by Denis Chabrol (Demerara Waves) Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday blamed the Guyana Press Association (GPA) for the 26-point dip in the global press freedom index by the international watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, even as the Guyana government did not oppose the establishment of a new media organisation.
“I think that the Press Association and this big hype, 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,” Mr Jagdeo said. He said that everything the GPA stated was reflected in the international accounts of the state of press freedom in Guyana.
The latest RSF ratings that were released to coincide with World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) that is observed annually on May 3 show that Guyana’s rating has declined from 34 to 60. In recent weeks, President Irfaan Ali and the opposition Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith Joseph had been criticised sharply for their approach to media operatives. 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.
