- over ‘disparaging and disrespectful’ remarks in letter he sent to media
Capitol News’ reporter Gordon Moseley has been banned from the Office of the President (OP) and State House following what has been described as the “disparaging and disrespectful” remarks he made in a letter he sent to the newspapers last week.
A security guard informed the senior reporter about the ban when he visited the Office of the President for an assignment yesterday and later, he received a letter to this effect from Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA) Head Neaz Subhan.
Moseley was told that should he apologise, then the ban would be lifted.
In his letter to Moseley yesterday afternoon Subhan said the administration of GINA, “has determined that it will withdraw your accreditation to the Office of the President and State House,” and that the decision take immediate effect. The letter further stated that other employees of Capitol News would not be similarly prohibited. “GINA is however inclined to review the decision providing that you issue an apology in relation to the disparaging and disrespectful remarks couched in your letter to the press,” Subhan said in his letter.
But Moseley, who is also a producer at the newscast, last evening refused to apologise and questioned what accreditation for OP and State House was withdrawing since he has never been issued any such accreditation. He said as far as he knew no such accreditation has been granted to any media worker and as such he was “at a lost as to what accreditation they are talking about.
“I will not apologise to Kwame Mc Koy [Press and Publicity Officer at OP] and Dr Prem Misir [Head of the Press and Publicity Unit, Office of the President].”
The journalist said he was not going to allow anyone to “waste his time” pointing out that he has been covering President Bharrat Jagdeo for almost a decade both locally and internationally. “It is clear that GINA is trying to run the newsroom at Capitol News and deciding who should cover what and that is a decision that rests with Capitol News.”
He said he would not apologise for remarks he made in the letter, published in this newspaper and later Kaieteur News, in which he responded to remarks made by President Jagdeo at a press conference in Antigua. The President had criticised Moseley for a report he aired on a meeting with Guyanese in that country. The President said the report was biased and Moseley’s letter responded to the remarks and included a transcript of the report in question.
“I make no apologies,” Moseley said. “The president made statements to the regional press and I thought it best that I respond to those statements since they were directed at me personally and at the newscast at which I work.“
Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of the newscast, Enrico Woolford said, “The administration of Capitol News feels that this ban should be lifted forthwith and that the press be allowed to function within its constitutional mandate.”
In a statement issued last night, he revealed that his newscast, with assistance from public and private sector companies, “and the excellent output from a dedicated, loyal and committed staff shall continue to present the news from wherever it matters to the Guyanese and Caribbean public.”
He said it was “wholly unfortunate” that the OP feels that it should, in the “spirit of the past regimes over the last fifty years in this country dictate to the press who it likes or dislikes covering an assignment.
“It is unfortunate too that the current administration seeks to distract attention from more salient matters of national interest and lurch from one contretemps with the media to another. It is important, Capitol News feels, that the Office of the President should engage in trying to run the country rather than trying to run the media.”
Meanwhile, the Guyana Press Association (GPA) has slammed the move to ban Moseley and has since dispatched a letter to President Jagdeo asking him to correct “what appears to be an administrative error.”
The GPA in its statement said it “is deeply disturbed by the decision” to prevent Moseley from entering the two premises.
It said Moseley was informed of the decision yesterday when he arrived to cover the presentation of credentials that was postponed for later in the afternoon.
“The guard advised that the decision was taken by the administration of the Office of the President but refused to say who specifically made the decision so that redress could have been possibly sought then,” the statement said.
The association said it would be exploring “all the possible options to have this matter resolved. Aside from claims and counter-claims of biased reporting, we do not believe that any media worker and/or media house should be punished for freely reacting to statements made against them.”
The statement said if Moseley was debarred from covering assignments at the two locations because of a perceived ‘unbalanced’ story he reported on when President Jagdeo met with Guyanese living in Antigua recently, “then the decision is both flawed and without merit.
“And if as we have been informed, the decision was made in reaction to Moseley’s rebuttals of claims that he carried a biased report, the GPA deems this most oppressive and vindictive.”
The association has offered to mediate to find a speedy resolution to “what could potentially become a grave media infringement on the part of the administration.”
Head of the GPA Denis Chabrol, who signed the statement, said that during an informal “conversation outside Oasis Cafe, Carmichael Street, [the President] appeared not to have known of such a decision when Mr Moseley, Mr Enrico Woolford and I raised it with you.”
Chabrol said he later raised the matter with the President yesterday afternoon via telephone during which “you indicated to me that you did not know of the ban and that you would check it out. Prior to our telephone conversation, I also spoke with your Secretary Ms Nancy Ferreira, who also said she was unaware of a decision against Mr Moseley.”
PPP/C Member of Parlia-ment Moses Nagamootoo in an invited comment to the GPA said, “This [the decision] is unnecessary and unprecedented, this kind of sanction cannot be the answer to issues of fairness and balance, this marks a new low in the relationship between the state and the media.”
PPP/C Member of Parlia-ment Moses Nagamootoo in an invited comment to the GPA said, “This [the decision] is unnecessary and unprecedented, this kind of sanction cannot be the answer to issues of fairness and balance, this marks a new low in the relationship between the state and the media.”
1 One of the most important developments buried at the very end of this article – Nagamootoo’s reaction to the issue. Is there adult supervision at the Stabroek News today?
2 The president is displaying a remarkably thin skin. Should be good for a few more bannings before he chucks all this up.
3 Only thing remabkable about the Mosely story (judging from his script) was how absolutely ordinary the report was. Deficient even, in some respects, but this is not the place for such a critique. The point is that the president and his men appear to be afraid of their own shadows these days. Not a good sign.
HA HA, Stabroeknews don’t know the difference:
“this kind of sanction cannot be the answer to issues of fairness and balance”
ha haa ha.
Mauby.
G ood
I nformation
N ot, ever
A ccepted. Apologize for what? GPA should cease covering their assignments for a while as a protest. The majority of people look to Capitol News for good, comprehensive coverage of unbiased and newsworthy stories anyway. Keep up the good work. Kudos to the team. Hang in there ‘rico.
This is another attack on press freedom in Guyana. Even the strongest PPP supporter can’t find a way to defend this one if they proclaim that Guyana is a democracy. In Guyana if you speak out against the Goverment of Guyana you are liable to be banned, charged with sedition or some other trumped up charge or victimised in some other way. This attack on the press is in effect an attack on the people of Guyana.
In a way it is a good thing simply because the more of these things Mr. Jagdeo does, the more he exposes himself. In his arrogance he can’t see this yet but soon enough he will. The apathy that has prevaded Guyanese society when it comes to the wrongs they are forced to face at the hands of Government will one day come to an end. So let Mr. Jagdeo feel free to throw the last straw to break the camel’s back.
Most people usually refer to these dastardly actions by the PPP cabal as shades of Burnham dictatorship. I think they are doing Burnham a dis-service because he had more class.
This was long in coming and will get worse over the next 2 and a half years or so with all the Kwame and Prems making their own laws and rules wild west. They are very good students and learnt well from their teacher, Jagdeo.
So much for Mrs. jagan’s article about press freedom and journalism in Guyana. What her government is doing now, in these enlightened and democratic times is absolutely outrageous.
This is the big difference between 1st world and 3rd world countries, it’s not economics, it’s the mentality of those who run these so called 3rd world countries. A man holding the highest office in the nation doesn’t expect to be criticized. Our president is getting himself involved in every little thing instead of making big things happen.
When Sharma coming back on the air?
This is the behaviour of a dictatorship not a parliamentary democracy, but somewhere in the recesses of Jagdeo’s mind he knows this himself. Only the PPP/C sycophants can’t see this for themselves.
here we go again!! another perverse decision by our leader
President Jagdeo doesn’t like the media to expose the wrong doings of his administration and to highlight the grave situations in Guyana.He often tells the diaspora that all is well and good in Guyana.Thanks Capitol News continue the good work,remember you all have to be the watchdog for the Guyanese people.
LOOK OUT!!!! Could this media source be next to have its licence “suspended”?
In this information age it would serve public figures well if they were to think before they utter statements in the presence of any media personnel and equipment. They should be clear in what they say so as not to leave too much to the imaginations (Stop the triple speak). Copy the present Min. of Home Affairs (I am not in a position to comment on that issue) and no out of contexts and such will happen. Mr. Nagamootoo – Can you rectify this situation?
These acts of media attacks and oppression are the very things the PPP complained about in the previous administration. In fact I can’t pinpoint anything they complained about that they are not now doing.
Thin skinned people shouldn’t be public figures. Public figures are always under the media microscope. This leaves the President the choices of
(1) Banning/suspending all media that doesn’t paint him in the fashion he expects. This will prove his dictatorial intent.
(2) Post his resume on the job market. Get another job and move on.
(3) Accept that he is doing a very lousy job and either get his act together or
(4) Ride off into the sunset! Politicks/politricks just isn’t for him!!
Two words “Animal Farm”- they do exactly what they complained abt- they’re walking on 2 legs and saying it’s fine if they do it bcse they’re doing it- changing the rules gradually subtly… until they’ve morphed into the very thing they preached against… its called hypocrisy… free speech is a fundamental tenet of democracy… soon we’ll be told when to eat, sleep, how many children we can have…. … LOL this gov’t is a hoot…
…… so under the banner of democracy,, and by extension media freedom ,, give any of the so called ” JOURNALIST ” (please) ! ,,, the right to say/print anything
i think in the business of journalism ,, those who adhere to the ethics of the game
need to be mindful of WHAT they say/print,, to whom it is said ,, when it is said ,, and more HOW it is said ,,, the mere fact that all who now cry abuse of press freedom ,, and democractic “rights ” did not think of these when burnham ,, was trampling on every human right there is,, on a whole nation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i leave comments here and because of censorship many are deleted even when
diplomacy and tact is exercised in my text and syntax,, as i’m sure this piece will !!!!!!!!!!!………………..
bgsbny,People Did cry abuse of press freedom and a lot of other things under Burnham,but what I cannot understand,is that you seem to think that it is Ok for this president to do anything that Burnham did,without criticsism,I think it is time people with that kind of mentality grow up.
You clearly have not seen Gordon Moseley’s report or read the transcript or even read the letter. If you have please point to one thing you think that the journalist did not have the right to say.
On the issue of Burnham…Burnham is dead…dead, buried and gone…It is the leaders of today who continue to take away out freedoms that we have to deal with.
The president is too thin skin. He should know by now once ur in public office u should expect criticism.
Just a note: last week stabroek news published an editorial from a Jamacian news paper in which the writer criticised the president for not signing on the EU agreement. Well the same paper carried an article in which former Jamaica PM Siega and another person talk about why Caricom should not sign the agreement, Why did Stabroeknews did not published this article???
I say the president needs you more than you need him. Don’t apologise and don’t send anyone to cover his press conferences at the two mentioned places.
The more things change, the more they remain the same!
It was Mark Benschop…now it is Oliver Hinckson
It was Stabroek News …now it is C.Sharma
It is now Gordon Moseley … tomorrow – who’s next
There is a pattern here. Is this government the new “Ban am”?
Perhaps too much time is spent on triviality whilst the bigger issues are left wanting. People everywhere will tell you that there are those will have positive things to say,and there are those who will have negative things to say.
To the PPP – It is time to STOP the tit for tat and deal with what is more important to masses. We are fed up with the cuss-out attitude and the vindictiveness.
Remember—-listeners hear no good of themselves!!!!!!
Jagdeo and the PPP are nervous about the Roger Khan trial and are lashing out at anything and anyone…….guess he will ban Moseley from the court house in NY.