Our journalists are not vultures and carrion crows

Oct 19, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I am shocked and saddened to learn that the President of Guyana at the PPP rally in Kitty described media operatives as “vultures and carrion crows who should all be thrown into jail for going after him and his government.”
President Jagdeo’s reference to the local media as vultures and carrion crows is quite vile and repugnant and his portrayal of media operatives as scavengers “looking to pick on dead flesh” is repulsive. Indeed, Jagdeo’s filthy and cuss-down language reveals his gross intellectual deficiency and depravity of governing.
His poor governance is further exposed in the utterance of his adviser Ms. Gail Teixeira who seeks to compare the violence in Guyana in 2002 to Rwanda’s horrific genocide. This is not only completely fallacious and disgusting but also an insult to all Guyanese. Clearly, we are living in a period of irresponsible governance by the Jagdeo/Ramotar PPP.
It is uncouth to compare media operatives to scavengers or malign the media in such a hateful manner. No responsible government should indulge in such a degrading behaviour. Further, it is unbecoming for President Jagdeo to cuss-down journalists and call them vultures and carrion crows.
And to hear Kwame Mc Coy vent his ignorance on the media and to say that “Jagdeo acted with great wisdom and maturity by suspending the CNS Channel Six ban until December 1, 2011” speaks to his limited knowledge of freedom of the press. I suspect that Mc Coy and his boss are either losing it or have lost it or they are smoking an illegal substance or they do not respect the Office of President.
I call on all Guyanese to firmly condemn the savage and venomous attack by Mr. Jagdeo and Ms. Gail Teixiera on the independent media and press in Guyana. We must from this day forth vehemently defend the right of expression and the freedom of the press and media against the repressive Jagdeo/Ramotar dictatorship.
We need to openly stand firm behind the management and staff of Kaieteur News, Stabroek News and Demerara Waves which
have and continue to objectively report the news. Without them, the public would not know about the massive corruption, bribery, and the endless use of tax payers’ money and state lands for personal enrichment by the untouchables in the PPP regime.
At the PPP concert at Albion Mr. Jagdeo made Kaieteur News Editor Mr. Adam Harris a campaign issue when he said that Harris has become a thorn in the side of the PPP regime. Mr. Harris is a very objective editor with no axe to grind. And part of what he does and continues to do is to expose corruption, the misuse of state funds and lands and other wrong doings whenever they occur.
This is his right as a citizen and as editor; he is obligated to report the facts. This is why Kaieteur News is far more successful than the ghetto PPP Chronicle, whose editor is being told what to report by the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal.
After all, a free and vibrant media is the vanguard of any democracy. But the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal is so desperate that they are attempting to limit and restrict the notion of democracy and stifle free speech in Guyana. Jagdeo’s vulgar attacks on Kaieteur and Stabroek News and his suspension of Sharma’s TV are classic examples of his attempts to suppress our freedoms.
Targeting the media and cussing-down journalists is nothing new for Jagdeo. His mention of Rwanda speaks to a sinister motive and a desperate appeal to PPP supporters who are leaving the party. These are the actions of a despicable character.
As Guyanese, we must never give in to the intimidation of the Jagdeo/ Ramotar regime that has used all kinds of lies and propaganda to get themselves out of the mess that they have got themselves into.
They are well aware that the people are not attending their public meetings therefore they are forced to bus-in people from all across the country to make the numbers appear as if they have massive support just as they did at Albion and at Kitty. The Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal is actually using the state resources to bribe people around the country to vote for them, but many will take their gifts and not vote for the PPP.
Many Guyanese are poorer today than they were ten years ago when Jagdeo came to power and after almost 20 years of PPP rule, Guyana is riddled with corruption, crimes, drug cartels, pedophiles, and a cuss-down president who has brought shame and disgrace to his office.
The Champion of the Earth has allowed Georgetown to become a garbage city, Durban Park a forest, and Le Repentir cemetery a jungle. All Guyanese want a better life.
Asquith Rose

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