Nailing some lies that Bisram peddled

Dear Editor
I refer to a letter from Vishnu Bistam responding to Mr Mike Persaud captioned “Persaud misunderstands the concept of racism”
I will, for the sake of the Kaieteur News, ask them to publish an apology for publishing these libelleous statements written by Bisram against me. I have good friends at KN and would not want to sue Bisram and have to include them in the action as the publisher of the libel.
In the diatribe written by Bisram he said, “Persaud cited Mr. Tony Vieira as “criticizing me for racist strategies”. I did not read the criticism and as such cannot comment on it. However, I can relate the following as fact: I conducted numerous anthropological and sociological field research projects in Guyana over the years.
“One such research pertained to the evolution of TV broadcasts. From my interviews with Indians, and from a very lengthy interview with TV pioneer C.N Sharma some years ago, I discerned that Veira was adamantly opposed to airing anything pertaining to Indians on his TV station. Stories were told of Indians approaching Vieira to broadcast Indian movies (Bollywood), religious programmes (Hindu and Muslim) and local Indian performances (cultural variety concerts, Diwali, Phagwah, Indian Arrival celebrations, Ram Naumi, Eid, Shiv Raatri, etc.), etc and he adamantly stated no.
“One interviewer told me that Vieira stated: “Never on my station” – a reference to Indian programmes. People also told me they went to Rex TV and got the same response. I leave it up to Persaud to determine whether those practices fall under his definition of racism and for readers to judge who are the real racists in our society”.
This is all malicious fabrication, misrepresentation and lies just like his polls. I had made a deal with my good Indian friends Mr. Kunzru Chand, a cinema owner in Pouderoyen, Mr. Pradeep Samtani, owner of Liberty Cinema on Vlissengen road) and also a film distributor, along with Mumtaz Alli, another Indian film distributor, that since my playing the English movies was hurting the local cinema industry,they asked me not to put the final nail in the coffin of the Film industry in Guyana and not play Indian Movies. And I agreed.
I was in business and I was out to make money and I would have got money [badly needed I might add] if I had played the Indian movies, but Mr.Samtani showed me his agreement as an Indian Film distributor and it included video rights, unlike the case of the English movies. This is and was never a racial matter; it was purely a humanitarian matter. Playing the Indian movies was destroying the local cinema industry.
I also convinced Mr Max Mc Kay and Mr Jacob Rambarran to join me in support of the local Indian movie distributors and cinema owners and not to play Indian movies as well. I was unable to convince Mr Sharma not to play these Indian movies and Samtani took him to court for violation of copyright but sadly the case went nowhere.
Mr Samtani also gave me a list of English movies he had the rights to and as far as I was capable I stayed away from airing these as well. Mr Samtani’s telephone number is 225-9297 and MrKunzru Chand’s number is 264-2283, Mr Alli has since died.
For the 150th anniversary of Indian arrival Mr.Yesu Persaud had commissioned me to produce a documentary on Indian arrival and I did and I aired it several times. I personally, with Francis Quamina Farrier, researched and wrote it. Tommy Rhodes voiced it I also personally edited it. I did also make a national event out of playing the Ramayana for which all copyright fees to the producers, were paid.
I broadcast two recorded and later two live Miss Diwali contests. These were economic disasters and I stopped doing remote live broadcasts, took the mobile equipment cameras etc. and started The Evening News.
But this is the type of fictitious polling that Bisram has been perpetrating in this country to help the PPP deceive the people in this country that they are purer than the driven snow. Anthropological and sociological polls indeed!!
Now we come to this next part of the utter nonsense and libellous statements. “Ironically, it was Vieira who after he sold his TV station who appeared on Sharma TV and who sought to buy time (stand to be corrected) to air his views on socio-politico issues got the Sharma in trouble by making an allegation against Bishop Juan Edghill.
“I also note Vieira’s continuous assailing of Indian managers of the sugar industry. I cannot say if Vieira feels Indians are unfit to run sugar.  But Bharrat Jagdeo, Donald Ramoutar, etc. made several references to those who looked down upon Indian people and Indian culture”.
My allegation against Edghill is that posing as a man of God in the Ethnic Relations Commission he had executed a vicious PPP agenda against the afro Guyanese, and he was starting to do so to the religious community, offering them free airtime on the Interfaith Channel. Edghill’s subsequent actions and his elevation to Minister in the PPP government speak for themselves.
In the libel matter between him and me, I was awarded $4000 by the court since he failed to file a response to my affidavit.
As far as Sharma was concerned he did in fact go through some trying times because of the commentary, but in the end I have no doubt that Jagdeo’s attempt to withdraw his license, helped to make Jagdeo appear to the public as unpopular bully. That along with what Nigel Hughes was doing to the government in the Freddie Kissoon libel case in the courts made the PPP lose control of Parliament in the 2011 election.
These actions also forced the opposition leader to finally seek recourse in the courts to dissolve the Ethnic Relations Commission and the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting both of which were granted.
Sharma aligned himself in collation with the APNU and his son is now a Member of Parliament, so he too benefitted from it in the end.  No one must ever underestimate the impact of my calling Edghill a tool of Jagdeo and the fallout that it precipitated. History has proved that I was right.
As far as the Indian managers at Guysuco being incompetent are concerned, I am as mystified as any of you, since I cannot find anywhere that I had said so, I actually don’t care what colour they are, I am saying that the PPP, since it solely occupies the board, has not done one thing to date in the industry to impress me.
Bisram can take his racial lies, misrepresentations and fictions and jump into the Hudson River with an anchor around his neck, since it is clear that his obvious love of fiction [as are his polls] has overtaken his capacity for the truth.
Tony Vieira