Dear Editor,
In 2005 when the licence of CN Sharma’s television CNS TV6 was suspended at the time of the flood disaster by the Prime Minister, who was then the Minister responsible for telecommunications, for what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to make the President appear contemptuous of the conditions of the flood victims, I wrote at some length endeavouring to provide information and explain what we should expect of a licensed broadcaster.
It seems appropriate, given the suspension of CNS TV6 licence, to, once more, repeat much of what I said then.
In every case the constitutional protection offered to every citizen of freedom of expression has been invoked on behalf of Mr Sharma. However, what we are yet to understand, far less accept, in Guyana is that the broadcaster is held to a much higher standard of public responsibility in exercising freedom of expression granted by his licence than is a newspaper, printed publications or the ordinary citizen.
