The PNCR has added its voice in condemning President Bharrat Jagdeo for what it called persistent attacks on the media.

PNCR MP Basil Williams warned that intimidating attacks are normally the precursor to punitive measures, as he announced the party’s support of the condemnation by the Guyana Press Association and other Guyanese of the attack on Kaieteur News by President Jagdeo at a recent Private Sector Commission dinner. “It is time for the President to understand that the press has a right to criticise the government as it sees fit, once this is done objectively and within the confines of the law,” Williams explained, adding that it is immature to believe that every criticism of the government constitutes an act of opposition or treachery. He said: “While the PNCR does not at times agree with the articles and editorial of Guyana’s newspapers, the party would defend those newspapers’ right to state their views freely, objectively and fully.”

According to Williams, the President’s fierce criticism of the Kaieteur News should be of particular concern to all Guyanese, who believe that the freedom of the press is a non-negotiable element of our democratic culture. “This should be so particularly when it seems that the Jagdeo Administration intends to silence the Kaieteur News for its campaign to expose corruption in the award of contracts and the poor work done by different contractors for exorbitant sums,” he added.

The GPA recently expressed consternation over President Jagdeo’s most recent statements against the Kaieteur News. “We would encourage the President to seek wider avenues to express his concerns rather than to keep going down the same narrow one-way street over and over again,” the association said in a release. The association said while it is understandable and expected that politicians will never see eye to eye with the media, officials ought to recognize and respect the role of the media.
PNCR condemns Jagdeo’s attacks on the media