Freddie Kissoon claims he "has no control over the publication of letters" in KN. That is not supported by information I obtained from KN staff in recent queries unless Mr. Kissoon was removed as letter editor recently.
Several letters of mine were not published in Kaieteur News over the last several months. When I queried (why) with the Editor in Chief as well as other editors and members of the KN staff, they (guided) advised me that I speak with Kissoon who they all said has been serving as letter editor for the last year. Kissoon has been quite upset with my frequent correcting of many (factual) inaccuracies (and misinformation) in his columns. He made it known to me in a conversation that my letters would not see the light of day in KN. And indeed my letters sent to KN have not been published.
In short, he has censored my writings not different from how a dictator operates because he objects to my corrections of his writings. So his claim that he does not censor or ban letters or that he has no control over what is published in KN is misinformation.
In a response to Ms. Isabel de Caries who defended her father from attacks by Kissoon, he described the late Mr. David de Caires as “a gentle, likeable person”. But that was not the tenor of his description of Mr. de Caires in several pieces since the man’s death. He waded into the nan's character. Kissoon was very nasty in his many commentaries on David de Caires; he also did not speak fondly of Senior Counsel Miles Patrick who is also associated with SN since its founding. Isabel de Caires made reference to a recent piece in which Mr. Kissoon claimed that every year for several years Mr. de Caires hosted a private birthday party in the Essequibo River for the elite in which Kissoon and lower ranking staff were not invited. Kissoon insinuated, in that claim as well as in several earlier pieces, that Mr. de Caires was a racist. He also charged that Mr. de Caires and other directors (including Mr. Fitzpatrick) of SN did not like or socialize with Kissoon himself and or with the lower class. Kissoon charged that staff and lower class were not invited to Mr. de Caires parties. Ms. de Caires countered (SN Mar 3) no such parties were ever held in the Essequibo River and that the entire staff were invited whenever Mr. de Caires observed his birthdays . Mr. Kissoon has not apologized for his false statement.
I came to know Mr. de Caires around the same time as Mr. Kissoon when the paper started in 1986. Like, Kissoon, I also wrote for the paper as a news reporter and letter contributor. I met Mr. de Caires several times in Guyana. He was no racist or an elitist. He never rebuffed me. He was always pleasant and warm. His staff told me he worked well with them and he respected people of all ethnicities. He appreciated his staff and they respected him. He celebrated his birthday and holiday treats with them. He was a man of impeccable integrity. Any claims to the contrary are fake news.
Furthermore, unlike Kissoon, Mr. de Caires believed in freedom of the press. He did not block letters from being published in SN because they were critical of him or because they corrected mis-information on his writings. Yes, he controlled what was published in SN against libel laws but not censor views based on whether he liked or disliked someone. Kissoon should follow that model in KN.
