Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 15, 2010 Letters
Dear Editor,
Listening to the more than 3,000 names being called as America remembers the victims of 9/11, I couldn’t help but recall the devastating floods we suffered in 2005 and last Thursday’s record high spring tide, that left more than 70 coastal villages under water.
I thought then of writing about the need for the government to solicit real professional assistance from the international communities to help reconstruct adequate drainage in Georgetown, to reduce the possibility of suffering the same faith and loss of innocent lives as New Orleans did on September 4, 2005.
But then my mind drifted to a more imminent disaster waiting for the Guyanese people… the re-election of the ruling PPP/C next year.
I’ve read the recent letters of Sonia Clark and B. Beniprashad Rayman in the Kaieteur News (Sept. 9 and 10 respectively), and thought their shameless defense of PNCR Leader Robert Corbin, did not justify my time to respond.
But as I read the contents of a more recent letter written by one Winston Robinson questioning my authenticity, “Gill’s letter is rife with shoddy analysis and misguided references” (KN Sept. 11), I am not one to back down from a good debate.
Mr. Editor, I did a search on Google for any previous letters Winston Robinson may have written; I found none. I then searched the archives of both Kaieteur News and Stabroek News with the same negative result. I must confess that the only newspaper I did not search, was the one nobody reads… not that it matters.
The point is: With all the murders, child abuse, domestic violence, police brutality, drug trafficking, Government secret deals and alleged corruption, none of these were motivating enough to get Winston Robinson to express his outrage until now.
Mr. Winston Robinson, who sounded similarly intellectually dishonest as ‘B. Beniprashad Rayman’, took great pain to whitewash an election that some believed to be flawed, quoting favourable sources but conveniently leaving out dissenting views. So let me do so from an article in KN: “Winston Murray was cheated out of PNCR leadership” published September 16, 2009.
“Forms are stamped and numbered and groups are not allowed to photocopy them. Only forms collected from Congress Place are deemed valid for the purpose of application…It was found that this mechanism was used to discriminate against the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM), Region No. 4, Region No. 10 and various groups across the country.
“It was pointed out that a major discrepancy was the falsification of membership forms, and that sufficient evidence of serious padding of the membership register was presented, but those implicated in membership falsification were afforded the opportunity to undermine the findings.
“The report stated that information was sent to those implicated in the fraud to allow them the opportunity to cover their tracks.
As such Team Van West Charles is adamant that the result of the elections at the 16th Biennial Congress is not a reflection of the will of the Party’s membership nor is it reflective of the will of the delegates who turned up”.
I am not running for political office in Guyana, and I have no political aspirations beyond holding politicians accountable for being good stewards of this economy. As such, I have nothing to lose, or to be afraid of by being outspoken in the best interest of the land of my birth.
But if Robert Corbin or his Kool-aid drinking sycophants choose to continue this debate, I would be willing to accommodate them all the way up to the general elections in 2011.
In his letter, Robinson wrote, “The name B. Beniprashad Rayman and Lurlene Nestor do exist for apart from being visible as writers these names feature prominently as elected members of the PNCR central executive body in 2009. Does the writer Harry Gill really exist as Harry Gill; is he a reject who cannot get over his current status; or someone still reeling from being subjected to party disciplinary measures since in his estimation he is bigger than the rules governing the party?
“Mr. Gill should prove himself for though his views are prominently displayed in the newspapers he may be a phantom hiding behind a pseudonym as he accuses others of doing. He may be a case of “pot calling the kettle black” since his views are not reflective of the will of the party members who determine their leader”.
Mr. Editor, I invite your readers to read one of the letters eloquently written by the imposter ‘B. Beniprashad Rayman’, captioned: “Mr. Harry Gill may have missed some very important pointers” (KN, July 15), and compare it to the simplistic-minded letter: “Calling for justice for this 14-year-old child” (KN, November 2, 2009) which I believe to be written by the real B. Beniprashad Rayman, and judge for themselves.
I am aware that B. Beniprashad Rayman is a real person and an executive member of the PNCR Party. The question is, “Is she the same person writing those letters referencing me in her defence of Robert Corbin?”
Of course, there is only one way to determine this: Taking a page from KN Columnist Freddie Kissoon; I challenge B. Beniprashad Rayman to a letter-writing verification exercise. At my own expense, I will meet her anywhere in Canada, New York, or Georgetown, and neutral experts will determine the outcome.
The only stipulation being this: No one will be allowed to have access to her, in order to dictate the letter she’s writing. This way, she will prove her credentials and so will I, proving that I’m no “phantom hiding behind a pseudonym”.
If she is judged to possess the impeccable writing skills that your readers are led to believe, I will reimburse her airline ticket and other reasonable expenses incurred as a result of this exercise. In addition, I will publicly apologize to her, Mr. Robert Corbin, and the general membership of the PNCR.
I will also desist from ever commenting on matters concerning the PNCR. But if she loses, I will have the satisfaction of unmasking a selfish coward who talks a good fight but thrives as his flock goes to the slaughter in 2011.
Harry Gill
Editor’s Note:: Harry Gill is the brother of PNCR Regional Executive, Frank Gill. He is real. He lives in New Jersey and was in Guyana a few short months ago.
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