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AIETEUR ERC urges peace Monday Edition as nation awaits NEWS - appeals results to GECOM Chair's for be respected pronouncement on Elections June 15, 2020 - Vol. 13 No. 24

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Granger denies that APNU+AFC colluded to rig elections - Doubles down on fraud claims, says will provide report

Slain man with plastic bag over Granger backs Lowenfield’s report head ID’d as construction worker - says he did a ‘remarkable job’ who had lived in Venezuela ANUG says Coalition p.23

Andy Williams and wife in Venezuela

repeatedly lies to its supporters Sint Maarten warns of impending crackdown on illegal immigrants - leave voluntarily or risk being detained and deported

E-Networks donates thermal camera system to CJIA for COVID-19 checks

Granger excludes critical media Cyclist dies after houses from press conference struck down by cop

ExxonMobil's offshore projects will release more than 12 times the

greenhouse gas it told EPA - US Scientist

Kaieteur News

PAGE 04

Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL TEL:624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Down to hours A long and angry journey just got delicate. How could he (Lowenfield)? How would she (Chair) be? With under just hours to a declaration, the eyes of the world remain on the GECOM Chair. In her hands and words, from her mind, a declaration must come, whatever it is.

In the last 18 months, this country stopped living. Now the declaration awaited should galvanize us, one way or another.

We have had Mr. Lowenfield’s scroll on Saturday, on Tuesday, it is the turn of Chairwoman, Ms. Claudette Singh.

May whatever she declares help us emerge from the mental wreckage, the spiritual carnage of Elections 2020. We at this publication challenge ourselves to be hopeful. We hope that our fellow citizens, in the fraternity and sorority that is Guyana, will join with us in looking ahead.

Let us get something straight: no matter how the retired judge declares, there will be fevered, emotional rearing up in denunciation of and in support. For however the Chair declares, she will be condemned or commended. We have had enough of the second-guessing that tears apart; no more.

There is too much restarting and reinvigorating that lies immediately ahead. Let the political resolve and that of the nation’s be no more despoiling our gifts, tarnishing our promise, diluting our future. Yes, there is acknowledgement that this stands in solitary loneliness before the tides that tower. But, as the Leader of the Opposition said last week: no more attacking of the chairwoman of GECOM. To that, we add the same for whatever she declares.She has shown herself to be a stickler in listening to the whispers in her head. In her hands our fate rests, and the future of so many things. This country needs to regroup, since it has no standing, no confidence, little strength, and less trust in anything from anybody. Neither the CEO nor the Chair of GECOM is exempt. Into this cauldron of crisis, Chair Claudette comes tomorrow, June 16. That could be our new Independence Date, the day that compelled moving towards the freedom that deserted us.Together we succeed and prosper or together we perish in our follies. In our thinking, togetherness means more than sweet talk, it means all-inclusive, it means now, it means let us get moving from where we are to a higher ground.

There must be leadership willingness to accept and respect whatever declaration follows tomorrow, if only for the greater good of the greatest many. This will be most challenging, but it aligns wholesomely with promises to accept whatever declaration is made (the president) and calls to respect the position of the Chair (Opposition Leader). Both must do the manly: honour their word, their call.Leadership wisdom must occur swiftly and send the right message to the many unhappy and unruly yearning for partisan respite. All do well to remember Winston Churchill, who articulated: “Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all those others that have been tried from time to time.”We can argue pointlessly about basis (CEO), census (demographics), and statistical (electoral), and all the tiring rest, but this is what we have now, what we subscribed to, and what we committed to be faithful to in its provisions and requirements. Now the time of test for its truths is here, through whatever structure is configured and finalized, with heavy implications for the potential of country and peoples.

As always, when we speak of the peoples, we speak of all, without qualification. For all are citizens, all must be included.Undoubtedly, the days beyond any declaration will be severely demanding. All the fervent promises, the stirring elements in political manifestoes must now be fused and delivered in a changed environment. A few months ago, they were offered as a thousand points of light, now they must shine. This is the time for proving the sincerity of political promises made by political leaders, as the days in front predict the most trying ever.The best of all leaders is required, the same of all citizens. Together, we can go somewhere by taking charge of our destiny from today for all the tomorrows that wait. May we, this a land of which we can be proud. To get to these constructive ends, there is something that must be practised by all, as uttered by Harlan Fiske Stone, US Supreme Court Justice: “the only check upon our own exercise of power is our own sense of self-restraint.”

Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.

A tower of Babel – the Lowenfield Report DEAR EDITOR, I have long concluded that we are a tale of two countries within one entrapping border.

Now I also appreciate that we are a society of two languages, from which flow all the confusions, curses, and conflicts of a modern-day Babel; a tower of disrepute we are.

We look at the same processes and same papers, from the settled outlooks of two peoples, and we arrive at two understandings, the newer of which came from Mr. Lowenfield, CEO of GECOM. One side analyzes and interprets elections truths his way, then the other marches forward to deliver the opposite. So did Mr. Lowenfield, in a place from which there should supposedly be no sides taken. When I read early snippets of the Lowenfield Report, I think, now if pigs could fly, then the cow did jump over something that is more than a puddle of you know what… Depending on the point of view taken, the fiercely partisan one only, what Mr. Lowenfield and his people crafted can be viewed either as overpoweringly bewildering, in the first instance; or as extraordinarily brilliant, in the next. I detect much of both in what is now the Lowenfield Report.

I say this because, as a work of the unimaginable, it is unprecedented. And as a byproduct of improbable and diabolical calculations, it is matchless.

In these, I sense some of the profound truths of how this land is, along with the mentalities that are predominant.

These are of the truths that are drawn out, interpreted, and positioned to

record the wiliest of projections. The problems, as I see them, in this politically craven society of ours is this: what is truth? Whose truth is really at the core of clean, principled foundations and, more pertinently, whose truth will prevail? Is it Mr. Lowenfield’s or that of the massed army of others outside of GECOM? When I ponder these electoral mazes (and deviltries) of Guyana, I am reminded of industrial relations America. The UAW and GM were locked in raging, hostile confrontations. It was not what was for the wider good, but what was better for only their positions, their peoples, their profits, and their prospects. Both powerful union and powerful management looked at the same numbers springing from the same pieces of paper, only to arrive at vastly different conclusions. Long ago, GM asserted that its judgments and pronouncements should prevail, because the numbers so attested and confirmed, only for its union adversary to challenge and contradict with unmoving arguments: not so fast! The real story of the numbers is not that, but as is what we now reveal. What we have in Guyana since Saturday last is the equivalent in the Lowenfield Report.

It should be instructive to all Guyanese of all political stripes that today both GM and auto unions totter on feeble limbs, stare at bankruptcy.

May this be a lesson for rich and reckless political and racial Guyana; the men at GM and the UAW were once young, enriched, and reckless, too. I

say this because we look at ballot boxes and ballot paper and other ballot associated offshoots in the hands of those who compile and contest, and we get the epiphany (some would say the heresy ) of a Saturday surprise, more like a shocker. This is the immortality and perversity of the Lowenfield Report. We will hear much about this in days and eons to come.

At the risk of blasphemy, I submit that this latest development now stands as the stone tablets from Mt. GECOM. I agree that these are written by the finger of men; I can appreciate that the gleeful will suggest, even swear on their departed forefathers and living offspring, that it is the hand of god at work. Some god! So much homage wasted. Whether it is of crooked man or colluding god, this much I know for myself: thou shalt not cheat in elections.

That is the first commandment. With the second being thou shalt not be so crude, so blatant, so covetous as to be caught in the act.

As to who did more of what is another joyful dialogue for the dead in this country. There will be slashing and howling. But today here we are again, perched unsteadily at the edge of square one.

I can say this much with confidence of the divine wisdom that comes from above: nobody won.

Guyana won. At least, it won some precious time, gained some yards to inhale deeply, and tend to the dirty, smelly, vermin-infested politics that plague. Who said this country is not blessed?

Sincerely, GHK Lall

The nation has faith in democracy and the GECOM Chair DEAR EDITOR, The nation puts its faith in democratic election and the country’s future on GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh. As the will of the electorate is threatened from a biased report that suggests voiding the election or throwing hundreds of thousands of legitimate votes, the nation feels the Chair will preserve the vote of everyone and protect democracy. The chair has too much at stake. Her reputation as a fair minded person is on the line. A large majority places confidence in the Chair that she will accept the recount to protect the will of the electorate and in so doing save democracy.

A large majority also says she must ignore Lowenfield’s report that has been described as “biased” and “lacking merit”. This is the latest finding of the ongoing opinion survey being conducted by this writer on the inconclusive election that was held on March 2.

It has been over three months since the election and there is no official declaration. The Chair is expected to pronounce on the results on June 16. The nation is tense anxious for a declaration to bring closure to the process.Based on the recount and the tabulation of statements that were completed a week ago, the opposition PPP came out on top by some 15,461 votes over the coalition APNU+AFC. The Chief Election Officer, Lowenfield, of GECOM questions the credibility of the elections, pointing to anomalies and allegations. But the survey’s respondents note that he offered no supporting evidence to substantiate the claims.It is noted that the Chair has not been attacked.

She still commands respect among a large majority of the population because she has stood on the side of voters. She was hesitant in a declaration after March 2 and was very cautious about

which side won. She approved the recount to clear any doubts of a winner earning the gratitude of a suspicious nation.

The Chair has the deciding vote in a polarized Elections Commission whose voting has been 3-3 on expected partisan line.

The Chair often had to break the tie in several votes.

She often sided with the government, but also took critical decisions in support of the opposition position like ending house-to-house registration, lessening the number of days for a recount, and accepting ballots from the recount where documents were missing from boxes.

The nation, the region, and the world are anticipating a declaration of the results on Tuesday.

There is much debate and discussion on what GECOM will do and more specifically on how the Chair will vote. The Chair is under spotlight on which side she will cast her vote –

to accept the recount and declare the winner as per the publicly viewed count or accept the CEO’s recommendation that election not credible and void it. The international community says the latter position will trigger sanctions (including freezing of bank accounts and cancellations of visas) of individuals, businesses, and the country at large.

The Chair’s reputation is on the line. There is debate on whether she will take a pro-Lowenfield decision that would destroy her legacy of a career of distinguished jurisprudence or whether she would go down as the defender of the will of the electorate and for the right for every ballot to be counted.The popularity of the Chair has been rising in recent weeks ever since she agreed to do the recount, completing it, and accepting ballots from boxes where documents were missing.

The Chair received near (Continued on page 6)

Monday June 15, 2020

Prophecy to the Christian community of Guyana DEAR EDITOR, This is not a time for my people to be taking sides and aligning with this view or that.

Like I spoke through my servant Isaiah, do not call “it what these people call ‘it”.

“You have to look at things with a different perspective if you are going to be my people and speak for me,” saith the Lord. “You cannot be sucked into the emotion of the day. My thoughts are above man’s thoughts and my ways are way above theirs.

THE RESTORATION OF GUYANA WILL NOT BE THROUGH THE POLITICAL PROCESS. My people need to break out of the old mindsets. Can’t you see; don’t you perceive that I am doing a new thing.

I will continue to shake.

YOU WILL NOT SETTLE until my people leave the place of the heathen; until you come out from among them and begin to sound MY voice and not the voice of another; until you seek MY will and not the will of another; until you arise in MY NAME and not under the banner of another.

Until you rise up and speak with MY voice and not that of another.

I am about to do an awesome thing in your land. Because I have heard the cries of the few who chose to seek my will and my plan for this nation. Because of their pleas and for my Name’s sake, I will restore your land and cause my Glory to emerge in your land.

But I cannot build upon the foundation that has been laid by your fathers and forefathers,” saith the Lord. “For it is crooked and corrupt. And many of you have refused to tear down these foundations and high places, even in your hearts, and I am disappointed,” saith the Lord. “I am disappointed that you purport to speak for me but your hearts are far from me and from my will,” saith the Lord.

“What you call my will is actually your own desires and your own agenda emanating from the crooked places and foundations that you have embraced.

Tear down the foundations! Tear down the high places!” saith the Lord, “and you will see what I will do with this land. It will be amazing.

When my people begin to speak with one voice and confront the workers of iniquity in this nation, then will my glory burst forth like the morning sun and prosperity shall rise like the dawn; then your children will return to this land and you will be known as a gem in the earth. THEN WILL THE RICHES BE UN-

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Kaieteur News

EARTHED AND TREASURES PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN SHALL EMERGE. Then shall your rising be like that of the eagles, soaring higher and higher with no one to stop it. When my people arise and cast down their idols and speak as one voice after me.

Until then, I will continue to shake and I will continue to unsettle your land. I will frustrate your efforts and humiliate your agents. You will pray and it will fall on deaf ears because you do not pray according to my will. And I will judge righteously,” saith the Lord. “For this land does not know righteous judgment. But I will judge righteously starting with my people.

And I will yield to the cries of those who cry out for justice, and who cry out for righteousness to be established, and to those who cry out for the back of the evil one to be broken; and who cry out for MY purposes to be established in GUYANA. I will yield to their cries and respond to their pleas; and I will hear from heaven and visit your land,” saith the Lord.

Prophetess Huldorah Black

My belief on Electoral Fairness DEAR EDITOR, People go to the polls on elections day to vote. After you have finished voting, you follow the stages in the electoral process. In layman’s terms- you count the votes, review the internal reports, and then you declare the winner.

If you are prevented from electing a winner, there is the recount of ballots where you find out what is wrong.

At the end of the recount, if there are no irregularities you proceed to the declaration of the winner.

If you find something wrong, you simply scrap the election.

Thank you, James Blair

Do not kill democracy DEAR EDITOR, As I compose this letter, a great sense of uncertainty for the next two days consumes me. I await with bated breath the decision to be made by Madam Justice Claudette Singh. This decision, whether to accept the Chief Election Officer’s report or not, can either allow democracy to flourish, or condemn it to an unnatural death. During this wait, Madam Chairwoman will be the most important person in Guyana, as she ponders whether to uphold the votes of thousands or to disenfranchise these Guyanese.

This decision may be a difficult one to make, but, for the future of democracy in Guyana, please take the right and lawful actions. The entire of Guyana will be in your debt.

Yours truly, Jordon Nelson

MAKE THE RIGHT CALL DEAR EDITOR, It was Roberts and Holding and then Croft and Gardner! Just as fast as one waiting, reluctantly departs, another waiting, unhesitatingly arrives faster than its predecessor. So, here we finally have it, the week’s best seller block buster that is set to score another boxoffice hit and to tumble the alltime record to chalk up another Guinness book of records. The report did not fail to live up to its name and expectation. Was anyone surprised at its narrative, content, script, tone and summation?

Mostly likely not, for, it was potently compact with all the gory, dreadful, scary, horrifying and dreary details that meticulously described all the

Let God heal us DEAR EDITOR, I am Christian. I am not a convert from Muslim or Hinduism or any other religion. I have always been Christian.

I did not find God; God found me as: “I open my mind, heart and soul to God through Jesus Christ so that he can look in and fix what needs to be fixed”.Since then, I have been on the path of spiritual healing. Some days I fall off that path but I pick myself up and get back on that path.I know that there are people who do not believe in God. And, some may not have a strong foundation to stand on.The important thing is to let God into our lives so that he can heal us.

Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

pain staking and frivolous immaterial, that focused on sensationalizing the departure from the norm. It did not escape the nation’s attention that it went above and beyond the standard requirement to ensure that its purpose was well underscored with its conclusion in its personal (coalition) opinion.

Doesn’t the mathematical embracement for figments and fallacies alluded to the rhetoric of a demented, unstable and unsound mind that is determined to pitifully beg and reach out to sympathizers for medical assistance and help?

This guy is crying out for the public assistance, begging to be relieved from his diabolical burden that he has been shouldering from the inception of the election and, of course, before. Let us not lend credit to his blasphemy by repeating and printing his figurative configuration that failed to stump or bowl even Lance Gibbs, as an opening batsman with a deadly yorker!

Or, has he served his purpose and fulfilled his commitments and responsibilities

that he was ultimately hired for by delivering his googly that was invented by the perpetrators of fraud and corruption, masking as angels and religious church goers? Now is his time to breathe a sigh of relief, yes, get down on his knees, placed on his own neck if he can perform such an acrobatic stunt (but then again, he has been in a circus as an outstanding performer for a long time) and beg for mercy, clemency and forgiveness for committing so many atrocious acts, perpetually, that even the Almighty cannot conceptualize such evilness existed and that Satan was capable of creating.

Weight is a heavy load, but his shoulders are not broad enough to fetch all the, lies, dishonesty and deceits he has been fooling the nation with. But his job is done and now he can relax in a hammock (sweating bullets?).

The report has been signed, sealed and delivered to the right honourable Madam, an exponent at observation, creation, sustenance and destruction of

craftiness, shrewdness, astuteness and canniness. She needs no one to tell her what her role or job is, she is fully aware of her requirements and is culpable of sifting out facts from figments and needs no magnifying glass to see an elephant. There are no ants or mosquitoes or incomplete dots and tees, hiding in the ambience of ambiguity.

Within her lies that voice of reason and conscience, fairness and impartiality, truth and honesty, law, order and justice and, this has guided her throughout her life as a representative of the judiciary, especially, sitting on the bench to make legal, legitimate and well deserving decisions that represent any form of biasness. The radio, media, press, our friends and neighbours, the nation and Caribbean, the ABCE, the OAS and the world at large have already spoken, the jury rests and awaits for the impartial umpire’s decision. We have three days for a playback review.

Respectfully, Jai Lall

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Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Persecution of Bahais continue DEAR EDITOR, Iranian authorities have escalated their persecution of the Baha’i community, targeting at least 77 individuals across the country in recent weeks, despite a potential second wave of coronavirus infections hitting the country, according to a global organisation representing the faith.

At least 77 Baha’is across eight Iranian provinces have been arrested, summoned to court, tried, sentenced and imprisoned in the last month “under baseless accusations and for no reason other than a deep-seated antagonism to the Baha’i Faith”, the Baha’i International Community (BIC) said.

The Baha’i faith, which was originally founded in Iran, is seen as heretical by the Islamic Republic. Baha’i shops and cemeteries have been vandalized and some of its followers blocked from universities and jobs.

“Bahai’s are used to persecution, however, this is almost unprecedented numbers

in the matter of a month,” Bani Dugal, Principal Representative to the United Nations for the BIC, told the Telegraph.

While dozens of religious and political groups have been hurt by the Islamic Republic’s 41-year rule of Iran, the Baha’is are widely considered to be one of the most persecuted as they are not officially recognized as a religious minority.

Dozens of Baha’is were killed or jailed in the years immediately following the Islamic revolution in 1979. Billions of dollars worth of land, houses, shops were seized in the following years by various Iranian organizations, including Setad, the organisation overseen by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“In March, 20 Baha’is were released in the wake of coronavirus,” said Ms. Dugal. “We wanted all of them released as they are there purely for political reasons.

“Now they’re re-summoning a number of people to return to prison despite the situ-

ation not improving in terms of the virus.

There’s absolutely no justification for these arrests - it’s just another means of harassing the Bahai’s.”

New infections in the Islamic Republic averaged at more than 3,000 a day in the first week of June.

“When they are summoned they have to travel on public transportation, which is subjecting them to greater risk,” she added.

The prospect of imprisonments is prompting health concerns from the group as Iran is facing a severe uptick in coronavirus infections. According to Ms Dugal, some of those who have been sentenced are elderly and at great risk if imprisoned.

Iran has also recently ramped up a public defamation campaign, according to the group, with an “increasingly coordinated spread of disinformation about their beliefs” across state media.

Yours, Rooplall Dudhnath

WHILE WE ARE AT IT...

Guyana’s own DICTATOR?I, for one,

DEAR EDITOR, While we are at it, calling for the removal of Queen Victoria Statue and Mahatma Gandhi Statues, shouldn’t we also be calling for the renaming of Linden as it was named after Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham....

would not want a statue or town named after me. I would prefer to be remembered with stories through countless generations.

Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

The nation has faith in democracy...

From page 4 unanimous approval in not punishing the voters (not nullifying their votes) over polling officials’ negligence in their duties to follow post-count protocols. She accepted all ballots where statements were missing from boxes.Almost every voter feels the Chair would put Guyana first and make the right decision in bringing the electoral process to a completion.

They are confident she would not fall for threats. Some two-thirds of voters feel she

has no choice but to use the recount to make a declaration.Voters are confident she will respect the will of the electorate. But many say that as she does so, she must lecture the parties for the need to work together for the good of the country.

They say cooperation from both parties is needed for national development. The winner must approach governance differently from the past. There must be inclusive governance.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Agitations intensify over what happened to many George Floyds DEAR EDITOR, Today, I go where even the gods fear to tread, by publicly saying what is left unsaid. I use the George Floyd tragedy as foundation and launchpad.

The traumas from the death of this once unknown black American, now a global monument to the brutal injustices of the state, need no repetition.

It the final solution of those states that empower its agents to deliver unequivocal messages to downtrodden groups of people. I am not fooled by the sanctimonies rushing in torrents from many quarters; I recognize them, and watch guardedly, for I know.

Those of us, who struggled and overachieved, and have been repeat victims of corporate whitecollar atrocities, lived with injuries that hurt.

By this I mean, those of us who were overlooked and bypassed, tripped up and run over, with smile and apology know a different kind of battering. So, we discern the damage control efforts at work, the covering of tracks in well-tended retreat.

Time will reveal what is real, what is convenient. Today, agitations intensify over what happened to many George Floyds; the piercing

reactions abound of many who say: ‘I can’t breathe.’ There is the sharpest intake of protective breath, for it could be anybody. Today, the fears and the agonies are localized, when Black Guyanese say, ‘I can’t breathe.’

I hear that, and I acknowledge the associated sharp anxieties that pervade black positions and visions of where they stand in Guyana in this most upheaving of elections in this country. It is that they and Black Guyana can’t breathe when perceived electoral injustices place knee on the neck.

I think that all of this has found a home in many hearts.

For to disagree would be to deny the strength of settled convictions, to squeeze the wound while it is still open and raw. In this society, no one forgets matters with a political flavour.

Hence, the message is that Black Guyanese can’t breathe, and larger Guyana can’t breathe. And that the sensation and despair that comes from ‘I can’t breathe’ is heavily related to the way of our elections process has unfolded and now stands starkly, almost conclusively.

Of course, conclusively, depends on which side of the story is given greater credence, which one will prevail

DE GUN LET OUT EE FIRST SALVO

By Tulsi Dyal Singh De gun let out ee first salvo And ee sounding like a cannon.

Ranger peep out from ee corner To see if harm di fall on anyone.

I know dat bhai from sixty eight Ee was stalking Irvine Hall Ee axe mih if Ah got a minute Ee want to axe me fih me vote.

He seh ee was from Saint Vincent.

Ah tell ee dat any breddah From any island dat can fit In Essequibo mouth, is good enough for me.

Next ting you know, ee leading riot Gainst every baddy; in favah of Rodney.

You should see dat bhai a march.

Sun meck ee face redder dan ee gown.

So soon, ee chairing Carry Come First ting, he sending out a warning To Youssef, Ranger and Sea Youse: Beware, no Guyana sixty eight.

beyond the end, as in the unpromising aftermath.

Now, I use all the above to add another layer to the messages, narratives, and positions that have raged and dominated.

I articulate that IndoGuyanese register the same fears of the present and for the future, like Black Guyanese.

I voice that Indians have the same convictions of past tribulations as lived by Black Guyanese, and as they (Indians) themselves did live, too.

And I share that Indians exist in dread of the same agonies that horrify Black Guyanese, which come from the trepidations, the specter, of a knee on the neck and the overpowering blankness that comes from ‘I can’t breathe.’

I say all of this not as an Indianist, since I am not; nor on behalf of Black Guyanese, of which I will not pretend to be. I say this as someone, who speaks to a country suffocating and hurting grievously, but which insists on the freedom to cut off its own oxygen.

At present, Black Guyanese fear that they have been the victims of many a knee on their necks, when the compressing weight of illegal ballots squeeze the breath out of their prospects.

And by the same token, Indo-Guyanese harbour premonitions of the pressure that chokes the breath out of their chances to rise from the ground to which they have been pinned.

Another contention not uttered is that when one says ‘I can’t breathe’ it is the knee of theother that is seen as responsible. In the instances of both Black and Indian Guyanese, there is the belief that their plaintive cries are not being heard nor acted upon, and that relief does not come.

Instead, their spirits are carted away in ambulances and their futures end up being buried in unmarked graves.

For such is the fate of losers: it is winners who write histories where the poignant ring of “I can’t breathe” does not feature. It is where we are across this tortured green sward.

Now, I leave with this: whichever way this offering of mine is interpreted or misinterpreted, accepted or rejected, finds traction or fails to find footing, something stands incontestable: given where we are, what we have been, it is all Guyana, black and brown and the rest of its encircling rainbow that can’t breathe. Knees of one on the necks of the other, and pressing the life out.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Monday June 15, 2020

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Granger denies that APNU+AFC colluded to rig elections - DOUBLES DOWN ON FRAUD CLAIMS, SAYS WILL PROVIDE REPORT

From left: Mingo’s first unlawful Region Four General Election declaration (dated March 5, 2020), with signature of PNCR Chair, Volda Lawrence; alongside Mingo’s second fraudulent General Elections declaration (made on March 13, 2020)

By Kemol King President and Chairman of A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) David Granger yesterday hosted a press conference at State House with selected media houses, where he denied that the Coalition colluded to alter the results of the March 2 General and Regional Elections. He also doubled down on the Coalition’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud, saying that he will ask the Coalition to provide a report on the claims.

He stated, “the APNU+AFC Coalition, of which I am the Chairman, never colluded with anyone to interfere with the electoral process. We went into the elections like the PPP and other minor parties, and we expected an outcome in our

Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo

President and APNU+AFC Chair, David Granger

favour. We campaigned very hard. It is certainly the most impressive and impactful campaign that I have ever been involved in. And we were awaiting the results like anyone else.”

He had been pointed, at the time, to the distinct variation between the results of the elections as stated by the district declarations currently “held in abeyance” and the certificates of

recount. The difference between the totals was impacted by the stark difference particularly between the Region Four results and the Region Four recount tabulation, and have further confirmed previous verifiable reports by Kaieteur News that the Region Four Tabulation was rigged by Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo to secure a fraudulent victory for APNU+AFC. Political parties, including the People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) and A New and United Guyana (ANUG) have accused GECOM of being compromised by a faction working conspiratorially to aid the Coalition. The European Union Electoral Observer Mission, in its report on the Guyana Elections said that GECOM acted in blatant violation of the law. This refers to the

Region Four tabulation.

“By failing to take decisive action,” the report notes, “as the electoral process derailed into chaos and illegality, GECOM abdicated its constitutional

duty to take all actions necessary to ensure compliance with the law by any of its officials, despite unequivocal powers to remove and exercise Continued on page 24

ExxonMobil’s offshore projects will release more...

From page 3 Convention on Climate Change, including periodically updating a national inventory of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removal by sinks of greenhouse gases.

Arjoon-Martins noted that the OCC is in the process of submitting its Third National Communication on Climate Change to the UN which requires the factoring in of carbon emissions and its contributions to climate change into national development planning.

Even as Guyana pursues the exploitation of its resources in the Stabroek Block, the Conservationist categorically stated that the authorities of the day must not neglect the nation’s commitment to addressing climate change. ArjoonMartins said Guyana’s authorities need to at all times, factor in the environmental costs of projects and not honour its agreements to slash greenhouse gases in breach.

PAGE 8

Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Granger says language of incoming CARICOM Chair unacceptable

By Mikaila Prince De facto President David Grange says that he will not accept the “language” of fellow CARICOM Head of State, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, after comments by the Vincentian head of government last week.

“This is not the type of language,” the President said, “which a head of government would use about any other head of government or any

other jurisdiction. That is language you use in a constituency when you’re campaigning.”

Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and incoming Chair of CARICOM, had opined, in speaking about the outcome of the elections, “the loser of the elections must take his licks like a man” during an interview on the radio show, NBC Radio – ‘Your Morning Cup’, in his

CORRECTION President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) Mark Lyte cleared the air yesterday that his union did not sponsor any hamper distribution.

This was incorrectly stated in a Sunday Kaieteur News article headlined “Teacher involved in hamper distribution for GTU tested positive for Covid-19.”

Rather, Lyte said that the hamper distribution was carried out by the Ministry of Education.

Kaieteur News apologises for the error.

home country.

“Certainly, as a head of state,” Granger stated yesterday, “I’m not going to accept that type of language.

CARICOM as a community of sovereign states has never used that sort of language to describe the Government of Guyana, and I would not describe my invitation or my participation in the agreement for CARICOM to come here which was consensual, it wasn’t unilateral, as being one of interference. It was lawful, in the laws of Guyana, and that’s why they are here.”

During his interview, Gonsalves emphasized that the regional community will not stand idly by and watch the results of the recount be set aside but did not state which party he was referring to when he shared his sentiments.

Granger ’s comments

comes after the fact that his APNU+AFC Coalition and its leading constituent, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) both responded in separate statements condemning Gonsalves and calling his comments prejudicial. The PNCR, in particular, said that unless current CARICOM Chair and Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, makes a statement, distancing the regional union from Gonsalves’ statement, it would be viewed as an attempt by CARICOM to scuttle the electoral process.

In his interview yesterday, Granger said that the question of CARICOM’s presence “cannot be construed as interference because its role is embedded in law”, as he alluded to the gazetted order which authorized CARICOM’s function in the national recount—an exercise to which the curtains will soon close in on.

The President distinguished this from Gonsalves comments,

Incoming CARICOM Chair and PM of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves

Incumbent President David Granger

arguing, “It is a matter of interference if a person, an official of a foreign government describes a process in another country as being an attempt to steal the election, and when people start use language like ‘Be a man, and take your licks’.”

APNU+AFC campaign manager Joseph Harmon launched the first attack on

the St. Vincent PM, noting that Coalition finds it “strange and alarming” that Gonsalves would make statements of this nature which closely resembles that of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C). Harmon went on to say, that said, the PM had “taken a public position that is prejudicial to Continued on page 12

Monday June 15, 2020

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

The President’s position is flawed!

The President is being misadvised if it is his position that he can declare a state of emergency in order to reconvene parliament should the elections be scrapped. If this is the advice he has received, it is incurably flawed.

States of emergency are usually declared in times of war or where there is a grave threat to public order. The declaration of a state of emergency is not intended to be used to extend the life of a government since this would amount to extra-constitutional rule.

The Constitution of Guyana contemplates the possibility of a state of emergency arising during the interval between the prorogation or adjournment of parliament and the holding of elections. It makes provision for limiting the period of such emergencies without the approval of parliament The Constitution does not contemplate the declaration of a state of emergency as a means to reconvening parliament. Article 70(5) indi-

cates what happen should a state of emergency arise in the interval between the prorogation of parliament and elections. It states that parliament may be summoned but the elections have to go ahead. It does not give a licence to declaring a state of emergency simply because a constitutional crisis exists.

If that were the case then tyranny would have its way.

Governments could simply declare states of emergency and recall parliament after it would have lawfully be prorogued. And governments would also be able to eschew elections by simply declaring states of emergency.

In 1990, there was no state of emergency. Parliament had been lawfully prorogued in preparation for elections. The elections could not have been held that year because of problems with the Voters’ List.

As such, after parliament was prorogued, it had to be recalled since the elections could not have been held.

The doctrine of necessity was used for this purpose. A

constitutional amendment had to be passed to facilitate the extension of the life of the National Assembly. Both parties had to agree so that the requisite majority could have been obtained to allow for the passage of the constitutional amendment.

Parliament was dissolved last December. Elections were held on 2nd March.

Therefore, there is no interval between this and the holding of elections. A state of emergency cannot be concocted for this purpose since the Constitution presumes the emergency necessitates the summoning of parliament and not the summoning of parliament necessitating the proclamation of a state of emergency.

All this talk about the declaration of a state of emergency should the elections be scrapped, is speculative.

The Guyana Elections Commission is required to declare the results of elections. It has no power to annul, invalidate or vitiate any election. This power resides exclusively

Dem boys seh ...

Soulja Bai tekkin’ crank Soulja Bai bin diss a whole set a people because he seh dem nah fit and proper. Dem boys bin think dat he would ah be fit and proper especially when it come to de media.

Dem boys bin invite Soulja Bai two weeks back fuh wan interview. Dem even send he questions. De man nah even reply but yesterday he hole wan interview with like some speshul set a people but did not have de decency fuh invite de Waterfall newspaper or radio.

Dem boys know why. Dem boys believe he operating like a low-down man. Dem boys bin expect better from he. But sometime yuh does see a man true colours when yuh least expect it.

Some men can stand up and face de music while odders prefer to stoop and padoop.

Ralpie de man from St. Vincent bin seh

dat de loser of de elections must tek he licks like a man. Ralphie didn’t call nobody name.

But Soulja Bai get rattled. He seh how dat is not how de man supposed to talk to he. But de man nah call name. De man throw he corn; he nah call no fowl.

Solider Bai getting mix up between Caricom and dem odder farrin’ observers. He seh Caricom nah interfering because dem name mention in GEE-CUM recount Order.

But dem boys seh de recount Order also mention observers. Yet Soulja Bai government seh how dem interfering, never mind is de same Soulja Bai government wah invite dem hay.Dem boys nah gat much fuh talk but de Lolo report. De report do a good job of discrediting itself.

Talk half and wait fuh see when again Soulja Bai gan put he foot in he mouth.

with the High Court. For the Elections Commission to attempt to annul or invalidate the elections would amount to a usurpation of the powers of the Court.

Any challenge to the validity of an election has to be done by way of an election petition. This is explicitly provided for in the Constitution, the country’s highest law.

Article 163(1) so mandates. It gives exclusive jurisdiction to the High Court to determine whether any election has been lawfully conducted or its results affected by any act of commission or omission.

An election petition presupposes a declaration being made. An election petition

was filed following the declaration of results of the 1997 elections. Esther Perreira filed an election petition challenging the validity of the 1997 elections.

The elections were vitiated on the grounds that the use of a voter identification card was unconstitutional.

The judge in her consequential orders ruled that the government of the day should continue in office NOT by virtue of the vitiated elections but by virtue of the Order of the Court.

That decision has two implications. The first is that it is the Court which has the exclusive jurisdiction to vitiate, annul or invalidate an elec-

tions, not the Elections Commission. The second is that any continuation in office, until the holding of fresh elections arises by virtue of the Order of the Court and not by Executive decree, including that of the declaration of a state of emergency.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

PAGE 10

Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Claudette Singh will declare the election improper I have written a column each day since March 4 when Claudette Singh showed the nature of her being and the essence of her nature, a being and nature that Eusi Kwayana said in a reply to me weeks after that nature and being were on display for the world to see that he saw no wrong-doing on her part to condemn her.

I will reply to executive member of WPA ‘s Overseas Group, Rohit Kanhai asking me to apologize to Kwayana, an action I have no intention of even considering much less doing. Since March 4, among my daily columns are several offerings predicting how the election will end.

I repeat once more. The Commission will meet, Vincent Alexander will table a motion of an illegal process. The vote will be taken. It will be four for scrapping the election, three against.

What I did not have in front of me in those weeks when I made my prediction is Lowenfield’s report.

Alexander is not going to table his motion for declaring the election null and void. His submission will be slightly different.

He is going to ask the commission to accept Lowenfield’s report. Singh will agree and that will become a Commission’s decision.

Then Alexander at the same

Cyclist dies after struck down by cop A 47-year-old pedal cyclist was killed at around 16:30 hrs yesterday after he was struck down by a policeman, who was allegedly riding a motorcycle at a fast rate of speed on the No. 68 Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice.

Police identified the victim as Malchan Ramdanny also called “Rasta”, a labourer of No. 69 Village, Corentyne.

The rank is a 30-year-old police constable who is stationed at the Central Police Station and resides at John Street, New Amsterdam, Berbice.

According to a release, Ramdanny was proceeding north along the No. 68 Public Road, when he suddenly headed to the other side of the road and into the path of the constable, who was riding a short distance behind.

Both men sustained injuries and were rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital where Ramdanny was pronounced dead on arrival. The police constable was treated and referred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital.

He is said to be critical.

meeting will table the motion he had in mind all along.

It will say that based on Lowenfield’s document, that the commission declares the 2020 national election as irregular, improper and fraudulent. Singh will vote for that.

Why did Jagdeo urge Guyanese last week not to continue the criticism of Singh?

Jagdeo was employing an age old tactic.

It is in fact one of civilization’s oldest methods in dealing with humans.

I am absolutely sure it was quite prevalent in very ancient civilization in India, Africa and China even before the Greek City states were born.

This is how it goes. If you need a person to change their mind that shows all propensities for unprincipled behaviour, then, keep praising them, keep the sermon going that the person is not as people make them out to be, and we must allow them to be free of the pressure we pile up on them.

Jagdeo and the PPP knew that Singh was part of the conspiracy from day one. But after the recount showed a PPP victory, he was still scared that she will do her thing that began after Mingo’s evil was exposed.

Jagdeo felt that if he praised Singh, her conscience may prick and she will act in the interest of Guyana.

It will not happen. Singh

considers herself an African Guyanese sympathetic to the PNC. She is in fact related to Lincoln Lewis, a fact Lewis has not brought out and a fact that the press should ask him and Singh about. Singh does not want the PPP in power.

She embraces the doctrine that the PPP’s state power is equivalent to loss of power by African Guyanese. My belief is that Kwayana knows this aspect of her life that is why she shamelessly endorsed her action even though it has damaged his iconic status and ruined his Rodneyite standing.

Whether the commission meets today or tomorrow, Singh will put on display the nature of her being and the essence of her nature. As an analyst who has been around a long time (remember Timothy Jonas on Kaieteur

Radio told the nation he was my UG students a hundred years ago –, so yes, I have been around a long time ), I know the key players in my country.

Can I beat my own drum and say more than 20 years ago in these columns, I warned Guyana about Henry Jeffrey. And after Jeffrey showed his true colours years ago, Donald Ramotar came up to me and apologized for taking Jeffrey’s side in my disagreement with Jeffrey.

The good thing about the 2020 election evil is that it marks the end of any possibility of the AFC remaining in existence and the PNC ever winning an election again.

Guyanese should take comfort in the fact that whatever happens after June 2020, whether violence comes to Guyana, whether sanctions hit hard, whether there will be

Frederick Kissoon another election, the graphic fact is that Guyana will never again see in office an entity name the APNU+AFC regime and a man named David Granger as head of that formation.

Only a fool, a basic, fundamental fool will think that life in Guyana will continue as usual with Granger as president, Nagamootoo as prime minister and a Cabinet consisting of APNU+AFC. As they say, “wake up and smell the coffee.” I say to Guyanese – just hold on for a while, they’ll be gone soon.

E-Networks donates thermal camera system to CJIA for COVID-19 checks With temperature checks forming an integral part of containing the spread of COVID-19, the need for a quick, efficient and less invasive way of screening passengers is critical.

In recognition of this, ENetworks Inc. – Guyana’s leading TV, Internet and ICT provider made a donation of the industry’s latest thermal camera system, manufactured

by Dahua Technology, to Guyana’s largest international airport.

According to a release, this system is capable of realtime body temperature measurements with medical grade accuracy and issues an alert when it detects someone with a fever.

With built-in AI algorithms, it can measure multiple persons from up to a three-meter distance, without the need to touch a thermometer to each traveler’s forehead.

This enables fast and nocontact access, and addresses the concerns of Guyanese in admitting international travelers to the country during the pandemic.

Valued at G$3.5M, the system is already in use and was first successfully tested with the arrival of the first repatriation flight from Miami, USA on June 6, 2020.

C E O o f C J I A , M r.

Ramesh Ghir commented that the donation was timely, and that CJIA was happy to partner with ENetworks to test this new technology that aligns with t h e a i r p o r t ’s p l a n s f o r COVID-19 readiness as Guyana begins to ease restrictions and reopen its

The thermal camera system is capable of real-time body temperature measurements with medical grade accuracy. international borders.

This donation was made possible by E-Networks’ partnership with Dahua Technology, the world’s second largest camera manufacturer, and a leading global provider of videocentric intelligent IoT solutions and services.

The donation also forms

part of E-Networks’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, which is now focused on leveraging technology and connectivity to enable Guyanese consumers, businesses and organisations become accustomed to the “new normal” of living and working in the age of COVID-19.

PAGE 12

Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Sint Maarten warns of impending crackdown on illegal immigrants

- LEAVE VOLUNTARILY OR RISK BEING DETAINED AND DEPORTED The Government of Sint Maarten will in the coming weeks begin to stringently enforce its immigration laws to minimise the numbers of persons residing illegally on the island.

“Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson would like to inform the general public that the Immigration laws of Sint Maarten will be strictly enforced in the coming weeks and months.

“Persons who currently reside in Sint Maarten without the legal documentation are advised to take this as a warning and should start making the necessary provisions to voluntarily leave the country or run the risk of getting detained and deported to their country of origin” a release stated.

“The National Ordinance

of Admissions and Expulsions regulates the revocation of resident permits for person who no longer meet the requirements under which their permits were granted and the revocation of permanent resident permits for persons living abroad.”

As such, the Immigration and Border Protection Services will be collaborating with the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development and Labor (VSA) and the Civil Registry Department to ensure that persons who are in possession of work and residence permits still meet the conditions of which they have acquired,” the press release stated.

It was noted that a number of persons continue to reside on the island following the 2017 hurricanes Irma and

Maria which resulted in the economy being in a weakened state.

The release also noted that the still recovering economy also experienced a severe blow due the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has resulted in major job loss and many of its businesses having to close their doors or minimise

Granger says language of incoming...

From page 8 the integrity and eventual outcome of the ongoing national recount of the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.”

In response to Harmon’s statements, Owen Arthur, the former Prime Minister of Barbados, and Chief of the Commonwealth Mission to Guyana came to the defense of the Gonsalves, and stressed that he was “in perfectly good order” in his comments.

During an interview on Friday with Kaieteur Radio, Arthur explained, “For someone to attack Ralph Gonsalves for saying that CARICOM would not stand to see an elections stolen because he was speaking in generic way, is that people don’t understand what binds us and that he was perfectly right to say that. To be castigated this way is quite unfortunate.”

Arthur highlighted the need for certain protocols to be obtained and upheld when it

comes to who has the authority to scold another Caribbean leader, commands that Harmon does not possess, as the former PM labeled.

“Your leader, [President David Granger] sits in the council with other Caribbean leaders and there have sometimes also where they exchange sharp views, sometimes in public. It can’t be that someone at the level of Mr. Harmon thinks that he has the authority to unleash the kind of vitriolic attack on Caribbean leaders. Harmon is not a Caribbean leader, and your leader should tell Mr. Harmon that he is out of order and he is out of place,” the former PM reminded.

In response, Granger, while on a radio programme on Saturday evening, stated that he stands by Harmon’s statements. As of press time last night, Mottley, who is expected to be in the country this week, had not issued any response to Harmon’s demand that she reprimands Gonsalves.

their operations.

“Persons without an income could possibly resort to a life of crime in order to fend for themselves and their families. Though Sint Maarten is the friendly island and welcomes all visitors, illegal activities will no longer be tolerated. As such, the first step will be the removal of our overstayed guests in order to better handle our internal affairs.”

The minister also stated that the decision was made to temporarily suspend the process for first-time applicants for residence with exemptions being made for “persons holding critical positions,” who will however will undergo strict scrutiny before being granted a residence permit.

In addition, it has also temporarily suspended the granting of extensions for nonimmigrant stays, visas for pleasure purposes and the purpose of having a guarantor.

There is said to be a large population of Guyanese in Sint Maarten.

Several Guyanese have also traveled to the island for business and vacation. Many

were stranded due to the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 would have travelled there on business or on vacation and are said to be in dire straits, having reportedly run out of funds.

On Sunday, 14 Guyanese returned from Sint. Maarten via Trans Guyana Airways.

The flight also took six

been in contact with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was in the process of determining the exact number of Guyanese stranded.

The National COVID 19 Taskforce revealed in March 2020 that ten applications from Guyanese nationals stranded on the island were

“Persons without an income could possibly resort to a life of crime in order to fend for themselves and their families. Though Sint Maarten is the friendly island and welcomes all visitors, illegal activities will no longer be tolerated. As such, the first step will be the removal of our overstayed guests in order to better handle our internal affairs...” - Sint Maarten statement nationals to the Dutch/ French territory.

The Honorary Consul for Guyana in Sint Maarten, Kim Lucas-Felix, has urged Guyanese with similar issues to contact the consul.

The Honorary Consul has affirmed knowledge of the stranded Guyanese and indicated that the consul had

approved. It was also disclosed that the approval was subject to all requirements of the Ministry of Public Health being met.

Guyanese stranded on the island are urged to make contact with the Consulate on tel. 527-0704 or email guyanahonoraryconsulsxm @gmail.com.

Monday June 15, 2020

Safety of residents a great concern…

“Trees have outlived their time” - Mabaruma Mayor

The famous rubber trees in Mabaruma, Region One are now feared to be a hazard to residents traversing the Philbert Pierre Avenue roadway after heavy winds and rain caused one of them to fall.

That tree came crashing down recently near the compound of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph company, barely missing some power lines.

Residents are now expressing their concern that rotten branches might fall and

cause injury and property damage.

They are now calling upon authorities to cut down all the trees. Those making this appeal have the Mabaruma Mayor, Chris Phang on their side.

“The trees have outlived their time,” Phang told Kaieteur News during a telephone interview yesterday.

“The Mayor and Town Council have no objection to the trees being felled,” he added, while stressing that

the safety of residents is priority.

Mayor Phang also revealed that a tree planting exercise is currently in the pipelines for the township.

But not everyone agrees with this plan.

In November 2019, Social activist Sherlina Nageer organised the” Save the rubber trees of Mabaruma” petition, after controversy arose about the cutting down of the tress to facilitate the expansion of the roadway.

The petition came after a

poorly attended consultation meeting with the Regional Administration, the Mayor and Town Council and an engineer from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.

The online petition was signed by thousands of Guyanese here and abroad, who urged the authorities to consider an alternative.

Later, in a letter sent to Kaieteur News, Nageer suggested that funds be allocated to “prune the rubber trees to prevent dead or damaged branches from falling and causing harm to persons or property.”

Those who signed the petition argued the trees, which are over one hundred years old, serve as a landmark, while also being a tourist destination.

The Democratic Council had agreed to cut the century old tress along the famous Rubber Walk to facilitate road expansions. The project however, was halted.

The famous rubber trees of Mabaruma were planted over a hundred years ago by Philbert Pierre. To date, attempts made to replant the rubber tress have all been unsuccessful.

WHO IS PARRY BANCROFT-WALLERSON? From page 14 basic of foodstuff. It was a time when the “Guyline” was King and people either praised or vilified “Burnham”.

A memorable time. In the plot, Tolme loves his wife Shirley as much as she loves him. He, however, is unable to cater to her intimate needs and hides behind radical, political rhetoric. She, consumed with sexual need, finds herself drawn to Walter, the supermarket worker who falls heavily for her.

He, however, finds that Shirley, for whatever reasons, continues to employ subterfuge to thwart his every attempt to “bed” her. The play rises to the point where Walter will not be denied “having” Tolme’s wife, and (presumably) fulfills this need. The play climaxes with Shirley returning home all disheveled as though she has been involved in a tussle. Her husband is aghast: TOLME: Shirley! What happened to you?

SHIRLEY: (Weeping and blustery) The butter line, Tolme! They almost kill me in the butter line! ... Was a long line, Tolme! A fat line, Tolme!

A cruel line! ...

After “The Butterline”, Parry Bancroft-Wallerson, who played Tolme, Catherine Moseley, who played Shirley, and Richard Carter, who played Walter, became popular, Linden-wide.

Years later, Parry

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Bancroft-Wallerson migrated to the USA. Eventually, I too left for America. In our first meeting at his Queens, New York home, he said laughingly to me, “Bai? Me walking along Church Avenue one day, and somebody start calling out: ‘De Butterline! De Butterline!’” We laughed. He was happy that someone did not forget him as a Lindenbased playwright-dramatist and theatrical producer; and I was happy that my first play still struck a memorable chord.

But there is much more to Parry Bancroft-Wallerson.

He’s also an artist-painter and a Guyanese-culture aficionado who, in the basement of his Queens New York home, records folk songs, copies them onto CDs, and gives them to Guyanese in the Diaspora to do what he can, to preserve our disappearing Guyanese culture.

Parry, after having been in New York for over twenty-five years, eventually returned on a visit to Guyana to reconnect with old friends. (And when he did, he was “twangless.”

His “damn” was still “damn” instead of “dame”; and his “holiday” was still “holiday” instead of “halladay.”) He spoke with a couple of local media-producers on Guyanese culture; he expounded on our folklore; and in the end, he was surprised at their excitement to get him on local radio and

TV, though it was not to be.

You may be thinking aloud: ‘Why were local producers hoping to have a “Comebackee” speak about Guyanese folklore on air?’I too was intrigued, so, I said to him, “Parry, what was it you were chatting with these media producers about, that captivated them so?”

He laughed and said, “At one point, I found myself explaining the difference between a Old Higue’ and a ‘Firerass’ to them.”

I said, “Parry, I myself don’t know the difference?”

He chuckled. “De Old Higue is the woman and the Firerass is the man.”

Parry Bancroft-Wallerson is also an excellent artistpainter whose work I first became aware of, after seeing his unique semi-abstract depiction of the Kaieteur Falls at a group exhibition of Linden artists on the first floor of the Guyana museum. This was many years before I met him as a dramatist in Linden.

His take of our famous falls was one I had never seen before; the innovative rendition was genius. ...

But why am I rambling about whoever this ‘Parry Bancroft-Wallerson’ man is?

To understand, I invite you to eavesdrop on the following phone conversation between Parry and me; he, from Brooklyn, New York; me from Loganville, Georgia: ME: Parry, how old are

you now?

PARRY: Bai, I is 84; going be 85 early next year.

ME: Parry, you ever consider writing your autobiography?

PARRY: Yes, man, but lately I feeling so tired.

ME: Parry, man, I understand. I tend to feel tired to’ ... but is important that you leave-back something to be remembered for, something like an autobiography. You did so much creative work as a Guyanese—for Guyanese. It would be a sin that you should pass with no record of your creative contribution to Guyanese culture.

PARRY: Man... once you’ all give me a good send-off.

ME: A good funeral is not enough for a Guyanese like you. Hear, Parry, please find the strength and time to write down some autobiographical bits, like which part of Berbice you were born and stuff like that; then send it to me. I will write about you. As a matter of fact, I’m currently writing a Guyanese novel and I’m going to put you inside as a real-life character.

PARRY: That would be nice, man.

ME: Don’t worry, Parry. I must do this for you. We have to do things like this for one another. Nobody in Guyana is likely to do it for us. We are, after all, artists and writers, and in Guyana, nobody cares for such people.

Woman and baby missing after leaving to meet friend Twenty-year old Ovelina Leon Obermuller and her 11month-old daughter have been reportedly missing since last Friday.

The woman who lives with her grandmother at 4062 Plantation La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, was last seen leaving home just before noon on Thursday.

She was dressed in “bluish-blackish jeans” and a red top while her baby was clad in white flowered pants and top.

The missing woman’s cousin told Kaieteur News that she had left to collect some money from a friend at the Demerara Harbour Bridge but never returned.

The cousin claimed that they had received two phone calls from Obermuller on a blocked number before losing contact.

“She called on Thursday and told us that she will come home the next day because of unforeseen circumstances”, said the cousin.

Obermuller then called again on Friday morning “crying” and told her family that she is still waiting on the money she had left to collect.

This was the last time they heard from Obermuller.

Kaieteur News understands that the missing woman does not have a history of running away from home and not making contact with her family.

MISSING: Ovelina Leon Obermuller In fact, she was reportedly recently rescued from an abusive relationship.

Relatives alleged that she later received multiple threats from the individual with whom she broke off the relationship.

A report has been lodged with the police.

Anyone who may have seen Obermuller can contact her family members on telephone numbers 667-7113/ 687-3876/693-9336 or the nearest police station.

Slain man with plastic bag...

Mr. Williams and spouse in Venezuela From page 20 them a photograph of the dead man, they immediately realised that the victim was indeed Andy Williams.

According to the niece, her uncle was clad in the same clothing that he was wearing when he had left his sister’s home. According to police, the victim was wearing a burgundy jersey, black track pants with white stripes and a pair of black socks.

Relatives made a positive identification yesterday morning after police ranks accompanied them to the Ezekiel Funeral Home.

PAGE 22

Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

In the country of the cannibals

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From page 18 array of gold chains. He held a half-full bottle of whiskey.

Sealey suppressed the need to curse. The Bishop was the last person he wanted to see. But the man had spotted him. As he came closer, Sealey noticed that, for once, the Bishop wasn’t his usual dapper self. The white shirt was rumpled. There were sweat-stains under his armpits.

Bishop raised the liquor bottle in a sort of greeting as Sealey passed. “Hey, how you doing, brother?” he asked in his annoyingly false American twang.

Sealey mumbled something. He was about to walk on, but the Bishop put a hand on his shoulder. Sealey turned. Golden Bishop was staring at him. The grin was still there, but there was a hint of appeal in his eyes.

“Something bothering you, Bishop?” Sealey asked.

The Bishop ran a hand through his hair. “Know you a long time, bush-man.

Respect you a lot.” He paused, as if hesitant to continue, then said: “Ah need to know…who is that girl that ah hear one of yuh men sleeping with.”

Sealey felt his earlier unease returning.

“Why you want to know that?”

“That bitch know me.

Know me good. But I swear to God I never see her in my life.”

He scratched his unshaven chin. “You was at the Jaguar Den the first night when she come to the landing?”

Sealey nodded.

“Uh—yuh see what happen when I went over to her?”

Sealey nodded again.

“What that woman tell you, Bishop?”

The Bishop glanced around him. Licked his lips, then whispered: She said: ‘I am not Razor Blade’. She say it in Carib. How she know I could talk Carib?”

He took a quick, nervous sip at the whiskey bottle, then wiped his mouth.

In Sealey’s opinion, the rumours that the Bishop had

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killed the prostitute Razor Blade—maybe shot her— made some sense. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask.

Instead, he said: “But Bishop, all of this happen donkey years back. I don’t see why you fretting about what this girl tell you.”

The Bishop took another nervous sip, then looked at Sealey directly for the first time. “I telling you this because I feel that I should warn you.”

“Warn me about what?”

“About that girl. Keep that young chap away from she. Something not right about she. Where she come from? What she doing here?”

“Maybe she thief somebody money and sporting it out.”

The Bishop shook his head insistently. “She got a bad aura. Is strange. That night, when she turn me down, afterwards, I feel like— glad.”

He paused, then leaned forward and touched Sealey on the arm. “You believe in dreams, bush-man?”

The question caught Sealey off guard, stunning him into momentarily silence.

“Why you ask?” he said at last.

“Since I come on the landing, I getting some really crazy dreams. A long-hair woman without face calling me to the water-side.

Something chasing me through the jungle. And last night–” He paused to stare intently at Sealey. “This is between you and me, bushman.”

Sealey nodded.

“I dream Razor-Blade last night. I could see her plain, like if it was real. But at the same time, she wasn’t really Razor Blade. She was—that girl. She was calling me out into the night to kill me. And I was that young boy in your camp…” * “Anybody see Leon?”

Bap Reggie and Jerry Mentore glanced up from their table. Bap Reggie waved Sealey away impatiently.

“Wha wrong wid you, Vibert Sealey? You come on the landing to enjoy yuhself, or to baby-sit?” He sucked his teeth. “Were else Leon gun be, but with he girlfriend?”

Mentore grabbed Sealey’s arm drunkenly and drew him to the table. “Hear, man, siddown and stop fretting about that young chap. Leon can take care of heself.”

“I got an urgent message

from Georgetown fuh he,” Sealey lied.

Shirleen had been leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed. Now she opened them and said, “He was here ’bout an hour ago. Then he just get up and leave.” She waved her lighted cigarette southward.

“He went in that direction.”

Sealey nodded his thanks.

He headed in the direction of the houses where the prostitutes stayed, driven by an illogical fear for Leon that the Bishop and his own dream had planted in his head.

Miss Coreen’s house, where the girl was staying, was the last building before you reached the jungle and the river; a two-storey building with flaking white paint. The house was set some distance away from the others. It was usually a noisy place, with prostitutes drinking, cooking or cussing in the yard. But today, silence enveloped the house. The coals from an old fire were scattered on the ground. He hesitated, suddenly struck by the folly of his mission. Here he was, on the verge of intruding on a young man and his girlfriend. And for what reason? Because of a premonition?

How was he going to explain his presence? With a shock, he realised that part of him was excited at the thought of seeing the girl again, seeing her up close, in daylight; hearing her voice.

Would she be in there? Was this real, or a continuation of his strange dream?

He shook off his thoughts and walked up to the door.

Like the other houses, where the girls stayed, this one had a rough bottom flat. He knew there would be four rooms inside, a latrine at the back.

The two plywood windows were shut. But despite the silence, the padlock was not on the door. That meant that someone was inside.

He took a deep breath and rapped. The sound of his knuckles echoed hollowly in the house.He rapped again.

Harder this time. He cleared his throat. “Leon?”

Silence.

This is foolishness, he thought, and was turning away when the door opened.

A sweat-drenched face peered out at him. Red-rimmed eyes, half-hidden by a mass of tangled hair. For a second—through some trick of light—the face seemed haggard, wrinkled, so unlike the face he’d expected to see

that he thought he had come to the wrong house. Then, behind the tangled hair, he saw the familiar high cheekbones, the wide, haughty mouth. Her musky odour assailed him, and he felt a rush of lust such as he had not experienced since boyhood.

She pushed the hair away from her face. The slanted, red-rimmed eyes were strangely blank, the way Shirleen’s looked when she was on a ganja high.

He heard himself mutter an apology. “Uh—I looking for Leon. He inside?”

A long pause, while she stared at him. Then, just as he thought that she would not answer, she said: “Yes.” “Uh…can you call him for me?”

“Leon…” her voice was slurred. “Leon is—” She broke off, baring her teeth as if in pain. She shifted forward.

He caught a flash of breast and thigh. Now her body was pressed against the inner wall near the door. “Leon is…is…”

She shifted again, and with shock he realised that she was caressing herself against the doorway. “He…” …a flash of breast and thigh… “…is…resting.”

She shifted further into the doorway. He felt a roaring heat in his brain. He thought he heard his own inhaled breath as he saw the soft contour of her hip…her thighs…

He felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. For a second, her exquisite thighs had parted, exposing her nakedness fully to him. But he had seen something else, too; something with pin-prick eyes; something scaly, something that clung to her thigh. But he wasn’t sure what he had seen, because the girl had placed a hand on her thigh, and was staring at him with open hostility. Then, in a flash, she slipped back into the shadows of the house.

(Taken from the supernatural novel Kamarang

by Michael Jordan. Book design and illustrations by Harold Bascom.)

The illustrated edition of Kamarang is on sale at Austin’s Book Store, and on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.

The author can also be contacted for autographed copies on +592 645 2447 or by email: kamarangnight@gmail.com

Monday June 15, 2020

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

Lowenfield’s report not final report - Granger

By Shikema Dey ncumbent President David Granger yester day stated that the report presented on Saturday to the seven-member Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield was not final, hinting at the possibility of a second report.

“It is not his final report as required by the law. It is a report on the tabulation and the observation. And that is quite legitimate,” President Granger told reporters during a selected media interview at the State House.

Lowenfield on Saturday, submitted Matrices for the recount of the 10 Electoral Districts and a Summary of the Observation Reports for each district to the GECOM Chair, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh, along with required attachments, pursuant to the gazetted order made by GECOM, under which the national recount of ballots, were done.

President Granger during his interview explained that to his understanding, “He [Lowenfield] will then be required to make a formal presentation to the Commission and in accordance with the Representation of the Peoples Act, he has not done that.

And what he has produced or handed to the Commission

I

yesterday, the Commission has not had an opportunity to study it and it is not the report that is required.”

It should be noted that the Constitution does not speak to the CEO submitting multiple reports to the GECOM. Article 177 2(b) which speaks to the appointment of a duly elected President states in explicit terms that “Where there is only one Presidential candidate at an election: or there are two or more Presidential Candidates, if more votes are cast in favour of the list in which a person is designated as Presidential candidate than in favour of any other list, that Presidential candidate shall be deemed to be elected as President and shall so be declared by the Chairman of the Elections Commission acting only in accordance with advice of the Chief Elections Officer, after such advice has been tendered to the Elections Commission at a duly summoned meeting.”

Most notably, the submission of a secondary report by the CEO was not stated in the Gazetted order for the National Recount. That order says, “The matrices for the recount of the ten (10) Electoral Districts shall then be tabulated by the Chief Elections Officer and shall be submitted in a report, together with a summary of the observation reports for each Dis-

GECOM’s Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield trict, to the Commission.”

That report is what was submitted to the Commission.

Continuing, the order stated that “The Commission shall, after deliberating on the report at paragraph 11, determine whether it should request the Chief Elections Officer to use the data compiled in accordance with paragraph 11 as the basis for the submission of a report under Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act Cap 1:03, provided that the Commission shall, no later than three (3) days after receiving the report, make the declaration of the

Incumbent President David Granger

results of the final credibly count of the elections held on 2nd March 2020.”

Kaieteur News reached out to members on both sides of the Commission to enquire whether another report was submitted by the CEO. Only Commissioner Sase Gunraj answered and according to him, no secondary report was given.

Commissioner Gunraj was also asked about the CARICOM Scrutinising Team’s report and he said that it has not been submitted as yet.

As it relates to that report,

the order says that, “The CARICOM Scrutinising Team shall submit a report to the Commission which may include their observations, recommendations and conclusions.”

Kaieteur News, however, received credible information that the high-level team is slated to depart Guyana today.

Additionally, considerations must be made to the report submitted by A New and United Guyana (ANUG) outlining their findings of fraud perpetrated by controversial Returning Officer

Clairmont Mingo.

The party formally prepared a document, separate to the Observation Reports (OR), which registers their findings with regards to the striking variances between the Statements of Recount (SOR) produced and numbers called out by Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, at both the Ashmin’s Building on High Street, and the head office of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at Kingston.

That report had been submitted to the GECOM Chair, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh, and will be considered during the deliberations of the Commission. Previously, Singh had upheld a decision made by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, preventing any reference to Mingo’s fraudulent vote tabulation in recount observer reports. Instead, the Chair invited a separate report from ANUG on Mingo’s malpractices.

ANUG’s report contains a table with over 100 ballot boxes, which illustrates inflation committed by Mingo in favour of the APNU+AFC. When Mingo’s numbers are compared to the SOR produced from the almost concluded recount exercise at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), there shows a variance of 4,442 votes.

ANUG says Coalition repeatedly lies to its supporters

A

New and United Guyana (ANUG) has brought the APNU+AFC Coalition under strong criticism for how it has treated its supporters during this election season.

The party accused the Coalition of lying to its supporters when it declared an election victory based on a fraudulent tabulation of the Region Four vote by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, and of lying to them now by regurgitating unsubstantiated claims of fraud against the credibility of the March 2 elections, now that the recount has shown the party has lost the elections.

‘Lied about winning election’ In a statement, ANUG noted how shortly before the Region Four result declaration was made by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, a sum of the results for the other nine districts showed that the PPP/ C had amassed a lead over the Coalition that it was unlikely to come back from.

As ANUG stated “APNU required 50,000 votes to win in Region 4 in order to win the election. APNU has never won Region 4 by such a large margin before.”

ANUG said that after Mingo fraudulently assessed the SOPs and declared a win

for the Coalition, its leaders “David Granger, Basil Williams, David Patterson, Kathy Hughes and most APNU officials dismissed assertions PPP assertions of fraud, and claimed a victory on the count of the SOPs by Mingo. They began to celebrate their ‘victory’. Granger declared to his followers that ‘The APNU have won the election’.”

Mingo had produced two General Election declarations.

The first, made on March 5 had later been vitiated by the Chief Justice as it was determined to be unlawful.

The second, made on March 13, was just as marred by a lack of transparency and reports of doctored numbers, as the first, and could not command the confidence of all political parties, observers and the international community. The recount has since proven that Mingo’s tabulation was fraudulent.

“In that recount, the nation learned that Mingo had lied,” ANUG stated, “that Granger had lied, that Williams, Patterson, Hughes and the entire contingent of the APNU leadership had lied. On the count of the ballots, PPP leads the APNU by 15,000 votes. APNU supporters have had to swallow the undeniable: that their leaders have

lied to them, have deceived them.”

‘Lying about electoral fraud’ In the case of the Coalition’s claims of electoral fraud, ANUG said “Now, APNU has created a new lie,” with the help of “rogue elements” in the GECOM secretariat.

The party said that APNU+AFC had planned to fabricate the narrative that there were so many anomalies in the conduct of the elections it lost, that it could then argue for the annulment of the elections. ANUG said that this plan involved alleging that a number of voters from many ballot boxes were representative of persons who are either dead or were overseas on Election Day, and could not have validly cast their votes.

“APNU gave no evidence of this, but stated that evidence would be presented at a later, unspecified date.”

Even as GECOM recorded the Coalition’s observations, ANUG said, the Supervisors also refused to note observations by other parties that the allegations were “bare and unsubstantiated by a person who had no knowledge of the truth of his allegation”.

The party had sought to observe that those persons who cast their votes would

ANUG Chair, Timothy Jonas have presented themselves to their respective polling stations, where they were scrutinised by PPP/C, APNU+AFC and GECOM representatives before they could cast their vote, but said that GECOM would only note the parties ‘objection to the allegation’.

Parties were also refused when they asked to look at the Official List of Electors from the ballot box to determine for themselves that votes were actually cast for those persons, ANUG said, “so that that question remains unknown.”

ANUG said that the Coalition sought to promote a narrative that the election from which it had previously touted itself to be victorious due to Mingo’s rigging, was not credible. The Coalition had made a series of false claims during the recount, which are well documented by Kaieteur News.

Despite many of the Coalition’s claims being well ventilated in the press, Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield stated in a report to the Commission that the claims were “of substance”.

ANUG indicated that by seeking to lend credence to the Coalition’s unsubstantiated allegations, Lowenfield exceeded what the order for the recount required him to do, to tabulate the results. However, the party posited that Lowenfield’s tabulation of the total results of the recount proves that Mingo is guilty of fraud and that the Coalition lied to its supporters about winning the election.

ANUG went on to say that Lowenfield did not provide a summary of the observation sheets, but that he took it on himself to decide on the accuracy of the allegations of dead and overseas voters and in doing so, assumed the role of GECOM, instead of a simple

‘functionary’ of its Secretariat.

In his report, Lowenfield had stated ‘it cannot be ascertained that the results… meet the standard of fair and credible elections’. This sentence was repeated at the end of his report on every district.

“GECOM has replaced Mingo’s false spreadsheets with Lowenfield’s equally false opinions and conclusions in submitting a ‘report’ to the Commission,” ANUG stated.

‘Decision rests on GECOM Chair’ In light of the misinformation propagated by the Coalition since the beginning of the recount, ANUG held that GECOM Chair, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh will know that Lowenfield relied on unsubstantiated ‘allegations’ to buttress his report, and that she will know that information from the third parties, such as the Immigration Department and the General Registrar’s Office, is not permissible as it is “untested by cross examination, is unverified by anyone, and can only be raised in an Election Petition, but may not be referenced lawfully by GECOM.”ANUG said the recount results make it clear which party has won the elections, and that the correct and lawful action would be for the Chair to recognise that.

PAGE 24

Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Granger backs Lowenfield’s report - says he did a ‘remarkable job’

By Shikema Dey Incumbent Head of State, David Granger yesterday insisted that GECOM’S Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield did “remarkably well” in running the electoral process and presenting a report to the Commission that mirrored the widespread complaints of anomalies that the APNU+AFC Coalition raised through the recount.

Lowenfield submitted his report to the seven-member Commission on Saturday last.

That report has been rejected by a host of stakeholders.

In the summary of each District, Lowenfield stated that “The summation of anomalies and instances of voter impersonation identified in District Nine clearly does not appear to satisfy the criteria of impartiality, fairness, and compliance with provisions of the Constitution and the ROPA Cap 1:03. Consequently, on the basis of the votes counted and the information furnished from the recount, it cannot be ascertained that the results for District Ten, Upper Demerara/ Berbice, meet the standard of fair and credible elections.”

That addition of his opinion was said to be a “blatant violation” of the gazetted recount order.

Granger, in an interview with selected members of the

media, stated that “Well, first, what is reported that Lowenfield said is similar to what APNU has complained about, in terms of the anomalies and irregularities.”

“My view is that he has done remarkably well under pressure and with the limited resources.”

According to Granger, “As far as Lowenfield’s authority, my understanding is that he has not done anything; he has not exceeded his authority. He has not done anything abnormal or unlawful.”

He told reporters that, “I accepted that what I read about what he wrote indicates that there has been widespread abuse, and this is what APNU+AFC has complained about publicly over the last hundred days.”

Granger explained that the validity of any election has to be based in part on its credibility, citing that evidence has emerged that “the totality of the votes is inconsistent with the likely voting population and the behaviour of that population.”

He said, “If it is shown, for example, that more ballots are recorded in polling stations than there are on the list of electors, it is incredible. It is incredible that you can have 380 votes when there are only 300 registered voters at that polling station.”

Throughout the electoral process, especially the National Recount, the Coalition has made a string of unsubstantiated claims of widespread ‘fraud’ in the March 2, 2020 polls. The party was repeatedly asked by reporters to produce evidence to support their claims but up to press time, none has been presented.

The President said that in determining the validity of an elections, credibility cannot be separated while also adding that Lowenfield was well within his right to note his opinion in the report.

“Mr. Lowenfield, if that is what he did, if he has commented on credibility, he is quite in order to do so. I mean, in any field, even if you’re running for you know, election in a sports club, if more votes are recorded than you have sportsmen in the club, people will question the credibility. You can’t remove the issue of credibility. You cannot say that is of no account because the number of voters is all that we’re interested in.”

Lowenfield in his report suggested that billions of dollars were wasted in the conduct of the 2020 elections after citing that credible results cannot be derived from the process. His comments would have also cast doubt on himself, as the CEO of the

Granger excludes critical media houses from press conference

K

aieteur News, Stabroek News, Newsroom, Guyana Times—media houses which have been acknowledged for being critical during the proceedings of March 2020 Election proceedings, were yesterday excluded from attending an interview with the incumbent President David Granger at State House.

Meanwhile journalists representing Demerara Waves, Prime News, News Source and state media house the Guyana Chronicle, were present at that interview, where the President sought to discuss with journalists his views on the proceedings of the March 2020 Elections, his vision for the country, COVID19 and among other key issues.

Prior to the yesterday’s interview, the President had conducted a briefing on May 17 at the National Aquatic Centre, during his visit to the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC)—the site where the national recount was conducted.

At that May 17 briefing, which was attended by all media houses, the President evaded certain questions when posted at him.

He even, in one instance, refused to answer a question from Kaieteur News and subsequently ended the briefing.

With the aim of seeking clarity on pressing issues that were avoided by the President Kaieteur News on June 5, directed questions to Granger via his Director of Public Information Service, Ariana Gordon to which she failed to respond to on that day. The following day,

Gordon acknowledged receipt of the questions and subsequently, a statement was issued by the President. However, that statement failed to address any of the questions Kaieteur News had posed to the Head of State.

Further, an invitation was extended from the editors of Kaieteur News to His Excellency to conduct an in-depth interview with both the newspaper and Kaieteur Radio at his convenience. To this, Gordon said other media houses and radio stations had extended invitations, so it was just a matter of this publication waiting its turn.

Notably, the President has appeared twice on the same radio station, in the past three weeks.

Elections Commission, being unable to run a proper election.

In this light, President Granger was asked whether Lowenfield should tender his resignation.

To this, Granger said, “I don’t think the question of resignation arises. I think under the circumstances, he did what he was empowered to do under the law and capable to do with the resources. Mr. Lowenfield was not to be blamed for that and I won’t want a resignation. I won’t expect him to offer a resignation. I think he did quite well in the circumstances.”

GECOM Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield

Granger denies that APNU+AFC...

From page 7 disciplinary control over them.”

The President made no mention of Mingo’s fraud, and that may be because he believes, as he said, that the statements of poll showed a general election victory for the APNU+AFC Coalition, and that Mingo’s results confirmed this purported victory. While he said that he did not see the statements of poll himself, Granger was asked why the party has not released its statements of poll, and his response was that he was presented with a tabulation of the results from the statements of poll, which placed the Coalition in the lead. “What I can say is that the spreadsheet that I was presented with, of the SOPs, indicated quite clearly that the numerical advantage was in favour of APNU+AFC. I cannot, I never saw the SOPs myself but I saw the spreadsheet and I was satisfied the spreadsheets were accurate,” the President stated.

Though the party has, at times, claimed that the statements of poll show it to be the victor in the elections, it has refused to publish those statements of poll. One of its members, Aubrey Norton has said that it is not in the Coalition’s interest to release its statements of poll, and that the party makes no apologies for refusing to publish them.

To date, the President has not acknowledged that the Region Four tabulation which led to the March 5 declaration, and later vitiated by the Chief Justice, was rigged. He had also not acknowledged that the Region Four tabulation which led to the March 13 declaration by Mingo, was rigged.“If I wasn’t confident in the recount,” he said, “if I felt that there was fraud, that fraud would have been discovered.”

The recount showed a total of 116,941 votes for APNU+AFC and 80,920 votes for PPP/C, as opposed to Mingo’s fraudulent declaration, which handed 136,057 votes to APNU+AFC and 77,231 votes to PPP/C. In doing so, the Returning Officer had conjured 15,427 more votes than were actually validly cast in the March 2 elections, taking the Region Four total from 202,077 to 217,425.

The revelations of the Region Four recount align with reports from five political parties, who all held that the Returning Officer presented clumsily doctored statements of poll during the tabulation, which inflated the votes for the Coalition, and deflated the votes for the PPP/C. His manipulation of the results had also resulted in a false national lead being handed to the Coalition.

While the President did not acknowledge Mingo’s fraud, he has doubled down on the allegations of fraud leveled by the Coalition, of ‘migrant voters’ which he said are the “real fraud”.

He said, “I would like to see that at the end of this process that we embrace reform that would allow Guyanese to vote one day and go back to work on the next day and enjoy the results by seeing parties and the individuals that they voted for receive the results that they deserve without the danger of the anomalies and irregularities we have seen.

That is the real danger; people who attempted to manipulate the outcome. It is not the Election Commission; it is the people who went about attempting to engage in multiple voting; people who went out collecting ID cards, people who contributed to the bloated results at polling stations. Those are the people trying to engage in fraud.”

Asked whether he has solid proof of these claims, Granger said only that he has received reports from his “supervisors, invigilators and people on the ground.”

Kaieteur News had investigated a list of 172 names sent by the Immigration Department to GECOM, along with a letter claiming that those persons were not in the jurisdiction on Election Day. Twenty-six of those persons have since come forward refuting the placement of their names on that list, and revealing the information to be inaccurate.

When this was raised with Commissioner Vincent Alexander, he said that the information would be treated as accurate until those persons formally write to GECOM, providing proof that they were in Guyana on Election Day. It is unclear whether any of those persons have done so. Persons have also come forward to refute additional lists supplied by the Coalition, of persons it claimed were out of the jurisdiction on Elections Day but appear to have voted.

The Coalition also made claims of dead voters and published one death certificate in the State newspaper of Chitnandani Ramdass, a Region Two woman who died on June 5, 2015, who they alleged to have been ticked off as having voted at the March 2020 polls. An official copy of the Maria’s Hall Nursery School OLE, provided by the PPP/C, showed that the woman’s name was not ticked off as having voted. The APNU+AFC also claimed to have in their possession ‘countless’ death certificates, but to date, the party has not published any.

Granger yesterday said that he will ask his Director of Public Information Service to ask the Coalition’s election agents to provide a report.

Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Monday June 15, 2020

Monday June 15, 2020

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Kaieteur News

Phil Simmons: West Indies will be ready and looking to defend our trophy ESPNcricinfo - Not since their 1980s heyday have West Indies won a Test series in England, but two aspects of the forthcoming three-match encounter could work in their favour, according to head coach Phil Simmons. First, due to the behind-closed-doors nature of the Tests, in response to Covid-19, there will be no supporters in the stands to cheer the home side on; and second, instead of being halfway through their summer, England have not played competitive cricket for several months.

That might “even things out a little bit”, Simmons said via video conference from the team’s training base in Manchester, where West Indies are currently serving a 14-day quarantine period and continuing their preparations

for the rescheduled tour, after agreeing to ECB proposals for staging “bio-secure” Test matches.

As well as the absence of crowds, there will be significant departures from normal playing conditions - including a ban on using saliva to shine the ball, and the possibility of Covid replacements for players who display symptoms of the disease. The first international series to be contested since the coronavirus pandemic escalated in mid-March promises to be a trip into the unknown for all involved.

“I don’t know if it will increase our chances, because both teams are under the same umbrella - for want of a better word,” Simmons said. “The nice part for us is that 20,000 Englishmen raving for England, and that crowd sup-

port, it’s not there for them.

So that in a way will help us, so it’s good from that point of view.”

Asked about the standing start for both teams, he added: “It’s a plus, because England hasn’t come from a tour recently, and we’ve just been playing cricket at home. Because in a normal situation we would have been coming from camps and England would have been halfway through their season and the series would have been going on right now. So I think that is a plus for us, because it evens out things a little bit, with the fact they haven’t been playing competitive cricket for a while also.”

Having beaten England 21 in the Caribbean 18 months ago, a draw would be enough for West Indies to retain the Wisden Trophy. And while

Monday June 15, 2020 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A group you're affiliated with could meet or have a virtual/group chat today, Aries. You should focus more on listening to what they have to say than on actively participating in discussions.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Your communications could bring up the subject of the world economy and what it's going to mean to individuals today.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today you might receive a phone call from a friend you haven't seen for a while. An intense and emotional conversation could follow, Gemini.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You generally enjoy philosophy, metaphysics, and other forms of higher thought, Cancer, but today you could find yourself almost obsessive about them.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Discussions involving a group you're affiliated with could lead to some deep subjects, such as philosophy, metaphysics, science or all three.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22) Today you might decide to do some repairs or decorating in your home. You'll have a lot of good ideas welling up from deep within you, Virgo, and be astute enough to put them to work in the real world.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Communicating with a current or potential romantic partner could involve a lot of subtlety, finding a way to enjoy each other's company while not divulging too much.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) An increased psychological awareness and heightened intuition could have you tuning in to the thoughts and feelings of family members before they even know what they want, Scorpio.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) The focus today is on families, with special emphasis on children. You might spend time telling stories today. Someone with whom you're in contact could be dealing with some powerful emotional issues and not want company.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Others, particularly family members, might be rather quiet today. It could seem as if everyone is running around like crazy but not sharing what's on their minds.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Communication, particularly with family members and romantic partners, could take place more subtly than verbally today.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you should be feeling especially intuitive, particularly where family members are concerned, Pisces.

they travelled to the UK earlier this week without three players who took park in that 2018-19 victory - batsmen Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer, and allrounder Keemo Paul - Simmons was happy with the players at his disposal.

“I think we have the best squad we can have,” he said.

“Unfortunately a few guys decided not to come but we are here with the best squad that we can have here. And from the way we’ve started our work, the guys have been putting in, I think we’ll be ready and looking to defend our trophy.

“Even with everything around and having to be conscious of the whole situation and the way the world is now, we still have to be mindful that we are preparing for a Test series against one of the top Test nations in the world.

So we still have to put everything in place and do everything correctly.”

The absence of Bravo and

Hetmyer will likely increase the focus on the tourists’ batting line-up, in particular Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope, whose runs were integral to victory at Headingley in 2017 - West Indies’ first Test win in England for 17 years.“There’s a lot of pressure on the batsmen to perform because the bowling unit have been carrying the Test team for a while now,” Simmons said. “It’s something that we have been on a lot, not to put extra pressure on but we need to get that total of 400-450 in order to give this bowling unit - which I think is a top-class bowling unit, the fast bowlers especially. So we need to get that 400-50 on a regular basis in order to give ourselves a chance of winning Test matches.

“We understand the quality of these two individuals [Bravo and Hetmyer] and we know what we’ll be missing.

But in situations like this we have to work hard with the

guys who are here and make sure that what we’re doing is putting them in a position to fill those two shoes for the series. Hopefully whoever fills the shoes can go on and be as great as they want to be.”

England well know the prowess of West Indies’ pace-bowling resources, having been blown away for 77 in Barbados last year, and Simmons suggested his hand could yet be strengthened by the time the first Test begins on July 8. Although Shannon Gabriel is not officially part of the 14-man Test squad, he is among the back-up personnel on tour and could come into contention for selection if he can prove his recovery from a knee injury over the coming weeks.

“Shannon as we know has come back from injury, and being a senior member of the squad in the past, I think we would definitely have a look at him coming into the [squad] if he’s up to that fitness level leading into the first Test.”

Lakers’ Howard: ‘No basketball’ until reform The Los Angeles Lakers have their eye on an NBA championship when the season resumes next month, but center Dwight Howard said the team will have to do it without him.Howard told CNN on Saturday that given the unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last month that now is not the time for games. Floyd, like Howard, was African American, and Howard said the black community must put itself first now.“Basketball, or entertainment period, isn’t needed at this moment, and will only be a distraction,” his lengthy statement began.

It continued: “I would love nothing more than to win my very first NBA Championship. But the unity of My People would be an even bigger Championship, that’s just too beautiful to pass up.

What better time than now for us to be focusing on our families?“This is a rare opportunity that, I believe, we as a

Los Angeles Lakers player Dwight Howard dunks during NBA All Star Saturday Night at United Center. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports) community should be taking full advantage of. When have we ever had this amount of time to sit and be with our families? This is where our Unity starts. At home! With Family!! European Colonization stripped us of our rich history, and we have yet to sit down and figure us out.

The less distractions, the more we can put into action into rediscovering ourselves.

Nations come out of families.

Black/African American is not a Nation or Nationality. It’s

time Our Families became their own Nations. No Basketball till we get things resolved.”

The NBA intends to finish the coronavirus-interrupted season and the playoffs at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla. Training camp is set to be held July 929 before the season restarts July 30.Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving reportedly lobbied fellow players on Friday to sit out the scheduled resumption of play as a protest against racism, multiple media outlets reported.According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Irving told more than 80 NBA players on a conference call, “I don’t support going into Orlando. I’m not with the systematic racism and the (expletive). Something smells a little fishy. ... I’m willing to give up everything I have (for social reform).”The 34-year-old Howard is in his 16th NBA season. He is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and an eight-time All-Star.His Lakers’ teammate, LeBron James, has been a supporter of the return-to-play plan.

(Field Level Media)

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Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Calvillo controls Eye to win Pujara, Jadeja, Mandhana get NADA notices for not disclosing whereabouts by unanimous decision Cynthia Calvillo (right) punches Jessica Eye (left) in their flyweight fight during UFC Fight Night at the UFC APEX. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports)

Cynthia Calvillo shook off a slow start to control Jessica Eye on the ground and secure victory via unanimous decision in a main-even flyweight bout Saturday night at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.Calvillo (9-1-1), who moved up a weight class and was in her first five-round fight, had just a few weeks to train for the fight and came out a bit sluggish. Eye (15-8) — who came in a quarter pound over the non-title flyweight limit of 126 pounds — landed several jabs to control the first round, giving Calvillo a small cut on the nose.

But the Mexican-American from Sacramento by way of San Jose quickly turned the tables, scoring takedowns in each of the final four rounds and racking up more than five minutes of control. Calvillo never appeared close to a submission

until late in the final round, but it didn’t prove necessary, as two judges scored the fight 49-46 and one scored it 48-47.

“I feel great, especially for putting on a performance like that with like, a short amount of train,” Calvillo said afterward. “I understand we’re all going through crazy times, so it feels amazing to be able to do that through this time. .”.. I knew that it was going to take me a little bit to really get it going. I needed that first round to really warm up and get my feet going.”

Eye, the top contender in the division coming in, was the more effective striker early. But Calvillo landed more head shots as the bout continued and snuck in a few effective kicks, including one particularly heavy head-kick.

She finished with groundand-pound blows late in Round 5 to cap the victory.

Earlier Saturday, Italy’s

Marvin Vettori (15-4-1) outclassed Karl Roberson (9-3) in a middleweight bout, finishing him at 4:17 of the first round via rear-naked choke after dominating the striking earlier in the round.Vettori rained down punches from a half-mount near the cage, forcing Roberson to give up his back, and Vettori quickly ended it with the choke.In other main-card fights, Charles Rosa (13-4) survived a split decision over Kevin Aguilar (17-4) in a lightweight bout; Andre Fili (21-7) snuck

by Charles Jourdain (10-3) via split decision in a battle of featherweights; Jordan Espinosa (15-7) scored a unanimous decision over Mark De La Rosa (11-5) in a bantamweight fight; and Mariya Agapova (9-1) submitted fellow flyweight Hannah Clifers via rear-naked choke at 2:42 of the first round.

(Field Level Media)

ESPNcricinfo - Five centrally-contracted Indian cricketers - Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma - have been issued notices by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for failing to disclose their whereabouts as the BCCI cited “password glitch” as the reason for delay.

These five players are part of the 110strong National Registered Testing Pool (NRTP).Speaking to PTI, NADA director general Navin Agarwal confirmed the BCCI had sent an official explanation for their five NRTP players’ failure to submit the whereabouts, because in some cases the boards or federations feed such information to NADA on the players’ behalf.

“There are two ways to fill up the whereabouts form in the ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration & Management Systems) software,” Agarwal said. “Either athlete does it himself or association fills it up on his or her behalf.“Now athletes in some discipline aren’t educated enough or do not have access to the internet and find themselves unable to handle the whereabouts clause of the ADAMS or upload the filled up form. They use the assistance of their concerned federa-

tions. So federations have accepted the responsibility of uploading their whereabouts.

“Similarly in cricket also, although these people are well qualified and they can do it, perhaps they don’t have the time for whatever reasons, so the federation concerned, the BCCI has taken upon itself the responsibility of uploading their whereabouts.”

Agarwal further said the BCCI gave a “reasonable” explanation for not filing the five cricketers’ whereabouts, which NADA will discuss.“Well, they have given an explanation which appears to be reasonable but a decision will be taken,” Agarwal said. “They have said that there has been a glitch with regards to password in ADAMS. Now they have said that issue has been resolved.

“The BCCI’s explanation will be discussed as to whether it will be counted as one of three filing failures or not. It will be decided on the explanation given and how they (BCCI) proceed from here.”

While India has been under lockdown, the rule to submit three months of whereabouts is mandatory. Three such failures to disclose leads to one Anti-Doping Rule Violation, which could lead up to two years of suspension upon hearing.

Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara are among those to have received notices from NADA. (Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/ AFP)

IOC rule against kneeling breaches human rights - Global Athlete

The practice of kneeling during the anthem was started by former NFL star Colin Kaepernick (right) in 2016 to highlight racial inequality. (Getty Images)

BBC Sport - An International Olympic Committee (IOC) rule that bans competitors from kneeling in support of antiracism protests breaches human rights, says an international athlete-led movement.

Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter states political, religious or racial propaganda is not permitted in Olympic sites and athletes could face bans.

IOC guidelines issued in January said this included taking a knee.Global Athlete said this was “a clear breach of human rights”.A statement from the movement, in which British Olympic gold-medal cyclist Callum Skinner and world champion Para-powerlifter Ali Jawad are involved, said: “The IOC and IPC’s [International Paralympic Committee] recent statement that athletes who ‘take a knee’... will face bans is a clear breach of human rights.

“Athletes around the globe were awestruck with this statement and demanded change.”

The pressure on the IOC to change regulations comes amid protests following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man who died in police custody in Minneapolis after a white officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.

The IOC said last week that athletes will decide how best to support the core Olympic values “in a dignified way”.

In the United States, the NFL has said players should be allowed to protest during the anthem and US Soccer has overturned a ban on players kneeling during the anthem.

Monday June 15, 2020

West Indies’ Roach says no friendship with Archer during England tests (Reuters) - England paceman Jofra Archer must not expect any friendship from the West Indies players when the teams face off in a three-match test series next month, West Indies bowler Kemar Roach said yesterday.

Barbados-born Archer represented the West Indies at under-19 level in three matches before choosing last year to play elite cricket for England, where his father was born.

He will face the West Indies for the first time when the teams square off at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton in the first test starting July 8.

“Jofra’s made a decision and I think he’s doing a fantastic job for his career. Obviously there’ll be no friendships at the start of this series,” Roach told reporters via Zoom.

Archer claimed 20 wickets to help England win their maiden 50-overs World Cup last year. He subsequently made his test debut against Australia in the 2019 Ashes series.

“It’s all about winning and playing our cricket. If we come up against Jofra, we’ll

Kemar Roach in the nets in England.

(CWI)

devise a fantastic plan to counter it. I’m looking forward to that battle,” Roach said.

“I saw him as a youngster in domestic cricket back home in Barbados. I always thought he was talented and obviously it has shown over the years.

“He came over here and

has done a fantastic job and I want to wish him all the best in his career.”

The last two matches of the series will be at Old Trafford and all games will be played without supporters present in the stadiums as international cricket returns following a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Messi claims new La Liga record in Barcelona win Goal.com - Lionel Messi set another La Liga record on Saturday as Barcelona made a winning return to the pitch.

The leaders won 4-0 at Real Mallorca in their first match since the campaign was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Arturo Vidal opened the scoring after just two minutes before Messi set up Martin Braithwaite for his first Barca goal and then Jordi Alba to make the points safe.

Messi then added a fourth in second-half injury time to reach 20 La Liga goals for 2019-20.

The Argentina star is the only player to score 20 or more goals in Spain’s top flight in 12 consecutive seasons.Messi’s strong performance against Mallorca also saw his league assist tally this season rise to 14, making him both the top scorer and top assist provider in La Liga this campaign.

Ahead of Barcelona’s return to action, club legend Rivaldo stressed Messi’s workload must be managed carefully, though the 32-yearold did end up playing the full 90 minutes on Saturday.

“Lionel Messi had some physical issues last week, so there’s a lot of discussion about whether he play the

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Kaieteur News

Lionel Messi has become the first player to score 20+ goals in 12 straight La Liga seasons. whole game for Barcelona in their first game back against Mallorca on Saturday,” Rivaldo told Betfair.

“Barca are two points head of Real Madrid at the top of the table so the title race is tight. If Barca can pull away, they could rest Messi in a few games.

“If the battle goes to the wire then he might have fewer chances to rest - perhaps only in games which Barca manage to dominate from the first-half - but it will be important for Quique Setien to manage his squad well, as it won’t just be

Messi that will reach the first game still looking to be 100 per cent fit, after all everyone has stopped and it’s not easy to resume on the best form.

“As we know, Messi is always in contention for the ‘Pichichi’ top scorer award in La Liga and always making the difference in the team, so he wants to be on the pitch all the time and it’s difficult for the manager to rotate him.

He also fights for the Ballon d’Or every season and that’s on his mind regularly, so you can’t go to Messi and simply tell him ‘take a rest’.”

Reifer happy with return to coaching unit BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Former interim West Indies head coach Floyd Reifer says he is thrilled to be back in the Caribbean side’s coaching set-up, and is hoping he can contribute to an historic series win over England next month.

Reifer has replaced batting coach Monty Desai who was unable to travel to the United Kingdom due to lockdown restrictions in his native India.

“It’s always good to be back on the international circuit and working with the best cricketers we have in the Caribbean,” Reifer said prior to his departure earlier this week.

“I’m excited. I’m looking forward to getting back into doing some work.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity coach [Phil] Simmons has given me and he had the confidence in me as well so it’s just for me to go out there and do the job I know I can do.”

West Indies will defend the coveted Wisden Trophy when they face England in a three-Test series starting July 8 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

And the Caribbean side’s batting, which has struggled in recent time, is expected to come under the microscope especially in English seam-friendly conditions.

Reifer said his role in the coaching unit would be critical in getting the best out of the side’s batting group.

“Phil is a very good coach, very experienced and has been doing well with the team over the last few months,” he noted.

“I’m looking forward to working with Phil and adding my value and my knowledge to make sure the team does the best they can in England.

“Obviously my job is to prepare the batters to make sure they’re mentally and skillfully as ready as possible or those Test matches.”

Reifer was appointed interim West Indies head coach last year April, taking over from Englishman Richard Pybus.

However, he presided over a disastrous World Cup in England where the regional side managed just two wins in nine matches to finish ninth of 10 teams – their worst ever result

Interim batting coach Floyd Reifer.

at the global 50-over showpiece.

Having also served as head coach of West Indies A and led the successful Emerging Players side which won the Super50 Cup last November, Reifer said he was already acquainted with many of the players in the large 25-member contingent.

“I worked with the guys at the World Cup, worked with guys in the A-team as well, and one or two of the guys [in the Test contingent] are from the Emerging Players so I’ve worked with most or all of the guys in the team so it’s just to continue and build those relationships,” he stressed.

Reifer said while his long term ambition was to work within the West Indies coaching step up, his immediate focus was the England series.

“Everything in time. I’ve had a taste of it already and I’m positive that I’m going to be there again so I’m taking everything in stride,” said Reifer, who once enjoyed a stint as West Indies captain.

“Right now it’s just this series coming up so I’m going to put my best foot forward and make sure that the guys are prepared well and do my best.”

PAGE 30

Monday June 15, 2020

Kaieteur News

Fudadin relishes experience with Jamaica Scorpions

By Zaheer Mohamed Guyanese batsman Assad Badyr Fudadin said that he relishes the experience of playing for the Jamaica Scorpions and that he is longing for a return to competitive cricket.

Fudadin played four games for the Scorpions in the Cricket West Indies 2020 first class season, which was cancelled on March 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic with two rounds of matches remaining. Barbados Pride were declared champions after they finished at top of the group on 134.8 points.

Fudadin, who is currently in Jamaica, told Kaieteur Sport that he wants to return home and is in contact with the Guyana Consulate of Jamaica to secure a flight which he said is difficult at the moment due to the lockdown caused by the Covid-19.

The Scorpions finished the season in third position on 91.8 points and Fudadin said that he wanted to contribute more with the bat and helped his team finish in a better position. However, in the sporting world, it is a known fact that form is temporary, but class is permanent.

Fudadin admitted that he struggled with his form during the last season, but noted there is always room for improvement. Prior to the Regional four-day tournament, Fudadin had an excellent Super 50 competition where he was among the leading batsmen for his franchise and was confident of doing well in the four-day tournament. “I was batting in a local franchise game in Jamaica and had just reached a half century when I sustained an injury to one of my fingers, however I recovered in time for the four-day competition, so I can’t say the injury contributed to my poor

run of form in that tournament. I do work hard on my fitness and in the nets as well, but I have to work a little harder on my conversion,” added Fudadin.

Nevertheless, the Berbician stated that he enjoyed playing for the Jamaican franchise. “I learnt a lot playing for this team, the players supported each other and shared their experiences. Playing on different surfaces certainly helps a lot and my game has improved in certain areas.

I get to understand more about the Jamaican culture and the people have been good to me in the years I have been coming here,” he informed.

Fudadin indicated that he is hoping that the Covid-19 vanishes soonest so that cricket can resume. “I missed playing the game and everything that goes with it, interacting with players, training together and so on. I am prepared to give my best to enhance whichever team I play for,” he posited.

The left-handed Fudadin tasted success early in his career as he was part of the victorious West Indies U15 team that won the Cost Cutter U15 World Challenge in England. He made a fine half century to lead the Regional side to victory against Pakistan in the final at Lords in 2000. Fudadin represented the West Indies in the U19 World Cup in 2004, where he made three half-centuries to help his side reach the final which they lost to Pakistan.

He soon established himself in the Guyana senior team and was their leading run-getter in the Regional first-class tournament in 2009-10. He then went to play for the West Indies A team and played against England A, India A, Bangladesh A and Sri Lanka

Assad Fudadin

A. After enjoying much success, a lot was expected of Fudadin at the international level, however, while on tour in South Africa, he sustained a fractured finger in the warm ups ahead of the first test in Pretoria. Ironically, the fielding coach of the West Indies team on that tour, Andre Coley, is the current Jamaican coach. His replacement Narsingh Deonarine encountered some issues on his way to South Africa which delayed his arrival there. Fudadin stayed on with the team throughout the test series, while Deonarine played in the one dayers. Even though his injury took some time to heal, Fudadin was never recalled to the senior side, neither was Deonarine who had a decent performance on that tour. Cer-

tainly failure was never a reason for both batsmen being dropped from the team.

Fudadin played in three test matches, two of which the West Indies won, while the other was a drawn encounter.

He scored 122 runs with a highest score of 55 and average 30.5.

Not being able to bat at one position in the order for a tournament can affect any batsman negatively. This is one challenge Fudadin have had to cope with throughout his career. “I was asked to fill in the opening slot, a job I have been doing all the time.

I have been up and down the order throughout my career and this didn’t serve me well.

I am a middle order batsman and whenever there is an injury or failure at the top of the order I have to fill in, I am a team player so I always try to do the job to the best of my ability. An entire season didn’t pass with me batting at one position. This can affect a player in many ways and it is being reflected in my first class career. I struggled to come to grips with it. I am not making an excuse for anything, but this is an additional challenge, however I put the team first,” he pointed out.

“My job at the top of the order was basically to see off the new ball and even though it was not what I preferred, these little things can make a difference in a team winning or losing a game and I look at these things,” Fudadin said.

Conquering quality spin bowling has been a cause for concern for most regional batsmen and when quizzed on this issue, Fudadin feels that batsmen need to use their feet a lot more when playing spin bowling. “Most of the pitches in the Caribbean favour spinners and the batsmen need to use their feet a lot more. Judging lengths and reading the bowlers are some areas of concern as well,” he noted, adding that he has seen some improvement with the pitches in Jamaica.

The Guyana Jaguars won the Regional four-day tournament for five consecutive years and Fudadin contributed to three of those titles.

He was part of the Guyana team that won the Regional Super 50 in 2005 and also played for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League.

Thiem and Krajinovic reach Djokovic event final BELGRADE (Reuters) Dominic Thiem and home crowd favourite Filip Krajinovic reached the final of Novak Djokovic’s tournament as the world number one broke down in tears in front of a packed 4,000 crowd yesterday.

World number three Thiem beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to set up the clash with Krajinovic.

Having brushed aside fellow Serb Viktor Troicki, Krajinovic was left hoping the result of the Djokovic v Alexander Zverev clash would play into his hands.

It did, as Djokovic won by two sets to one and the result meant that all three finished with a 2-1 win-loss record and an identical 5-3 set difference in their section.

Krajinovic, who stunned world number one Djokovic on Saturday after losing to Zverev, squeezed through on the basis of having the best games differential among the three.

At the end of his contest with Zverev, Djokovic shocked the capacity 4,000 crowd with an outpouring of emotions.“I am not crying because I got knocked out of the tournament, I am just overwhelmed by emotion because this reminds me of my childhood,” the 33-year-old told the crowd as he received a standing ovation from his

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev. (REUTERS/Marko Djurica) compatriots.“It’s been an emotional few days and I want to thank everyone who made this possible. The important thing after this match is that we have one of our own in the final. I love you all and thank you so much for turning up.”

The tournament is the first leg of the charity event called

The Adria Tour, with the second leg taking place in Croatia’s coastal resort Zadar next weekend.

The third leg due in Montenegro on June 27-28 was cancelled on Saturday over coronavirus concerns while the final leg is to be staged in Bosnia’s city Banja Luka on July 3 and 4.

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Kaieteur News

Monday June 15, 2020

Dexter ‘de Kid’ Marques to resume career after COVID-19

By Sean Devers lyweight Boxer Dexter ‘de kid’ Marques who turned 35 last Saturday is keen to resume his Professional career after a lengthy break due to the Global COVID-19 Pandemic with halted all sports in Guyana last March.

On his birthday in June 2000 Dexter made his amateur debut at the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) Gym against a Boxer from the Republican Gym

F

Games in Australia and a Columbian in the CAC Games in Colombia later that same year.

When the five times Caribbean Amateur Champion from 2002 to 2006, returned from the 2004 C A R I F TA G a m e s i n Trinidad he was sent by the GOA to Cuba for a training stint in preparation for 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

The talented pugilist spent a week in Guyana on his return from Australia

Dexter Marques

(Prisons) in the Andrew Murray tournament.

Dexter has fought in 65 Amateur fights and lost just twice to a South African in the 2006 Commonwealth

before going to 2006 CAC Games where suffered only his second loss in a six-year amateur Career.

Dexter boast a professional record of 19

bouts with five Knock-outs and only two losses at the hands USA based Elton Dharry and Leon Moore and he last fought in January 2018 when he registered a Unanimous verdict against Ve n e z u e l a n D i o n i s Martinez.

Dexter made his Pro debut on April 7, 2007 and gained a TKO win against Carlton Skeete before winning the vacant Guyana Bantamweight title in his next fight in July 2007 against Orlando ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers.

Dexter made the first defence of his World Boxing Council (WBC) CABOFE flyweight title, a successful one in April 2014 with a unanimous decision win over Jamaican, Rudolph ‘Cutting Edge’ Hedge at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

He gained a Unanimous decision over Rogers in their return fight in October 2007.

On April 25, 2009 in his fifth Pro fight, Dexter lost by TKO against Leon Moore in an unsuccessful defence of his National Bantamweight crown before winning his next four bouts.

Dexter’s winning streak was then broken on May 28, 2011 when he was knocked out by USA based Guyanese Elton Dharry but he rebounded from that defeat by winning his next eight fights including his last one against Venezuelan Dionis Martinez, two years ago.

He was scheduled to headline the ‘Not in my

Dexter made a successful defence of his (WBC) CABOFE flyweight title over Jamaican, Rudolph ‘Cutting Edge’.

house’ card set for Durban Park in September last year when he was set to match gloves with the dangerous Colombian Jose Antonio.

But that Card never materialised.

The last time Dexter stepped into a Ring was in July last year in South Ruimveldt when he appeared in an Exhibition bout on Seon Bristol’s Promotion Female Card called ‘Bikini Boxing.

Dexter who lives in Callender Street, Albouystown, shares the same birth date with fellow Albouystown resident, Olympic hopeful Keevin Allicock, who along with Desmond Amsterdam, Colin Lewis and Dennis Thomas have been stranded for over three months in Cuba due the COVID-19.

Dexter was born in Georgetown on June 13, 1985 and is eldest with four sisters and two brothers.

“I would say life was really tough at the beginning because I lost my parents at a young age but thank God for my grandparents who took me in and took care of me,” said the former Guyana Bantamweight Boxing Champion.

Dexter who attended Saint Mary’s Secondary, lost his mom who died in childbirth when he was six, while his father passed away just before he turned seven.

He was an Athlete in school before he got interested in the fistic sport.

“I developed an interest in Boxing due to my grandfather, Uncles ( A n d r e w a n d Vi n c e n t Howard) and Aunt. They introduced me to boxing and I have loved the sport from s i n c e t h e n . M y Grandmother, Edna Howard, has always been my biggest fan and supporter,” disclosed t h e F o r g o t t e n Yo u t h Foundation pugilist.

“My most memorable

Dexter Marques catchesVenezuelan Dionis Martinez with right in his last bout.

amateur fight was in 2006 Australia when I defeated my Canadian opponent 16-4 in the computer scoring s y s t e m i n t h e Commonwealth Games,” said Dexter who turned pro

Sports Hall in the 1980s.

“We also need more sponsors to come on board so that there will more international bouts in Guyana and more cards in general,” said Dexter.

Dexter Marques with his grandmother and aunt. in late 2006 to give himself a chance of fighting for a World title.

The flyweight (105-112) says his biggest challenge is maintaining his weight, especially with all the Gyms on lock down due to Corona Virus.

Dexter informed that his second Pro fight in 2007 is his most Memorable moment in his Professional Career. “I became the only boxer to get a title shot after just one fight. I will always remember when I beat Orlando Rogers to win the Guyana Bantamweight title which was vacant at that time. For sure, that’s my most memorable Pro bout,” Dexter proudly stated.

He feels not enough promotion is being done to get the fans to come out and pack the venues like they did when Professional Boxing was held at the National

“My advice to my fellow Guyanese brothers and sisters during this time is to take all necessary health precautions, keep praying and stay safe. And I just want to say that we have to strive to live in love and unity and break down this wall of division,” Guyana’s sporting Ambassador pleaded.

Outside of the Ring Dexter works with Hire Cars and Buses at the Stabroek Bus Park.He disclosed that no date has been set for his next trip inside the Ring but he hopes he can get back in action when the dust had settled after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Dexter thanked President of the Guyana Boxing Board, Peter Abdul, Bert Smith, Roy Beepat, Mr Arjune from Medical Arts hospital, his uncles and his Grandmother for all their support.

PAGE 32

Kaieteur News

Monday June 15, 2020

Trump says he won’t watch NFL, U.S. soccer if players kneel during anthem

(

Reuters) - United States President Donald Trump has said he will not watch National Football League (NFL) or U.S. soccer team matches if players do not stand for the national anthem.

The U.S. Soccer Federation last week said it had dropped its requirement that players stand during the anthem, saying the policy was wrong and detracted from the Black Lives Matter movement.

The policy was adopted in 2017 after U.S. women’s national team member Megan Rapinoe took a knee during the anthem before a game, in solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who knelt to call attention to racial injustice.

“I won’t be watching much anymore,” Trump

New Orleans Saints players take the knee before the start of the national anthem at Wembley Stadium, London.

(Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs) tweeted late on Saturday in response to a report of Republican congressman Matt Gaetz criticising U.S. Soccer’s move.

“And it looks like the NFL

is heading in that direction also, but not with me watching,” Trump said.NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this month that the league had made

mistakes in not listening to players and denounced racism in the country amid protests over police brutality against black people.

The issue returned to the

fore last month after the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

Trump has been a vocal

critic of players kneeling during the anthem, previously tweeting that NFL players who did so were “disrespecting our Country & our Flag”.

Leverkusen hold on to fourth spot despite draw at Schalke

Schalke’s Daniel Caligiuri scores their first goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Ina Fassbender/Pool via REUTERS) (Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen came from a goal down to snatch a 1-1 draw at Schalke 04 yesterday as they held on to fourth place in the Bundesliga with three games left and stayed on track for a Champions League spot.

The draw lifted them to 57 points, one ahead of fifth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach while injuryplagued Schalke, missing 10 players, set a club record by failing to win for the 13th consecutive league game.

The Royal Blues, however, looked much sharper than in recent weeks and

worked hard for more than half the game. They earned a penalty following a VAR review in the 51st minute which captain Daniel Caligiuri converted.

Yet they dropped back instantly and allowed Leverkusen far too much space.

The visitors’ persistent pressure paid off in the 81st minute when Schalke defender Juan Miranda, under pressure, turned a Wendell cutback into his own net.

Leverkusen should have scored again through Lucas Alario and Charles Aranguiz as Schalke, in ninth place, ran

out of steam.The hosts could have snatched victory in the last action of the game but Michael Gregoritsch’s pointblank header was saved by Lukas Hradecky.“We did not have our best day today,” said Leverkusen’s Sven Bender.

“The penalty made our life difficult but overall we were not pressing enough. So the result is fair because we did not deserve more.”

Bayern Munich can clinch the title tomorrow with a win at Werder Bremen.

Borussia Dortmund are in second place, seven points behind on 66 points.

PAGE 33

Kaieteur News

Monday June 15, 2020

CWI to host West Indies Professional Players Draft for 2020-2021

S

T. JOHN’S, Antigua– Cricket West Indies (CWI) will host the West Indies professional players draft for the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup and the West Indies Four-Day Championship today June 15, 2020 via a Zoom meeting.

The draft shall be conducted over two rounds and each franchise must pick a player in each round.

Based on CWI’s draft structure, each franchise will contract a minimum of 15 players, 13 preselected and the two from the player pool during the live draft.

The event will be monitored by CWI’s auditors KPMG to ensure that the process is carried out efficiently and smoothly.

CWI’s Cricket Operations Manager, Roland Holder said, “The draft, now in its seventh (7th) year, demonstrates that CWI remains committed to our professional cricket structure and system, even in these times of uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ninety (90) regional players who will be awarded regional franchise contracts, will be able to train and practice

professionally as CWI hopes for a return to regional cricket later this year.”

For the 2020-21 season, each franchise will be allocated a pick number according to their final league position and performance of the franchise in the 2019-20 West Indies Championship.

They will have 90 seconds in

each round to make a pick.

Where a selection is not made within this time period, the franchise will miss their turn and will have to wait until all of the other Franchises have made their selection in that round, before making its selection.

The sequence of where and when each franchise’s picks will

take place is shown in the table below and repeated for each selection round provided that a selection is made within the stipulated time.

The CWI Board of Directors has agreed that the requirement to contract at least two players from outside of the Franchise territory will not apply to the 2020/21

season.

In keeping with a wide range of short-term recommendations from the CWI Financial Strategy Advisory Committee that were approved by the Board of Directors at the end of May, all contracts will be awarded for a 6month term, at a 50% reduced value.

Fudadin relishes experience with Jamaica Scorpions

England’s Jofra Archer appeals for the wicket of New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell.

(REUTERS/Ross Setford/File Photo)

West Indies’ Roach says no friendship with Archer during England tests

Assad Fudadin new

Phil Simmons: West t

r o p S

Indies will be ready and looking to defend our trophy P.25

Alzarri Joseph bowls in the Old Trafford nets. (CWI Media)

West Indies fielding coach Rayon Griffith wears PPE while conducting a drill. (CWI Media)

Dexter ‘de Kid’ Marques to CWI to host West Indies Professional resume career after COVID-19 Players Draft for 2020-2021 Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8452, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.