Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues yesterday briefed a parliamentary committee on Latin American affairs and this country’s border policy among other issues but the media was shut out of the hearing without an explanation being given.
Rodrigues appeared before the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Foreign Relations, chaired by PNCR-1G member, Aubrey Norton. Her presentation before the committee was to focus on Latin American issues, and she also updated the committee on the Ministry’s strategic plan.
The ministry’s strategic plan for 2005 to 2009, which had emphasised capacity building, has been raised in the National Assembly by opposition speakers within the past few years and questions have been posed as to whether any of the initiatives outlined were being implemented.
Media personnel, who were invited to the briefing, were yesterday turned away by the parliamentary staff who said they were only notified of the change a few minutes prior to the 3 pm start. Stabroek News was told that Norton was absent from the proceedings and the decision to exclude the press was taken by acting Chair, Bibi Shadick.
Shadick, a PPP/C parliamentarian, arrived for the meeting while the media were there and after enquiring what was going on she bluntly stated that the press was not invited. “They are not allowed in okay!” she said before walking off.
The Committees Division of Parliament had released the press statement inviting the media to the briefing. The staff could only say yesterday that they were following orders.
Stabroek News Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud said the manner in which Shadick treated the press was disgraceful. Persaud said while the Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran, in particular, has complained that the media has not adequately covered sectoral committee hearings there have been too many cases where the media turn up only to be treated in a crude manner. Persaud said that the media understood clearly that there may be sessions that would cover sensitive issues to which it would not be invited and it behoved those in charge to notify the media well in advance.
