Channels 6 and 9 breached licences in very serious way -broadcast committee
Stabroek News
December 21, 2002
In its letter to Prime Minister Sam Hinds recommending the suspension of the licences of channels six and nine for two days, the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB) said that the two stations had breached their licences "in a very serious way which could gravely damage the fabric of Guyanese society".
The letter to Hinds was signed by the three members of the ACB Pat Dial (Chairman), Ron Case and Carlton James.
The licences of the stations were suspended from midnight on Thursday. Below are excerpts of the offending broadcasts from the two stations and the accompanying comments by the ACB.
On November 6 on the Wake Up Guyana programme, the following statement was broadcast.
"I have had reports and it is being alleged that there is a special undercover team working for a certain Minister and here again this Minister's name keeps coming up all the time, but I am not going to call...I am not going to call any person's name. The Minister's name keeps coming up all the time and I wonder why...I am wondering why he is not under investigation until now. Of course, he wouldn't be investigated by the local authorities, but he should be investigated by the foreign authorities...it was that team that dealt with those gangs on Robb Street and then they were involved in some other shooting".
The ACB said this particular statement was presented without due accuracy and impartiality and the statement also accused a minister of a serious criminal offence without any evidence.
On December 4 on the Sunrise Show on CNS Channel Six presented by Clem David, the following statements were broadcast.
"..I know you are waiting to hear about that vehicle from Buxton, the one that was abandoned...That vehicle that has been abandoned at Buxton belongs to a Minister of the present Government. But the police are constrained you see; some men will wish to hold on to their pensions and gratuities and so on, and so the Government in real Machiavellian style, will dare any Police Officer to go public and say that vehicle belongs to a Minister of Government, but it does..."
"...I've stop short of naming the Minister this morning, but some people already know. Now, what is that Minister's vehicle doing in Buxton as it ferried mercenaries to kill people of Buxton. There are many reasons why you will not hear an official comment on that, because if a Minister's vehicle is used to ferry people to kill Buxtonians then automatically it means that the Minister is an accomplice in hiring the mercenaries to shoot up the people of Buxton and by extension it means that the Government is involved..."
The ACB said that these two statements were "likely to encourage or incite crime, or lead to public disorder. These statements are also presented without due accuracy and impartiality. Serious accusations are made without evidence as to accuracy". The ACB said that in its view the statements infringed (a) and (b) of Regulation 23A of the station's licence.
On December 11 on CNS Channel 6's Sunrise Show the following statements were made.
"...The government cannot deny that there has been tacit admission that they are involved with this `phantom' force. But what gave me sleepless times last night as I tossed and turned are the names of some of the people who are on the `phantom gang's' hit-list. I cannot give you all (of the names) but I will give you some today and the rest later because all of Guyana should know that there is a plan to kill certain personalities in our society and these include the owners of two television stations namely, C.N. Sharma and Tony Vieira. They have been put on this hit-list, three television talk show hosts, namely Clem David and Roger Moore, and another one whose name I will give you later on today; leading members of the PNCR, Robert Corbin, Raphael Trotman and others; leading members of the trades union movement, namely Patrick Yarde and Lincoln Lewis, and the list grows".
"...So it will now be the work of the `phantom' force to kill some of our leaders, some of our spokespersons. And I find it my bounded duty to go public with what I know. You see, the Army and the Police operate differently... talk show hosts, and this one...I saw some donkey-brained people attacking talk show hosts in today's newspapers. I am a responsible journalist, thirty odd years experience".
"...And this morning I say to you that the `phantom' force...the next programme on their agenda will be to assassinate a number of people. I ask you all to prepare to do battle to save this country. There is no way that the government of the day can deny complicity in what has happened in the murder of 54 persons within the past weeks, including the escapees.. there is no way. And so we have a government now that is terrorizing the Guyanese people... that is what we have. Comrades stand firm, stand tall.. we will not allow Guyana to go down into the dismal abyss of failure and blood, sweat and tears. We have to save this country".
The ACB said that the statements were made without due accuracy and impartiality, and are likely to encourage or incite racial hatred and could lead to public disorder. It added that this was a breach of Regulation 23A of the licence.
On December 11 on the At home with Roger Show presented by Roger Moore, the following statement was made.
"...With this guy being there on special assignment, could only mean one thing, that he was there to oversee the removal of us people in the hands and with the consent of this particular government. But we are here and therefore, as far as I'm concerned, we need to protect ourselves. This is a fair game, they are totally fair game do unto others before they do unto you. And you know this meeting at Everest that these people had to form this group is true. I have a list of names, I will not call it out yet but I will put it on the internet... this group consists of seven government officials and it was chaired by a government official, and seven businessmen being involved. Some of these names have been cropping up for the longest while. Don't ask me where I get it from, I have it, the police has it and I am sure the GDF has it also...".
The ACB said that this statement was likely to lead to public disorder and was not presented with due accuracy and impartiality.
