Dear Editor,
I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate our journalists and media workers on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. The importance of a free and open society cannot be overemphasized and journalists and media workers have an important role to play in this regard. As someone once said, the ‘pen is mightier than the sword,’ and journalists and media operatives must be fearless and objective in the way they cover the news.
As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon correctly observed in his message to mark the occasion, “World Press Freedom Day is our opportunity to raise the flag in the fight to advance media freedom… it is a pillar of individual rights, a foundation for healthy societies and a source for social transformation.”
Guyana has come a long way from the dark days of media censorship when newspapers critical of the then PNC regime were harassed by way of libel and restrictions in terms of newsprint supply. Many journalists were harassed and dismissed for daring to be objective and fair in the coverage of news. Vendors selling newspapers critical of the then administration, in particular the Mirror newspaper were beaten and harassed.
Fortunately for us in Guyana, all of that is now behind us, even though journalists in some parts of the world continue to be harassed, and in some cases kidnapped, tortured and killed. According to a UNESCO release, last year alone some 62 journalists died in the process of carrying out their duties.
As mentioned earlier, we have advanced as a nation in terms of freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Some argue that we have now gone to the other extreme where instead of balance and objectivity in news coverage we have news that borders on sensationalism – the ‘man bites dog’ syndrome.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
