President Bharrat Jagdeo says that the ban on journalist Gordon Moseley preventing him from entering the Office of the President (OP) and State House will not be lifted until he apologises.

When asked during a press conference on Monday if he would lift the ban on Moseley, Jagdeo said he would only do so: “when he does what I said he will do”.

Moseley, who was recently elected President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), learnt  of the ban last year July when he turned up for an assignment at OP and was told by a security guard that he would be prevented from entering the two places.  Moseley, who works at Capitol News, later received a letter signed by Head of the Government Information Agency (GINA) Neaz Subhan stating that the administration of GINA had withdrawn his accreditation to OP and State House. The letter said that though other employees of Capitol News would not be similarly prohibited, GINA would be “inclined to review the decision” providing he apologised for remarks he made about the Head of State in a letter to the press. Moseley refused to apologise saying that he would not allow anyone to “waste his time.”

In a bizarre moment at Monday’s press conference, when asked by the GPA’s secretary and Kaieteur News reporter, Neil Marks about three letters sent to him by the press association asking for an engagement on a number of issues, Jagdeo said: “that’s you and Moseley… I saw the two of you staring at each other in a very loving way in the press conference…”

Pressed as to whether he is now prepared to engage the GPA particularly on the Moseley ban, the Head of State responded, that the press association was not banned from his office. “He [Moseley] just happens to be the press association… He’ll change in due course in a democracy, I hope…” He stated that it is a privilege to go to State House and OP. “I’m prepared to engage the press association but not at State House or at the Office of the President,” Jagdeo said. When reporters pointed out that the engagements would not have to be at those locations the President responded, “exactly …so that Moseley doesn’t come there”.

Further questioned on the three letters that the GPA had dispatched, the Head of State said there is a process. “The history of it has been that when these letters come to me, I say to my secretary, press association; send them to [Head of the Presidential Secretariat] Luncheon or someone else. Maybe I’ll have to change those instructions so now I’ll see the letters that you sent.”

Meantime, in another bizarre moment, Editor-in-chief of the Kaieteur News Adam Harris interjected that he is “supposed to be the liaison between the press association and you, sir [the President]”.  Jagdeo responded that Harris is a “good man except when he starts distorting things.” He added: “I’ll discuss with him and maybe at some point in time we’ll meet.”

The ban on Moseley has been strongly criticized by regional and international journalists, including the GPA, the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) and Reporters Without Borders.