President David Granger when asked about the apparent decision to withhold state advertisements from the privately owned Stabroek News is reported to have said, during a November 01, Kaieteur Radio interview, that Government advertisements should be allocated on this basis of fair reporting. While the President went on to justify his point-of-view as he spoke to the Stabroek News’ lack of coverage of the Queens College 175th Anniversary, an event where he was the main speaker.
It appears that fairness has taken on warped context, if what the President said is to be gone by, “fairness”, it appears, must be full and unequivocal coverage of the President and possibly his men and women. Fairness, it seems, must ignore the pressing circumstances of our times. Fairness, apparently, in the President’s mind, must ignore the undemocratic culture and attitude of the Granger Administration. Undoubtedly, fairness is a convenient term.
Over the weekend, the FITUG has seen disclosures from both the Stabroek News and the Guyana Times that state advertisements to these entities have slowed considerably. We noticed both newspapers disclosed that in the month of October they hadn’t received any state ads following a declining trend in the past months. This is a worrying development and the Government, it appears, has appointed itself Judge, Jury and Executioner as it regards fair reporting.
The newspapers in question, as is well known, have taken a strong view on the Administration’s actions especially since it was defeated through a No Confidence Motion now nearly a year ago. It appears that the Administration can not withstand the criticism and is seeking to employ various mechanisms to muzzle dissenting opinions and views. Of course, as is now historically documented, one of the major parties in the Coalition has in the past practiced policies and embraced actions which sought to restrict, silence and still voices of disagreement.
The apparent attack on the private media cannot, in our view, be disconnected from other worrying actions in recent times. We have seen concerted actions to disobey and disrespect clear Constitutional provisions. We have seen the departure from long-standing practices and norms which are critical to our fledgling democracy. We have also seen bouts of discrimination especially seen in the treatment of the nation’s sugar workers.
Indeed, the President’s remarks are yet another means of confirming that the Administration has gone off the time-tested path of democracy, fairness and social justice. It well appears that we could be on a more ominous course, one which is not in the interest of our people and country. It is now time for our democratic and peace loving people to again engage in struggles to retrieve our nation and its people from the precipice. Such struggles are in the interest of all Guyanese now and in the future.
