GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana government has blamed “some media practitioners” of orchestrating the country’s poor ratings in the global press freedom index by the international watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, (RSF) that was released to coincide with World Press Freedom Day earlier this week.
Bharrat Jagdeo (File Photo)Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told a news conference that the Guyana Press Association (GPA) played a role in the 26-point dip in the RSF global press freedom index that also indicated disinformation and online violence had deteriorated in countries where the political landscape is less unstable.
It said the use of disinformation and propaganda, often associated with online verbal violence against journalists and the media, is being normalized and becoming an integral part of political leaders’ strategy in seeking greater control over the public narrative.
“Although historically well placed in the World Press Freedom Index, Costa Rica, (down 15 at 23rd), Uruguay, (down 8 at 52nd) and Argentina (down 11 at 40th) all reflect this trend’s impact on journalism. Canada (up 4 at 15th) and Guyana (down 26 at 60th) have also seen an increase in online harassment, particularly of women journalists,” the RSF added.
But Jagdeo told the news conference the GPA “knowing that the report was coming out now and Guyana suddenly dropped 26 points on the report; they knew the report was coming out and I think it was an orchestrated attempt by some media practitioners …who are politically aligned to stir up issues that are non-issues knowing that it would influence the ranking”.
Jagdeo said that everything the GPA stated was reflected in the international accounts of the state of press freedom in Guyana.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has also been paying attention to recent press freedom concerns in Guyana.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, diplomats associated with Western democratic countries called on all stakeholders to support media freedom and promote a culture of open and honest communications in Guyana.
The statement by the heads of the United States Embassy, British and Canadian High Commission as well as the Delegation of the European Union came as the GPA joined the global community in observing World Press Freedom Day with a warning that “there appears to be a creeping intolerance of media that seek answers especially from the political directorates across Guyana’s major political divide”.
In its joint statement, the head of the diplomatic missions of the major Western countries, said the “media plays a pivotal role in society by disseminating facts for public consumption and helping citizens in Guyana stay informed, establish opinions, make informed choices, and participate meaningfully in society.
“The availability of facts and information is fundamental to exercising such rights as access to health, education, justice, and to fighting against gender and economic inequalities. The media’s charge to responsibly deliver the facts fairly and without bias to all people, benefits all of society.’
Public Affairs Minister Kwame Mc Coy has sought to give support to a new media association here even as he denied that the government was behind the effort.
“We are operating in a democracy and there is absolutely nothing wrong with any group wanting to represent the interest of any constituency… you could have two press associations… for me, it’s healthy competition. For me, it brings greater benefit t0 people because it would allow them to compete for interest,” he said.
Jagdeo chided the western diplomats for not referring a World Justice Project Report that he said states that 45 percent of the media in Guyana is corrupt or mostly corrupt.
Jagdeo described as “unbelievable” the level of tolerance in Guyana and sought to assure that press freedom in Guyana is “secure” under the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
“We believe in press freedom, we fight to maintain press freedom, we believe that journalists should be treated with respect,” he said.
