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Condemnation grows…Grenade attack was meant to silence freedom of expression – Chilean envoy
— US Ambassador says justice must run its course
In the wake of the botched attack against Kaieteur News, that saw individuals hurling a fragmentation
Chilean Ambassador, Claudio Rojas Rachel
grenade at Publisher Glenn Lall’s vehicle, the envoys of both Chile and the United States of America (USA) have come out in sharp condemnation of the attack.
Guyana’s first ever resident Chilean Ambassador, Claudio Rojas Rachel, said, yesterday, that the attack represented an attempt to limit the freedom of expression and information, things necessary for a democratic society.
“It is important to emphasize that if we want to build a democratic society, freedom of the press is of essence,” the resident Ambassador stressed. “And for any media outlet to be a target of any (attack) is a limitation of freedom of expression and information.”
The Ambassador stated that freedom of expression and information was something that the nation had much use for. He emphasised that no effort must be spared to prevent such an attack.
US Ambassador Perry Holloway also unequivocally condemned the attack, emphasizing that the US never tolerated such actions.
He expressed ample faith in the police, who are currently questioning a number of suspects and have issued a wanted bulletin for another.
“We condemn the attack and I’m convinced the police is carrying out its investigation and they have the capacity to get to the bottom of what is happening,” Ambassador Holloway said.
“So we look forward to the course of justice (being) carried out.”
US Ambassador Perry Holloway
The attack occurred on June 4. As staffers and friends of Kaieteur News congregated for the wake of late senior crime reporter and Sunday editor, Dale Andrews, someone in a passing car threw a grenade that landed near the vehicle, a Lexus.
As it turned out, it was a live fragmentation grenade. Experts are saying that it can only be “a miracle that the device did not explode.”
The Government and the Guyana Press Association (GPA) have since condemned the act.
Former President Donald Ramotar and the Private Sector Commission have also joined in expressing outrage.
Prior to the Chilean and the US Ambassadors’ statements, British High Commissioner Gregory Quinn had also publicly condemned the attack on Kaieteur News.
Chile is no stranger to terrorist attacks. Since the turmoil of the 1980s, a number of bombings have occurred, targeting public places such as subway stations and Banks.
In 1986, there was the bombing of the Tobalaba Station in Santiago, Chile.
There have also been numerous bombings between 2005 and 2014, with a number of groups claiming responsibility. Acts of terrorism have also been attributed to former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet.
On its part, the US has been targeted in the past. In addition to the catastrophic September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers, there have been attacks on military bases, Government buildings and even schools.
One of the most devastating attacks on US soil was the 2015 San Bernardino attack. This was a mass shooting at the inland Regional Centre in San Bernardino, California. The attack left 14 people dead and 22 injured. The two suspects, a married couple, attempted to flee but were subsequently killed.
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And just like that, KNs stock has risen exponentially and astronomically. That which THEY meant for EVIL has been turned into a GOOD! KN must be doing something right to be hated by both sides of the political divide.
Are you seriously claiming, Kaiteur News, that US state agencies (CIA), have not been involved, or encouraged opposition political forces, to engage in these type of terror activities world wide? More to the point, CIA terror activities in Guyana during early sixties are well researched and documented!
The Chileans will understand fully the significance of this attack but the hypocritical response of the USA is mind blowing! Probably think that we don’t read or suffer from amnesia.
You are referencing the Cold War era of the 60s to diminish the press war era of the present time? One has nothing to do with the other, because despite what role America played, the same America opened its doors to thousands of Guyanese, and Cheddie Jagan even died in America; not Cuba or Russia or North Korea…
All of that aside, the grenade incident remains an attempted assault on press freedom, unless incontrovertible information says otherwise.