Dear Editor,
The government’s public relations machinery appears to be working in overdrive to flip and spin the recent BBC World Questions event held in Guyana. In doing so, however, it exposed itself as a network of political apologists intent on rewriting what many of us witnessed firsthand.
Rather than simply sharing or rebroadcasting the programme as it was aired by the BBC thereby allowing the public to judge the proceedings for themselves, since government through Minister Mc Coy and state media sought to paint a certain picture of the event. The government’s defenders instead opted to circulate carefully curated video clips featuring individuals who were clearly positioned at the event to advance a particular narrative.
Among the most disingenuous of these attempts was an interview with businessman Mr. Richard Rambarran. To anyone who actually attended the forum, as I did, the interview sounded less like an independent reflection and more like a singing for your supper defence of the government.
Three things were particularly striking about Mr. Rambarran’s intervention. First, he appeared to have arrived with the sole intention of defending the government. Second, he sought to dismiss the concerns and questions raised by citizens by suggesting that those who posed them were somehow ill-informed. Third, and most troubling, he made a demonstrably false claim regarding the participation of WIN member Ms. Sarabo-Halley.
Mr. Rambarran praised Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh for his responses during the event, despite the fact that much of what the minister offered consisted largely of familiar rhetoric. In several instances, the responses were not even directly related to the questions posed but were instead used as an opportunity to recite government talking points. Equally notable was the minister’s reluctance to clearly articulate the government’s foreign policy position on the issue of Cuba.
When pressed on the matter, Dr. Singh did not provide a substantive response but instead deferred to remarks made by President Irfaan Ali about the need for “a change in the status quo.” When the moderator pointed out that such a statement could reasonably be interpreted as advocating regime change and asked for clarification on the government’s official position, the minister effectively retreated behind the president’s comments rather than providing a clear answer.
Mr. Rambarran further suggested in his interview that citizens ask bad questions because they are ill-informed and fail to consult official sources of information. That claim is particularly ironic. Many citizens, myself included, have repeatedly pressed the Commissioner of Information for access to public information, only to be met with silence year after year. If the very office responsible for providing official information fails to respond, where exactly are citizens supposed to obtain the information Mr. Rambarran claims they lack?
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the interview, however, was his claim that WIN member Ms. Sarabo-Halley refused to answer a question posed to her about the Opposition Leader. That assertion is simply untrue. What actually occurred was that an individual in the audience attempted to pose a question that was unrelated to the subject under discussion. The moderator immediately ruled the question out and declined to allow it. Ms. Sarabo-Halley was therefore neither invited to respond nor did she refuse to answer.
For Mr. Rambarran to publicly suggest otherwise is not merely misleading; it amounts to the deliberate distortion of events. Such conduct raises serious questions about the integrity of those who would want to present themselves as neutral commentators while acting as enthusiastic defenders of the government.
Public discourse in Guyana is already burdened by deep political divisions. It does not benefit from the further pollution of the space with selective narratives, convenient omissions, and outright falsehoods.
Yours truly,
Dr. Roopnarine Lall, PhD
