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Government mishandled SN breach of Intelligence Building
Dec 05, 2012 Letters
Dear Editor,
Regarding your news item on the police visit to SN office and the quizzing of its editor, the government made a terrible mistake in its handling of the breach of the “intelligence gathering security” building by the two SN reporters – with police visiting SN office and hauling in the reporters for questioning and with government officials talking about it.
It gives an appearance of intimidation of wanting to silence the media. And SN itself gives an appearance that it was there to report or expose something “sinister”. The government could have handled the matter differently without damaging its image as the promoter of a free press.
If security operations were breached, the government should not be involved in the investigation. That is police business and government officials should not have publicly commented on a police investigation.
The building is supposed to be a guarded site if indeed it operates as an “intelligence unit” (whatever its operations and for whatever legitimate reasons the government has the unit).
The public and reporters don’t have access to any secure national security site anywhere in the world. People who enter and exit the intelligence gathering building should be vetted and only those with top clearance should have access to it.
The government claims the reporters lied to people at the site (that they got permission) in order to gain access to the building – for what reason the reporters were there we won’t know. And it appears that the two reporters did in fact gain access to the building suggesting that security was lax.
The place should have been more secured to prevent people from undermining the operations of the unit.
A reporter’s job is to use various “legitimate” means to obtain information. It is not unusual for reporters to lie or mislead gate keepers in order to obtain information – I am not suggesting that the
SN reporters did in fact lie in order to gain information about the building. But the people at the site should have verified whether the reporters had legitimate business at the site, not walk away or go into hiding.
And whoever was present at the site should not have evaded the reporters but should have checked with “higher ups” whether the reporters can have access to the building and whether anyone gave them permission to visit the site. The government would have been able to address the problem right then and there and it would not have led to a police visit to SN or the questioning of Anand Persaud, Editor in Chief.
The way the government handled the situation a day after the event gives the impression that it is out to “intimidate” the newspaper. The government erred.
Having committed a faux pas by allowing the reporters (by whatever means) through its own negligence and blunders to gain access to the building, the government could have quietly informed the Editor in Chief (EIC) that its reporters violated protocols at the site which was off limits to the media and the public.
The government could have quietly queried why the reporters were there without giving an appearance of intimating the paper.
Failing a satisfactory response, the government could have asked the publisher or EIC to make the reporters available for questioning.
It is not clear why the reporters or SN wanted access to the building except to expose some kind of nefarious or illegal activities.
No doubt an investigation was needed into how the reportersmade their way in. But the government has made a public spectacle of the investigation.
This one has gone wrong and it should never have happened.
Whatever government or police do, it should never come across that it is intimidating a free press or of wanting a “cover up” of any activity.
SN has done some fine investigative reports. I support and encourage it and the other media to carry out more investigations (without jeopardizing national security) to protect the public interest and its right to know of Government operations. SN reporters were not at fault by gaining access to the intelligence building. The fault is that of the government — the place should have been more secured.
Vishnu Bisram
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