Attack on press freedom…Glaring similarities between Paris magazine and Kaieteur News -Dr. Thomas

Jan 10, 2015 News

---

–    Says shame has government in denial
Executive member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Professor emeritus, Clive Thomas, has said that there is a striking but scary resemblance between the recent attack on press freedom in Paris and that which is happening in Guyana.

On Wednesday last, three French nationals violently attacked the office of Parisian satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, and killed 12 persons.  They have since been killed after a massive police manhunt.
The French media workers were murdered by gunmen who claimed to be Muslims acting in retaliation for cartoons the magazine published that did not find favour with them. The publication had been warned that it was treading on dangerous grounds and was asked to retract its cartoon depictions.
As a result of the threat posed, the French Government had provided police security for staffers of the magazine.
It was revealed last year that certain high-ranking government officials and other “powerful” persons were out to destroy the newspaper at all cost.
Kaieteur News was warned last year that if it didn’t back off from doing certain investigative reporting, it would suffer a similar fate – with gunmen storming the premises and shooting indiscriminately.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, in a profanity-laced recording, was heard telling a senior reporter that “innocent people” working at Kaieteur News would be in harm’s way as a result of the types of stories the newspaper has been carrying.
But when contacted, Presidential Advisor, Gail Teixeira told Kaieteur News that the two situations cannot be compared.
“The tragedy in Paris, France is a terrorist attack,” she said.
The official added, “While Government is concerned about the safety of all journalists, the two instances cannot

be compared. That was a terrorist attack. But I don’t know what you want me to say, you are fishing; you are trying to lead me …”
But Dr. Thomas said that the similarities are glaring. The WPA official, said that Kaieteur News is a victim of state terrorism, and that he made the decision to speak out on the Nandlall issue from the beginning, as he knew that what happened in Paris can very well happen in Guyana.
Dr. Thomas said that the fact that Kaieteur News has experienced the cold-blooded murder of five of its employees to terrorist elements and, like Charlie Hebdo, had been firebombed before, is reason to take Nandlall’s threats as serious as possible.
He said that the reason “Ms. Teixeira cannot see the similarities is because she doesn’t want to…If she admits, it will put Nandlall in a bad light. The truth is Nandlall embarrassed them. He put them in a position that they don’t know how to get out of.”
Thomas made mention of the five Kaieteur News pressmen who were executed by gunmen in an attack on the newspaper’s printery at Eccles in August 2006. He said that this is an example of how things can get out of hand. That execution-style attack had stunned the nation and the media fraternity worldwide.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) had in November last, called on the Guyana

Government to protect Kaieteur News staff and for an investigation to be carried out in relation to Nandlall’s utterances. The body had given the government two weeks to tell them the measures that will be implemented.
But Government has refused to say what measures have been put in place, despite questions from this newspaper.
When asked about it in the wake of what happened in Paris, Teixeira, refrained from providing the details of Government’s response, but said that government is still communicating with the Commission on the matter.
Questioned whether the government will hasten steps to provide security for the newspaper in light of the Nandlall recording, and also taking into account the tragedy in France., the Presidential advisor retorted, “Name me one country in the world that provides personal security for journalists who are carrying out their jobs?”
Thomas said that while it is very important that the government provide security for Kaieteur News, he is more concerned about justice for what has already been done.
He said that he was very disappointed with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP)’s decision.
As for the tragedy in France, “Black-clad gunmen shouting “Allahu Akbar!” stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 persons, including its editor, three political cartoonists and a police officer, whose cold-blooded murder at close range was captured on a disturbing video.
The masked shooters moved with military precision, and then escaped following the mid-morning attack on the publication known for its provocative cartoons, lampooning politicians and religions alike.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out commando-style, with the gunmen demanding the names of those they encountered, indicating that they had specific targets in mind.
One of the dead in Wednesday’s attack was satirical cartoonist Stephane Charbonnier, the publication’s editorial director and the artist behind the caricatures that offended jihadists.
In a 2012 interview, Charbonnier famously shrugged off the threats on his life. “I would rather die standing than live on my knees,” he said.

---

---