The government yesterday confirmed weekly meetings between Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and state media heads but said no complaint of intimidation or interference has been made by the board or management of any state media to his office.
In a statement following a complaint by the Guyana Press Association (GPA) to President David Granger about political interference in the work of the state media, the government yesterday sought to downplay concerns that the continuing interventions, particularly by Nagamootoo and Director of Public Information Imran Khan, amounted to intimidation.
“The Government of Guyana strongly refutes that the state media personnel are intimidated during the Prime Minister’s weekly meetings. The Office of the Prime Minister has received no complaints from the Board of Directors or management of any state media entity of intimidation or interference. No member of the Guyana Press Association attending these meetings has made any objections,” it said.
In its letter to President Granger, dated April 13, the GPA said it had “deep concern” regarding interference in the work of the state media by government ministers, departments and officials of the administration.
It cited Nagamootoo’s weekly meeting with the state media, including the Government Information Agency, and it said “clear directives” regarding propaganda to be dispensed by these agencies.
“It is our considered view that such meetings not only bear the hallmarks of government interference in the work of the state media, but also constitute a grave act of intimidation into slavishly following the dictates of the executive government,” it added.
The GPA also accused Khan of seeking to dictate the content of NCN and the Guyana Chronicle, and in some cases having content removed. “On other occasions, there are reports that Mr Khan has criticised and even berated workers of the state media. This clearly amounts to acts of intimidation and causes these state media workers to practice self-censorship,” the letter stated.
In the government’s response, which was issued by Khan’s office, it was stated the periodic meetings with state media heads focus on coordination of the schedule of government events and coverage of same, which it noted has been a practice in place since 1992. The clarification of information regarding government’s policy on a number of matters is also a focus of the meetings, it said.
“State media attendees have all commented on the usefulness of the engagements,” the government said, while noting that reactions by officials noting positive, negative, limited or one-sided coverage of government business in the media – both state and private – is routine. “It is not interference to want better and more dissemination of news,” it added.
The government also criticised the GPA for writing to Granger to politically intervene in matters that it said ought to have been raised with the competent Board of Directors of the respective state media entities. “It is competent for the GPA to advise its members to act professionally and to defend standards of journalism but it is another matter for the GPA to call on the Executive to ‘manners’ his ministers on unsubstantiated allegations,” it said.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to an open, free and plural media, while adding that the re-introduction in state media of positive coverage of opposition views and activities and access to the state media by persons who are routinely critical of government is refreshing. “Press freedom is alive and well in Guyana!” it further declared.
The GPA had also highlighted instances where ministers of government called the Guyana Chronicle and NCN to complain of either not being covered or the way they are being covered as well as the involvement of the boards of both NCN and the Guyana Chronicle in making editorial decisions, including deciding who should attend overseas training programmes and assignments. None of these specific concerns were directly addressed in the government’s statement.
The GPA said its correspondence to the President was sent with the hope that the President will take some action to ensure not just state media, but that all media agencies are allowed to work free of interference and intimidation from ministers and other functionaries of his executive.
The GPA’s letter preceded the release of a US State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2015, which cited actions of Nagamootoo, under the heading of ‘Censorship or Content Restrictions.’ Nagamootoo has since rejected the contentions in the US report.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon had said last year that government is working on a policy to ensure responsible reporting by the state media. Harmon said the policy is being considered and was not yet completed.
This statement had evoked concerns that the government was moving in the direction of curtailing media freedoms.
Despite the numerous concerns that APNU+AFC had raised while in opposition about abuse of the state media by the former PPP/C government, critics say the current administration moved swiftly to put its own machinery in place and has since faced allegations of similar behaviour.
Critics have also said that the new administration made no attempt to enunciate a policy on the state media and to decide whether it was still necessary.
