Dear Editor,
The issue of denial of state ads to Stabroek News is back in the news not only in Guyana but around the Caribbean region as well. In fact, one can argue that the ad issue has never really left the news ever since it began in November 2006.
Withdrawal of state ads to SN should never have been an issue. It makes the government look bad and I hope it will come to an end very soon. We need to return to the status quo that prevailed prior to the withdrawal of ads.
I have spoken to Guyanese in N.Y, including loyal supporters of the government, and do not find much support for withdrawing ads from SN. The near unanimous feeling among N.Y Guyanese is that the government should end its policy of withholding ads from SN and resume the placement of ads immediately.
They feel the withdrawal of ads has done the government more harm than good and brings back memories of press censorship that existed under the Burnham dictatorship.
The same feeling obtains also in Guyana where there is little support for not giving ads to SN. It is tragic to hear people make comparisons of the democratic PPP government with Burnhamism.
The PPP has a shining history of fighting for a free and fair press and its organ, The Mirror, was at one time the victim of skullduggery and chicanery (withholding newsprint, etc.) to close it down. No other party has fought more for press freedom than the PPP/C since colonial times. The PPP/C should not be seen to be involved in any activity that gives the slightest feeling that it is biased against any of the media houses or that it is censoring any of the media.
NY Guyanese I have spoken with, including PPP/C loyalists, feel that SN is a fair, balanced and objective newspaper with no hidden agenda against the government.
The paper did make errors in news reporting as indeed all papers do from time to time and its editors did apologize for some of these errors.
The paper should not be punished for its tough reporting or editorializing. The government should welcome critiques from SN and other media. That is healthy for democracy.
The government should listen to its supporters and resume ads to SN. The matter would linger in the news providing bad PR for the government until such time as it is settled.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
