The Guyana Press Associa-tion (GPA) yesterday announced that it would be taking action against the GINA decision to ban journalist Gordon Moseley from the Office of the President (OP) and State House.
The GPA said the ban “tramples on the public’s right to access… a messenger widely considered to be credible, fair and fearless…”
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, the association said its executive held an emergency meeting to discuss the banning of the Capitol News reporter, adding that following the formal notification of the ban it was now “more than just disturbed but extremely concerned and wishes to point [out] that this move is worthy of the strongest condemnation.”
Calling for the support of media workers in whatever action “we deem fit”, the association said that the action “shall be in response to this latest media-violation and infringement on the right of a citizen, more so a journalist, to exercise his constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of expression” and to function as a journalist.
Moseley was told on Monday, by a security guard at OP that he was banned from OP and State House. He later received a letter signed by Head of the Government Information Agency (GINA), Neaz Subhan, which stated that the administration of GINA, “has determined that it will withdraw your accreditation to the Office of the President and State House,” and that the decision would take immediate effect. The letter further stated that other employees of Capitol News would not be similarly prohibited.
It said GINA would be “inclined to review the decision providing that you issue an apology in relation to the disparaging and disrespectful remarks couched in your letter to the press.”
Moseley has since refused to apologise saying that he would not allow anyone to “waste his time” and he has questioned what accreditation GINA was withdrawing since according to him no accreditation has ever been given to him or any media worker for OP and State House. The only accreditation issued to the media by GINA is a press pass which basically gives journalists permission to go past police cordons.
Stabroek News contacted Subhan yesterday and asked him what were the “disparaging and disrespectful” remarks contained in the letter sent to the press by Moseley, and he said he did not wish to comment on the issue further as “the letter was self explanatory.”
He said “we feel” that some of the remarks were disrespectful and as such have taken a decision against them. He pointed out that the letter was published in the Stabroek News so there was no need to go over it.
Asked who made the decision to ban the journalist, Subhan pointed out that the letter informing Moseley of the ban was signed by him as head of the GINA so that entity was responsible for the move. And Subhan also refused to comment on what accreditation he was referring to in the letter as GINA has never issued accreditation for OP or State House to media workers. “As I said I don’t want to further comment on the issue just to say that GINA do issue accreditation and we have withdrawn Mr Moseley’s own.”
Moseley had written the letter last week and it was published in this newspaper then in the Kaieteur News. It was in response to remarks made by President Bharrat Jagdeo at a press conference in Antigua, criticising Moseley for a report he filed on a meeting the head of state had with Guyanese in Antigua. The President had labelled Moseley’s report as being biased and Moseley had responded to the comments and also attached a transcript of the report; this was also published.
Yesterday the GPA called on President Jagdeo, his information functionaries and the Administration of the Office of the President to explain what was disparaging and disrespectful in the letter written by Moseley.
“In the absence of an unambiguous and justifiable explanation based on credible evidence, the GPA sees no immediate reason for an apology,” the statement from the association said.
“In the absence of any credible or justifiable evidence, the GPA can only conclude that Mr Moseley’s letter was used as a weapon to punish him, not for its own content, but for the content of his report on President Jagdeo’s meeting with Guyanese in Antigua.”
Meanwhile, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) condemned the ban labelling it as another in an “avalanche of assaults on press freedom in Guyana by the PPP/C government and a deliberate attempt to intimidate and dictate to media houses and their operatives what they should write.”
In its statement the party said that the latest action is consistent with the ranting of the government against Stabroek News, HBTV Channel 9, and CN Sharma. The party said members of the media should be allowed to inform the nation fearlessly without “having to look over their shoulders to see who is offended by what they say.”
The WPA said that when “governments use brutal treatment to manners media operatives like Moseley who offend them WPA can only conclude that the climate in which these operatives now function is fraught with danger”.
It also pointed out that media houses that believe that freedom of the press gave them the right to censor and mute certain voices in the society as they have been doing to the WPA, that they were only making it easier for the government to censor them as it saw fit. It said that when governments use “brutal treatment to manners media operatives like Moseley who offend them WPA can only conclude that the climate in which these operatives now function is fraught with danger.”
The party noted that the letter informing Moseley of the ban was signed by Subhan who, “when he was in the bowels of the PNCR used to rant against the PPP/C government for violating press freedom”.
