Increasingly, the media landscape is a very difficult terrain to navigate on its own, but it is even more dangerous when members of the media are attacked and muzzled in the execution of their duties. Many still soldier on regardless of the risk because they are committed and determined to uphold this important hallmark of democracy.
Canada will always defend journalistic freedom and stand against any violence, intimidation, censorship, lawsuits threatening permanent injunctions of dissemination of factual information and false arrests used to silence journalists. From international broadcasters that bring the world into our homes, to local newspapers that empower us to shape the communities we live in – we know that a free press helps build stronger and healthier societies
Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee on World Press Freedom Day
Last week, the National Assembly paid tribute to a deceased Member of Parliament, Mr. Abdul Kadir, for his contribution as a legislator. Mr. Kadir died in a U.S. prison last year after having been convicted of plotting a terrorist attack at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. The U.S. Embassy here has issued a stern rebuke to the Guyanese authorities, stating that ‘[w]ith this resolution, honoring a convicted terrorist, members of Guyana’s National Assembly have left a stain on their legacy as representatives of the Guyanese people and on their commitment to the rule of law’. The U.S. position was supported by British High Commissioner who considered the Administration’s action inappropriate. The Canadian Government and the European Union Delega-tion in Guyana have also issued statements of concern. The Guyana Private Sector Commission joined in condemning the Administration’s action and called on the Government to revisit its position and take the necessary steps to correct ‘the terrible and unfortunate message the statement has sent to the international community’.