– accuses the publication of a relentless campaign against him
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on Tuesday disputed a front page article of Guyana Times captioned “US media censorship
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo
observation – PM claims that US wants to damage image of coalition Govt”.
The article was based on a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, after Guyana Times sought a response from the Prime Minister on the United States Department of State’s 2015 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, which cited attempts at State media censorship by the coalition Government.
The report which was recently released said while the Government “generally respects the laws which provide for freedom of speech and press, there have been attempts by the Administration to suppress freedom of the press.
Under the heading Censorship or Content Restrictions, the report pointed to an attempt by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo to restrict and control the content of the State-owned Guyana Chronicle.
“In August (2015), the Prime Minister issued a directive that all headlines in the State-owned print media be first scrutinised and approved by his office before they are published. The directive was a response to a headline criticising the Government. The Prime Minister also serves as Minister of Information,” the report noted. However, Prime Minister Nagamootoo in a statement on Tuesday described the Guyana Times article as “calculatedly, wicked, false and mischievous”, adding that it is “the latest in an almost relentless, daily personal attack” on him since the coalition Government took office in May 2015.
In rebutting the Prime Minister’s claims, the management of Guyana Times said that the newspaper operated within the realm of a free and independent press. Further, the newspaper does not attack politicians but reports the facts responsibly and accurately – operating fairly, with balance and without fear.
The PM’s statement claimed that while the publication’s article sought to create a nexus between a statement issued by the Department of Public Information (DPI) on media censorship and the US report, that was not the case.
“The DPI’s release was not in response to any ‘report’ emanating from the United States,” the Prime Minister claimed; however, the statement did not at any point, highlighted that its purpose was in response to any political commentator.
However, in its Tuesday statement, the Prime Minister clarified that the statement was related to the April 9, 2016 ‘Hinds’ Sight column’ in the State-owned Guyana Chronicle written by Dr David Hinds and an April 17tedition of the Freddie Kissoon, both of which accused the Government of censorship of the State media.
Nagamootoo said this publication has embarked on an “ad hominem, often times vulgar, demeaning, derogatory and racist campaign” against him as a person and in his capacity as Prime Minister.
He also accused the publication of “trying desperately to undo the malicious attacks levelled by the Jagdeo clique against the Government of the United States and other major Western democracies. The clique has invariably accused the US of helping to oust the [People’s Progressive Party] PPP after 23 years of unbroken power.”
It also claimed that the “clique” accused the Western powers with “meddling” and had instigated and launched an unprecedented vulgar attack against a former US Ambassador during his tenure in Guyana.
