Dear Editor,

The letter in Stabroek News of Saturday, December 19 is a most absurd one from a contributor named Michael Maxwell and which the editor chose to caption, ‘Guyana should not have brokered a deal with Norway before Copenhagen.’

The wonder is why did the editor publish such a palpably outrageous distortion of facts as put together by Mr Maxwell? The letter is simply replete with what can only be described as piffle, and contradicts all that is wholesome and eminently beneficial to Guyana as represented in the agreement with Norway.

Mr Maxwell states that the agreement prohibits Guyana from participating in the monetary benefits resulting from the Copenhagen provisions; this is blatantly incorrect and exposes a woeful lack of knowledge.

This was specifically underscored by President Jagdeo who said that  whatever came out of Copenhagen would be in addition to the benefits of the Norway agreement. In fact, the Norway agreement was carefully prepared and it specifically took into consideration all established international protocols. That ensured that what Mr Maxwell wrote did not happen. It was sickening to read the misrepresentation of the factual provisions of the Norway benefits.

Yours faithfully,
David DeGroot