A defiant Dr Hafizool Ali Mohammed, one of the commissioners appointed to sit on the commission of enquiry into the 1990 coup attempt, has admitted his curriculum vitae (CV) is inaccurate but he is not stepping down.In fact, he is returning to the enquiry today to resume duties as a commissioner.
He made the announcement yesterday, as he described the discrepancies on his CV as "errors" at a press conference at the Port-of-Spain office of his attorney, Martin George.George said Mohammed, who called the press conference to clear the air on questions surrounding his qualifications, met with President George Maxwell Richards and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan on Monday, at which time he presented his certificates to both men. He said no objections were raised.
But the explanations given by Mohammed for the discrepancies on his CV were puzzling. Among the explanations given was that for the acronym "MS."On Mohammed's CV, he claimed he received an MS, military science, from the US Army Command & General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth. Many perceived this to mean he had a master of science degree in military studies, as the acronym is generally used to described such a degree.
Hafizool breaks his silence
In response to a query by T&T Guardian seeking confirmation of Mohammed's qualification, US Army Command and General Staff College transcript clerk, Lynn Poss, on Monday said he did not pursue any degree at the college. Poss said Mohammed in fact pursued a command and general staff officer diploma course and not a full degree.
But Mohammed yesterday said the acronym did not mean a "master of science" but rather "military science." Acronyms for an MSc are: M.Sc, MSc, MSci, MSi, MS, ScM, MSHS, MS, Mag, Mg, Mgr, SM or SM."What the MS meant was military science. It is not a MSc that some believe it is. The college offers several courses. The course is called military science and leadership," Mohammed told the media.
"These courses are around the MSc degree level. The MS written on my CV was meant to be military science and not a MSc degree."I have about 40 resumes floating because I am linked to many organisations. I have had many people worked on my CVs. I can assure you that perhaps none of my CVs are 100 per cent accurate, they are at best 85 to 95 per cent. A challenge is explaining what the military terminology means."
Asked to explain what he meant by his CV not being accurate, Mohammed said, "You have CVs sometimes in which you are asked to translate military terminology into English and sometimes you just make a mistake. Some of these mistakes are not necessarily major, but there is an issue of translation. When you have in particular a military CV, in the military world it is well understood.
"However, if the CV is seen by someone not in military they may perceive something that is different," he said."We try very hard to translate it into civilian language and sometimes we still do not get it right and that is the gist of it. The CVs are not meant to cheat or portray a false story, but sometimes they are not gotten right because they are not well translated and mistakes are made."
Mohammed also claimed he contacted all the references listed on his CV."People can say what they want, but I asked all persons before I placed them on my CV," he said.Asked how he contacted T&T's first president Sir Ellis Clarke, who is now deceased, Mohammed replied, "That was before he died."
Two people listed as references on Mohammed's CV–Transport Minister Chandresh Sharma and former Chief of Defence Staff Brig Roland Maundy–told the T&T Guardian they were not aware they were listed as references on Mohammed's CV.
Reminded that the CV indicated that Clarke was deceased, Mohammed said, "I informed all persons."
As for the non-existent Turkey president, Ahmet Haluk Ozbuddun, who was also listed as a reference, Mohammed said he was a "personal friend" of his."He was not only a personal friend but I also worked with him for many years, beginning in 1974 in Turkey up until he returned to the United States," he said.
"The only mistake I made with Ozbuddun is my recollection of 1974. I thought he said he acted as the Turkey president. I really thought he said that. It was an error on my part where his title was concerned. It was mistake, I am sure it is not the only one. It is a long time and I may have some of the titles mistaken," Mohammed said.
PHOTO EVIDENCE
Mohammed's academic qualifications came under question after it was discovered he obtained his doctor of science degree from Atlantic International University (AIU)–a university described by various Web sites as a diploma mill.
Showing various photographs taken with distinguished people, including Clarke, yesterday, Mohammed said, "Not much has been said by me. It has been quite painful. I got licks each day, it was simply because I did not have the original documents."
Pointing to certificates stuck on the walls behind him, among them a certificate stating he received a master's degree from the American Military University, Mohammed said he looked forward to returning to his duties as a commissioner.