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| “…Jagdeo’s statement to PSC a clear attack on press freedom”The General Secretary of the Caribbean Congress of Labour, Lincoln Lewis, yesterday at a press briefing urged Guyanese to boycott businesses that pull their advertisements from the Kaieteur News at the behest of the President.CCL General Secretary Lincoln Lewis (left) and social activist Mark Benschop Lewis was at the time responding to the statement made by President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Private Sector Commission’s dinner last Friday where he said that they (the business entities) help contribute to the negative image of the country by advertising in the Kaieteur News, which he accused of fabricating stories every day.“We have seen it as the President has taken off his gloves on Kaieteur News…basically what he is saying to the business community that Kaieteur News has scared away investors by highlighting the ills in society and you must pull your advertisements from Kaieteur News.”He challenged the President to prove him wrong that he (Jagdeo) was not, “coming after Kaieteur News the way in which they did with Stabroek News”. “They may not do it the same way,Cheap Jerseys Online, but they will go after Kaieteur News,” Lewis opined.He pointed out that most of the media operations in Guyana were friendly to the Government.Lewis also called on the president to justify government advertisement in the Guyana Times given that, “nobody don’t read it…it seems to be a dollar for a friend.”Present also at the press briefing was social activist Mark Benschop who told media operatives that violation of human rights and justice are signs of an entrenching dictatorship and tyrannical rule.“When we look at the number of unsolved crimes in society, the attack on non-governmental media, prevention of growth of private radio stations, the control of the state’s media and stifling of opposition views; the erosion of public offices and appointment of cronies, and acts of not filling crucial positions, such as the Office of the Ombudsman, the act of trying to have Chancellor and Chief Justice being one and the same, we in society must know that these are efforts to thwart justice. These are efforts to oppress and engage in State tyranny.”“When a government can align itself with known criminals, fugitives from justice, narco kingpins, death squads, homegrown government-supported terrorists to allegedly fight crime and restore law and order in a society marred with a large criminal underground rivaling the formal state, those of us who have eyes to see will know that Guyana is in a state of anarchy.”According to Benschop, as it is, the government is headed by an individual who wants to rule by fear and intimidation.“The memories of Cheddi Jagan and his legacy are tarnished by the heirs of his party, and those in government, for these are the fruits of his labour left to destroy the country of his birth that we all felt he loved.” |
