Fascism on the doorstep of C.N. Sharma

Jun 17, 2011 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

It appears that President Jagdeo, in his capacity as Minister of Information, will decide on the fate of C.N. Sharma’s television station. If and when he does that, it is another indication of how cruel is the dictatorship in Guyana.
First, when the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB) was invented by Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte and President Jagdeo, it was not intended for the purpose to which Mr. Jagdeo has put it in the present situation with Mr. Sharma.
Let’s describe the present context. Channel 6 broadcast a commentary that made eye-raising allegations against a citizen, Mr. Juan Edghill. The aggrieved person sued the station for libel. That is an occurrence that takes place quite often around the world. It is for the courts to decide whether Edghill was defamed or the allegations were not harmful. The ACB should not arrogate to itself the right to investigate the station because, in this writer’s opinion, the particular offence did not fall within the jurisdiction of the ACB. But more importantly, is the ACB, in its present form, a legal entity?
In my opinion it is not. I have spent the past two years on this page asking for the society to analyse the legal basis of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). What is about to happen with Channel 6 could have been avoided if very early in the life of the ACB when the opposition nominee resigned, stakeholders had moved to the courts.
The nature of the ACB is such that it has to be composed of three members one of which must be from the opposition. I may be wrong, but this was the shape of it, and this is how its biology functions. If the opposition pulls out, the ACB has to be reshaped to cater for the absence of the opposition nominee. If that was done, I admit I am not aware of it.
Civil society groups and the combined opposition missed a valuable opportunity for two years in not asking for the court’s intervention in relation to the illegality of the ERC.
Let’s return to the work of the ACB. Both Hoyte and Jagdeo meant the ACB to be a monitor to prevent insurrectionary attack on state institutions, incitement of racial hostilities, and preaching inflammatory messages that could result in profound serious social instability from the electronic media.
The ACB was never intended to prevent stations from making comments on individuals in the context of which Mr. Vieira made his allegation against Mr. Edghill. This is purely a matter for the libel laws of the country. If President Jagdeo sanctions Channel 6, it would take Guyana further down the chasm of fascism.
What happens if Sharma is suspended, but in the court case Vieira is vindicated? But more importantly, this situation brings into question the right to free speech. Could a station be suspended if it questions the Guyanese nationality of Mr. Jagdeo? Is that tantamount to incitement? Can that bring about national instability?
Were the commentators of Fox News Channel in the US inciting violence against President Obama when they opined that he was not born in the US? The matter was quickly settled by the production of a birth certificate.
Let Mr. Edghill and Vieira fight it out in court, because one sued the other, so the matter is now sub judice. I am not a lawyer, but I think a fundamental violation of Sharma’s right would have occurred when that libel case begins. The attorney for Edghill could argue that the ACB and the President found the statements offensive and suspended the station. So at the commencement of the trial, Sharma would be at a disadvantage. The issue is sub judice and the Bar Association should call on Jagdeo to desist.
I would argue that what Vieira said about Edghill is less damning than what Ms. Singh chastised the President for. It means if Sharma is sanctioned, the stations can never ever repeat the allegations of Ms. Singh.
Finally, is there evidence to prove that the ACB forwarded a document to Jagdeo before the courts ruled against the ACB? That is what the Office of the President said. How true is that?

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