Embattled Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall has broken his silence on the recorded conversation between him and a reporter attached to the Kaieteur News.
In an interview with the Government Information Agency, the Attorney General is quoted as saying that he is more concerned about how the recording was obtained. According to GINA, the AG believes that “the entire episode is being blown and twisted out of proportion with the focus being completely misplaced”.
He now claims that the conversation was a private one between him and a friend on a personal matter.
“The truth of the matter is that I was having a private conversation with a person whom I have known for a number of years, in fact we went to Queen’s College together. I was speaking about a personal matter. I did not know that the conversation was being recorded,” the Minister said. He added that the recording is obviously illegal and was never intended for the public’s ear.
Pointing out that the conversation was manipulated and twisted to sound like a completely different dialogue, he noted that the focus should be on “how that conversation was recorded and how it became public.”
President Donald Ramotar has also indicated that he is concerned about how the recording was obtained rather than its contents. He said he believes that the Attorney General is being taken out of context.
During the recorded conversation, Nandlall is heard enquiring about the Kaieteur News’ reporting on him and his family. He warned the reporter to leave the employ of Kaieteur News soon.
“Everybody just have a newspapers to use as a weapon. I told Adam people got weapons. They don’t have newspapers to use as a weapon, they have weapons and when you continue to attack people like that and they have no way of responding, they will just walk with their weapons into that same f%$king Saffon Street office and what comes to do and innocent and Peter will have to pay for f%$king Paul in there and I tell you honestly, I telling you man to man, that will happen soon and the quicker you get out of there, the better”, the Attorney General is heard as saying on the recording.
On Wednesday he also told reporters that he did not threaten anyone during the conversation and that he serves at the pleasure of the President and people of Guyana.
The Opposition parties intend to step up their calls for Nandlall to demit office. APNU Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams on Wednesday declared that the Attorney General must leave office and the contents of the recorded conversation cannot be dismissed. Williams said it is clear that the government may be aware and may be involved in a criminal enterprise that targets persons who oppose its way of doing business.
Filed: 30th October 2014
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