Dear Editor,

I refer to a letter by Mr Kissoon captioned “I hope neither Ramkarran, Ramotar nor Anthony is chosen as the PPP’s presidential candidate” (07.09.05).

Except for two factual issues I do not wish to respond to Mr. Kissoon’s bile and vitriol garnished by speculation with scant regard for fact or truth.

I did not file legal proceedings against Kaieteur News and did not receive any money from the newspaper. I demanded an apology and damages to an agreed charity for an egregious libel by Mr. Kissoon and included a draft letter of apology. The apology was published. I did not pursue damages. The same assertion was made in an article by Mr. Kissoon in the Kaieteur News a few days ago. I would have thought that the editor of Kaieteur News would have required Mr. Kissoon to omit this falsehood from his article or attach the appropriate editorial note or even enquire of its accuracy from me.

The Catholic Standard, with which Mr. Kissoon was associated at the time of the seminar on Constitutional Reform at the Hotel Tower twelve to fourteen years ago, published what I had allegedly said which at the time I recognized as being untrue. I cannot recall if it is the same thing that Mr. Kissoon alleged that I said.

In any event, the Catholic Standard retracted its report and proffered an apology after I produced my own and the radio transcript of my presentation. Mr. Kissoon, then writing for the Catholic Standard, knew or ought to have known of the Standard’s retraction especially since he either wrote the false report or reported what I had allegedly said.

Yours faithfully,

Ralph Ramkarran