| By Ralph Seeram The newspaper that professes to be the “beacon of truth” carried a headline that screamed about press freedom being under attack. Truth be told, it’s really a beacon of untruths. It’s amazing to me that those who cry foul about press freedom, are the ones that stretch their freedom to the extent that it borders on libel if not downright libelous in some instances, and this comes mainly from government supported media outlets.This week three journalists from the government-supported TVG/Guyana Times, resigned because they refused to read derogatory news about the publisher of this newspaper, Glenn Lall.This beacon of untruths has been carrying out a relentless attack on Glenn Lall, because he exposed the corrupt nature of how the owner of that of the print, radio and TV outlets acquired his assets.The three young ladies resigned because they refused to be embroiled in the campaign against the owner of this newspaper, refused to read derogatory propaganda that the company wanted to pass as news.And quite rightly! They feel that reading the nonsense about Glenn Lall would put them at odds with the public that knows differently. The fear is they can be approached in public and be subjected to verbal insults by members of the public who feel the attacks are plain wrong. I know the feeling; I have been there.Lo and behold the beacon of untruths tried to spin the resignations as resulting from fear of retaliation from the owner of this paper, and went on to scream that press freedom was under attack.Now if you are going to spin a story, the spin must be credible, it must be convincing. Unfortunately for the beacon of untruths, the three young ladies came forward and debunked the spin. They said clearly they did not resign out of any fear of Glenn Lall; end of story.Now I must say that these are three very brave young ladies, and I must commend Leana Bradshaw, Sabitini Daniels and Whitney Persaud for their principled position. They showed more “guts” than those that work in that government-supported media outlet.Remember they are sacrificing their jobs, career and not to mention economic hardship and loss of income because of their principled decision.Already their characters are under attack. I read one blog which I will not name. It went into a sordid tale of “who slept with whom” as the reason for their resignation.Those who cry about lack of a free press in Guyana today should have been journalists under the PNC regime in the 70’s. The PNC which calls itself APNU these days to get away from their dictatorial past controlled the press absolutely. Not only did they control the only two radio stations,China NFL Jerseys, one of which I worked for then,cheap nfl jerseys outlet, but also controlled newsprint, as well as printing supplies such as ink etc.Today the opposition, including the very PNC, can get their views widely covered in the media (well except by the government supported press). Back in the 70’s the PPP then in opposition could hardly get any of their views to the public.I recall the morning after the 1973 elections after the fatal shooting of PPP supporters on the Corentyne, the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, complaining to me that we (the government press) were not carrying the news that his supporters were being murdered on the Corentyne trying to protect the ballot boxes from being seized by the army.The spin from government was that these were rioters trying to disrupt the elections, APNU/PNC leader David Granger tried to peddle that lie some time ago,Jerseys NFL Cheap, and I had cause to set the record straight in an article shortly after his statement. You see I was on the ground on the Corentyne that day covering the elections. What I saw and what was reported in the media were completely different. One senior police officer in Berbice at the time, after giving the government official version of the events, turned to me and said “Ralph what you know, you know”.Fast forward to today, the government has been under pressure by this very newspaper about corrupt transactions, contracts etc. that have occurred in government. And, rightly so,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, because it involves taxpayers’ money. The press has every right to ask and expose corrupt practices. These actions by Kaieteur News “ring a bell” with the public,Cheap Stitched MLB Jerseys, that’s why it is the best selling newspaper in Guyana. People want the truth, that’s why they buy this newspaper; that’s why the people refuse to read the “beacon of untruths” even when it’s given free to them.What escapes those at the “beacon of untruths” which dem boys call de Hard times paper, is that Glenn Lall is not in Government,Wholesale Jerseys, he is not spending billions of taxpayers’ dollars, he is not accountable to taxpayers, so people are not interested in the nonsense being peddled about Glen, which is some instances stretches way past the limits of freedom of the press and into libelous territory.On the flip side the Guyanese public is interested in knowing how their hard earned dollars are spent and those in government,cheap nfl jerseys online, whether they like it or not, are ACCOUNTABLE to the people.This paper is doing what it is supposed to do for the public by exposing corruption; this paper has credibility with the public as reflected in its sales. Can de Hard Times paper claim the same?Yes freedom of the press may be relative but it is alive and thriving in Guyana. Make no mistake about it.Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected] |
