The Private Sector Commission (PSC) is profoundly sad at the passing of Guyana Publications Inc Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the Stabroek News David de Caires.

In a press release the PSC said de Caires’s “contribution to the nation should not only be assessed on the basis of the excellence he brought to the journalism profession in our country but more importantly he should be exalted for the sheer act of moral courage he displayed in founding the Stabroek News twenty-two years ago.”

De Caires stands out as a pioneer in reclaiming the concept of free expression as the foundation of a civilised society, the release added. The younger generation may not be able to relate to the context in which the Stabroek News was born but the older generation “would reflect with a shudder a time in our country when dialogue and freedom of expression were viewed as disposable luxuries,” it continued.

De Caires is a real hero because of the pivotal role he played in redeeming the pillar of free expression and the ennobling spirit of private initiative the PSC said. The PSC extended condolences to de Caires’s relatives.