Stabroek News is never satisfied Wednesday, October 20th 2004

Dear Editor, It seems there is just no way to please Stabroek News. The Government says it is in the process of opening a Mission in New Delhi, Stabroek News questions why this is being done and why not a mission in China. No one disputes that China has provided valuable assistance to Guyana, but so too has India. My guess is that the government had to make a very tough decision in deciding which of the two countries should be prioritised. Stabroek News acknowledged that running a Mission takes money and the government must ensure that it has the money to keep the doors of the Mission open. If the government opens Missions in both New Delhi and China, then later has to close one or both doors, Stabroek News would be the first to say it was foolish in the first place to open both Missions at once. It is damned if you do with Stabroek News and damned if you don't. Remember it is the party that Stabroek News so blatantly supports that closed the Mission in India and has us in the position we are in today where the economy can hardly afford to support overseas Missions. Yours faithfully, Satesh Deodat Editor's note: Stabroek News supports no political party. The fact that it frequently criticises the government is an exercise of its function as an independent newspaper to give its opinion on issues of the day. It also criticises the opposition and other persons or agencies when it sees fit. The thrust of the editorial was that our diplomatic service has been under-funded and that the new embassy should not be opened at the expense of others. We had written: "One only hopes that the intention is not to siphon off funds from existing under-funded embassies, etc, in order to pay for New Delhi. We are at a critical juncture in several respects, and we must ensure that sufficient resources, both human and financial, are provided to the missions of Brussels (which has a new ambassador designate), Washing-ton, Brasilia, Caracas and Paramaribo, and that our others are not completely starved." It is indeed a question of priorities.