The ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) said it is deeply concerned about Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire gag order on the Guyana Times newspaper regarding reporting issues pertaining to the operations of Guyana Stores from the company’s audited financial statements.
Noting that some of the matters are not even relevant to a case pending in the court, the PPP/ C said the information which the newspaper is prohibited from publishing concerns the proceeds from a sale of a state asset, Guyana Stores Limited, which are therefore public funds.
“The information which was published is extracted from annual reports of the former state corporation, which by law, are public documents and therefore, the information are matters to which the public is entitled,” the party noted.
“Therefore, we support the attorney general’s contention that the order of the learned judge may be an abuse of press freedom and is in violation of the Constitution of Guyana,” the PPP/ C contended, adding that as a party which has fought so many battles and contributed to so many advances in the pursuit of freedom of the press, “we view this as a most retrograde step. We call upon all concerned to do that which is necessary to reverse it. We may not agree with many of what the press publishes; but we must respect their right to publish it, once it is lawful for them to do so.”
The party said from its inception, it has been in the forefront of every form of struggle to ensure that Guyanese of all races, creed and class enjoy the universally recognised basic human rights, freedom from exploitation of every kind, access to justice, and indeed a better quality of life. In particular, the PPP/ C said it has a long history of championing freedom of expression in all its forms, including freedom of the press.
Struggle
“In fact, we led the way in launching a legal challenge against a decision of the PNC government in 1973, which placed restrictions on the importation of newsprint into Guyana. Our new Guyana Company Limited, the publisher of the Mirror Newspaper, filed the action. Additionally, we stood up, publicly, in solidarity with all journalists who were subjected to pressure and physical violence for merely publishing matters considered to be critical of the PNC dictatorship. These included journalists from the Catholic Standard, Dayclean, and other publications.”
According to the party, when it took office in 1992, it continued the crusade for freedom of the press and created the requisite environment for free expression and free press to flourish. “It is in this newly-created environment, that we have seen the establishment of two additional privately owned daily newspapers, the advent of over 20 television out fits, spreading across all three of the counties of Guyana, and the creation of several Internet generated news mediums which disseminate news 24 hours per day.”
Significantly, the party said it is the government that recently broke the state-run and managed radio monopoly and distributed a number of radio licences to private entities and individuals to establish radio stations in Georgetown, Linden, Berbice, and Essequibo.
