There is no longer the Medvedev syndrome in Guyana
Jul 11, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
After serving two terms, Vladimir Putin could not run for the presidency in 2008. Though the Russian constitution does not impose term limits, a president can only serve two consecutive terms. He can later down the years be elected again. What happened then is that Putin manoeuvred his ally, Dmitry Medvedev, into the presidency in 2008 waiting to return in 2012.
Thus was born the Medvedev syndrome, meaning Medvedev was simply a surrogate of Putin. Real power was not with Medvedev, the president, but the powerfully placed Putin. Why it is referred to as the Medvedev syndrome is because Medvedev was simply holding on for Putin to come back. Medvedev could not have become his own man between 2008 and 2012, because after 2012 he would have felt the wrath of Putin. Continue reading
New York Times report on Guyana leaves a bad taste in the mouth – By Mohamed Hamaludin
New York Times report on Guyana leaves a bad taste in the mouth
Down the years, some foreign journalists have written about Guyana in the most cavalier fashion, sometimes departing from the truth in startling manner. A few decades ago, there was a report making the rounds of one of them who actually wrote about the country without leaving Timehri – now Cheddi B. Jagan — International Airport, describing it as a place overrun with mud.
Clifford Krauss has lived up to that tradition with his lengthy July 20 New York Times report which I read online. Krauss, the bureau chief in Buenos Aires and Toronto of one of the world’s best newspapers, was writing about the discovery of oil in Guyana and cautioning about the potential blessings and curse of the oil industry. It is obvious in the story, headlined, “The $20 billion question for Guyana after oil find,” that he is knowledgeable of the industry. That is not surprising because he is also, according to a note at the end of the story, “a national energy business correspondent based in Houston.”But when it comes to Guyana, it is a different story. The opening two paragraphs are not only inaccurate but also downright offensive: Continue reading →
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