Dear Editor,
It was with dismay but not surprise that I read the letter to the editor captioned `Funds for legal aid in Linden were provided under the GOG/UNICEF country programme’ (SN 29/3/2012) penned by the Honourable Minister Priya Manickchand.
Given Mrs Joan Ward-Mars’ comprehensive correction of the “facts “ provided by the Honourable Minister on the funding of the Linden Legal Aid Centre I will confine myself to the personal attacks levelled against the character of Ms Emily Dodson.
Editor isn’t it ironic that as the curtains descend on International Women’s Month 2012 a female Minister of the Government gleefully uses the print media to, without any justification whatsoever, verbally abuse and seek to bring into disrepute the integrity of the character of a sister whose offence was, it seems, to dare to utter uncomplimentary, though accurate, remarks about the Government.
The Honourable Minister would do well to understand that “Jagdeoism” (the public attack by Ministers in a very personal way on citizens who dare to expose the shortcomings of the Government) went out of currency on the 28th November 2011.
I call on the Honourable Minister to unequivocally withdraw her reprehensible statement that “Ms. Dodson’s statements raise two issues which reflect either deliberate wickedness or hopeless ignorance.“
Yours faithfully,
Deborah Backer
