off the list is Odinga Lumumba. Along with Kellawan Lall, he is the Government official that commends no respect among the Guyanese population. Next is Robert Persaud. Generally seen as a young man who has learnt nothing about politics, he comes across as an arrogant, impertinent novice that will never make it to the top. The infamous gang of three is completed by “Mr. Hammer,” Robeson Benn.

(Taken from today's KNews)

Dear Editor,

Since Priya Mahase chose to attack my character in her rant captioned, “IAC views Freddie Kissoon’s opinions as uninformed” (29-01-10), I request the space and opportunity to respond. The politically and ethnically well fed smugness that course through every line of Mahase’s missive is understandable, even while at the same time being nauseatingly unpalatable. The IAC is an ethnic organisation enjoying a political arena governed by an empathetically conscious ethnic regime. Outpourings from some in its prominent membership that “Guyana would have been a mangrove swamp if not for the arrival of certain ethnic immigrants”, or that the festival of Mashramani amount to a “dumbing down to blackness”, is more indicative of the identity and ideology of the IAC, than the deceiving, “all of us are one”, phrases Mahase injects into her rant from time to time.

The date was September 26, 2002. Lloyd Bruce, a former Prison Officer, happened to be visiting the Guyana Prison Service Sports Club located across the road from the Camp Street jail. At the time he was a member of the ex-Prison Officers Club.  few months earlier, on February 23, five notorious criminals escaped from the Camp Street jail and sparked a reign of terror unheard of in the history of the country. The five were Dale Moore, Mark Fraser, Troy Dick, Shawn Brown and Andrew Douglas. ale Moore probably had a score to settle with a former policeman who had become court prosecutor and who visited the Prison Officers Club, because on September 26, that year, he and five other gunmen paid a sudden visit to the club across the road from the very facility from which they escaped.

An undercover operation that was intelligence-driven has led to the arrest of a Barbadian man with 10 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri at around 14:00 hrs yesterday. The suspect was an outgoing passenger on a LIAT 512 flight that was bound for Barbados. Kaieteur News was told that undercover investigators were aware that the man was a drug mule, but allowed him to enter the CJIA terminal before arresting him. A search revealed that the suspect was carrying 10 kilogrammes of cocaine strapped to his body. The bust occurred even as police and officials from Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) continue to investigate how a suitcase with 24 kilos of cocaine passed security personnel posted at the CJIA and ended up in the US, where it was intercepted. And just recently, a woman pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine after she was nabbed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) with ten grammes of cocaine in the lining of her wig.

By Michael Jordan

Police Physician, Dr. Mahendra Chand, admitted to several professional lapses during his examination of the teenage boy who was tortured by police. These include failing to examine the teen properly for other possible injuries, failing to take notes or keep a permanent record of the case; failing to solicit the patient’s age or any information from the patient as to how he sustained the injuries; and failing to make a written referral for the patient to be admitted to a hospital. Dr. Chand made the admissions on November 20, 2009, when he was called before the Guyana Medical Council, to ascertain if he was guilty of professional misconduct. In a subsequent letter, the Council informed Dr. Chand that based on his admission, his actions were “not consistent with the norms expected of a registered doctor in Guyana.”

Leader of the Movement of change for a better Guyana, Mr. Mark Benschop and executive members of his movement this evening touched down in the town of Bartica for tomorrow's shut down. Benschop said, "we have to show our support for the people during their struggle against dictator Jagdeo, enough is enough" The shut down is schedule for tomorrow.

– protest will go ahead

Bartica miners yesterday rebuffed government assurances that nothing would be done to impair the mining sector, declaring in a tumultuous meeting that the administration was not to be trusted. The miners rapped government officials over what they said was a failure to consult with them and vowed to continue protest action to ensure that their livelihoods are not imperilled. Government officials attempted to pacify the upset miners in a hastily-organised meeting at the John the Baptist Primary School in Bartica yesterday, giving assurances that government will do nothing to impair or destroy mining.

 By Freddie Kissoon

I often wonder if President Jagdeo is given to uncontrollable spontaneity therefore he makes no in-depth reflection on what he is going to say. The newspaper advertisement scandal comes to mind. Asked why state placements were withdrawn from Stabroek News, he gave an answer that on the surface must have appeared watertight to him. But it was fraught with credibility problems. The President’s explanation is that the Government has to get value for money. So he will put state resources into newspapers that have the largest circulation because more people will be reached. David de Caires fired back and said; “Well let’s do a survey to see who has the biggest circulation.” It fell on deaf ears. Even if Mr. Jagdeo gets a third term, he will never accept a challenge from a government critic. It is the only trepidation Mr. Jagdeo has displayed in his eleven-year-old presidency. The presidential posit has come back to haunt Mr. Jagdeo. What can Mr. Jagdeo say about plenty advertisements to the Mirror and Guyana Times whose combined markets are less than three thousand daily.