THE NEW PLACARD FOR FREEDOM IS A $20 BILL

May 23, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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The Guyanese people do not need to take to the streets or be destructive in order to participate in political struggle. There are many ways in which the ordinary citizens can be part of the campaign for change without having to engage in public acts of defiance.
Before getting to the ways in which people can participate in peaceful agitation, the point must be made that not every call to protest needs to be heeded or not every pretender to leadership needs to be followed. There are some individuals out there who are egging on the public to protest but these individuals themselves can hardly on their own command a quorum. Some of them also have their own axes to grind while others are fighting for their own survival wishing to use their opposition to the government to boost their flagging credibility ratings.
On the other hand there are others who instead of showing what they can do are criticizing the main opposition for not taking to the streets. The fact remains, however, that people in Guyana cannot be expected to simply take to the streets. They have to be led and they have to understand what is at stake for them and how their contributions will bring about peaceful change.
This change need not only be achieved through public agitation. There are many private and personal ways through which people make their contribution to the political struggle without having to publicly take to the streets.
The support that this newspaper has received over the past few weeks is an example that people are very perceptive and responsive to the demands of struggle.
For the first ten years – yes, ten years – of our existence, this newspaper was denied government ads. Any other newspaper would have folded but our publisher is someone who does not compromise his principles and he repeatedly said that so long as we are providing a service to the people of Guyana and making a difference in our country, he was going to continue to publish the newspaper despite the odds against him.
Then just after the emergence of the Guyana Times newspaper, the pressures began again. It was said and reported to this newspaper that ways and means had to be found to deal with Kaieteur News. We knew that the manners would be coming down and we were prepared for it.
We did not back down. We continued to expose the wrong things that were happening – the sweetheart deals, the corruption, the waste of taxpayers’ monies, the giveaway of State assets and the vindictiveness and nastiness of the ruling cabal.
We knew that the manners would come and when it did we never called on the Guyanese people to take to the streets. We did not have to because the ordinary citizens of Guyana have always supported this newspaper and it is this support that has not only allowed this newspaper to flourish but has also allowed it to make a difference within our society by exposing all that is wrong.
We could not have done it without the support of our readership. Their continued patronage of our newspaper has allowed it to become the leading daily in Guyana. This support is an installment in freedom because without it this newspaper would have been forced to close its doors.
Those who believe that the Guyanese people are passive, and not making a contribution to the struggle for justice, are wrong. The readership of the Kaieteur News is part of a struggle for press freedom for they have continued to support this newspaper. Every time someone purchases this newspaper they are in fact making a statement to those who wish to close this newspaper down. They are saying that we support the right to freedom of expression.
But they are also defending a personal right. Every citizen has a right to receive and transmit information and opinions. And thus the support for Kaieteur News represents a defence by the people of their right to receive information of public interest and the right of those who wish to communicate with them and others.
Over the past months, and as expected, this newspaper has seen a steady reduction in its share of government ads. At the same time, the latest pro-government newspaper without any significant circulation has been receiving a generous share of ads. This newest kid on the block is being propped up with the help of these ads.
This newspaper aware of the manners that was in the works, took a conscious decision to reduce its dependence on government ads and we asked the people to support us in this process by paying $20 more per copy.
There were some who anticipated that by raising the price of our newspaper that our circulation would have dipped. It has not. In fact, the circulation is increasing. This shows that the Guyanese people are fully aware of the situation and are extremely knowledgeable of what is going on. It shows that they are privately giving solidarity to the cause of this newspaper.
They have not had to take to the streets with placards and barricades. Their placards and barricades is a $20 bill. This is the public’s placard for freedom; this is their barricade that they are using to defend their right to receive information that the powers that be do not wish them to receive.
People may not be in the streets to protest the numerous wrongs in our society, but this does not mean that they are not engaged in struggles. It is just that the struggle has taken private and peaceful forms which are far more effective that a short burst of emotive demonstrations which fizzle out into nothingness.

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