Dear Editor,
The Guyana Chronicle should reprimand the person(s) responsible for the offensive editorial ‘Opposition rampages to sow disunity in the country’ which appeared in that newspaper on July 2. While there is much in the editorial that can be discussed and argued about, it cannot be disputed that the newspaper was seeking to sow disunity and incite hate. How the Guyana Chronicle caused this racist garbage to be published is beyond reason. More disturbing is the defence of the article as factually correct by the Guyana Chronicle and the former chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission. Demerarawaves quotes the now Junior Minister of Finance as saying “Out of my experience at the Ethnic Relations Commission and the tools that we would have used to analyse statements in the past, the fact that it’s being reported in the manner in which it is reported, I don’t see the editorial as seeming to want to incite or excite.” Surely Demerarwaves misquoted the gentleman, or else he has proved himself either to be blind, or as having served as the chairman of a commission with tools unsuited for its objectives.
It has been a week since the leader was published and the only serious regret shown by the newspaper was the apology offered by the Chairman of the Board of the Guyana Chronicle. This was a step in the right direction, but some form of reprimand should be meted out to those responsible, and measures should be put in place to ensure that the same is not repeated. I suggest at least there should be a front-page apology by the newspaper, a reprimand to the author and his/her direct superior(s), and counselling for the author. To promote public discussion, the newspaper can even host a national discussion on the origin of crime in the country. The Guyana Chronicle must realize that as the national newspaper, it should hold itself to be serious and not incite or provoke hatred.
Yours faithfully,
Rondell Benn
