Recently, the Guyana Times was the recipient of a number of threats from purported Government officers, demanding an end to publishing articles which are deemed critical of the administration. These threats are not new to the Guyana Times, but cannot be taken lightly. Not only has press freedom been assaulted, but lives and property are placed in danger.
Guyana Times, as it did in the past, reiterates that it will not be suppressed, nor will it succumb to these threats. More importantly, it will continue to deliver on its mandate to create informed citizens, which is the sine qua non of a functioning democracy.
The media has a crucial responsibility to act as a watchdog to protect public interests against depredations from all directions, and to create public awareness of these. As the fourth estate, exchangeable with the fourth pillar of democracy, the media’s role is to speak out against injustice, oppression, transgression and prejudice in society. This is not to deny or confirm a perpetuation of malpractice by the Administration; however, one interpretation that can be made of the threats is the belief in the exposure of same.
There is no ambiguity over reporting on issues which have a profound impact on people’s lives. It cannot be sterilized of criticisms of those entrusted to govern if those are deemed to be acting against the populace’s interest, either through poor execution of programmes and policies, or through lack of capacity to deliver.
While it may be acceptable that Government’s programmes and policies will not always meet the expectations of all, it does not mean the lapse is sacrosanct and therefore immune to criticisms. The reasons are legion: skewed political preference of geography; unsuitable personnel in the implementation of these programmes; financial improprieties; racial and other discrimination, any of which retards the country’s development.
In these and other related circumstances, the populace has a right to be so informed. This right is entrusted to the media, which must be able to perform its task without interference, and be free from threats from Government officers. The Government, which boasts of being “a bastion of freedom of expression and transparency”, even given the benefit of the doubt of being unaware of the threats, must feel repulsed now that the threats have been revealed.
Unfortunately, optimism that an intervention is imminent has waned following Government’s lack of action in bringing to justice one of its own, who threatened to torch the Guyana Times facility, while others have been placed before the courts for using threatening language against officials on social media.
One can rightfully question whether it’s a coincidence that these latest threats surfaced shortly after the Head of State, during an address to his party’s general council meeting, stated that his Government is facing challenges from “sections of the media”. While not identifying any particular media house, in a small society like ours, it is difficult to conceal those deemed “offensive”.
While Guyana Times has been objective and reports on, and with, facts, there is no ambiguity in how it is viewed by Government.
The General Council is the second highest decision-making body of the People’s National Congress (PNC), of which the President is the Leader. Given the emphasis of the comments at that forum, the question of the origin of the threat seems unavoidable. Of course there are those who can act independently, having been influenced by the utterances of leading politicians.
Regardless of whether they were by design or are acts of randomness, the threats are a brazen and serious assault on media freedom, and must be condemned by all. They undermine claims of coincidence in the context of the sedition clause in what currently constitutes the Cybercrime Bill. Many in civil society have condemned the clause, and have called for it removal. The Government remains defiant in its defence of the clause.
That and concerns raised over the Head of State’s comments in question present a very worrying situation. It simply means that freedom of expression by individuals and media entities in their quest to inform the nation seems officially under threat. This evokes painful and frightening memories of a time when freedom of expression was suppressed, when the same party the President now leads was in Government. The overall context seems definitive and unforgiving.
Freedoms that Guyanese have come to enjoy over time did not come easy; some unfortunately paid with their lives in the struggles for their attainment. These freedoms must be safeguarded, more especially as the world is fast becoming more democratized and liberalized, and as the country glows brighter under the international spotlight of oil.
The media across the globe, and as profound as in the United States of America, not only lead the efforts to protect hard-fought freedoms, but hold officials accountable. If by that mandate it is seen as a threat and is being threatened, then the ominous signs of an attack on democracy are becoming clearer, if they were not before.
