Past Govt. officials filed libel suits to muzzle the press

Jun 20, 2016 News

…review of slander laws needed – US Diplomat

By: Kiana Wilburg

To suppress criticism of maladministration and corruption, Government officials have often abused the use of libel suits against the media.
This practice however does not sit well with outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission, Bryan Hunt who strongly believes in the freedom of the press.
Hunt said that if the Government wants to demonstrate that it is committed to protecting freedom of the press, then it needs to do a few crucial things, one of which includes the review of Guyana’s libel laws.
In an interview with this newspaper, the US diplomat said that he has seen instances where officials filed libel suits with the apparent intention of muzzling reporters or the entities they work for.
Hunt remarked that libel laws globally are problematic.

Outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission, Bryan Hunt

“However, I think that the way in which some of them have been applied in Guyana, not by this government, but in the past, have really had a chilling effect. It’s not something that is good for freedom of the press when journalists can be charged for doing their job or for expression of their opinion. Libel laws have to be very, very, very, narrow in their application. And there has to be a review of the ones in Guyana and how they are applied,” the US official said.
“And we have seen instances where it appears to an outsider like me that previous government officials have filed libel charges not because any actual harm has been done, but because they wanted to shut up whatever reporter or media institution was carrying a story.”
The US diplomat said that he is not by any means stating that media houses should be allowed to print or say whatever they want. He stressed that content carried by journalists should be accurate and there must be in the balance.
He said that based on the cases he has observed thus far, he does not believe that the libel laws in Guyana have been invoked in an equitable manner.
The outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission said that Government officials need to be very vocal in their support of freedom of the press. Hunt said in light of the fact that the Government is involved in the media, it bears a special responsibility to continue to go on the record in welcoming a free press and constructive criticism.
“The Government should not see a problem with journalists publishing the facts and advocating for a change,” the US diplomat said.