President Bharrat Jagdeo left for St Vincent and the Grenadines yesterday morning for the Eighteenth Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community.
The meeting will begin today and conclude on Wednesday.
Some significant agenda items at the meeting include President Jagdeo's initiative for agriculture in the region, the expansive role of the Caribbean as hosts of Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007.
Also on the agenda are Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and external trade negotiations.
“Notwithstanding speculative reports and massive lobbying by Stabroek News and its Caribbean media kinfolks, the Stabroek News advertisement issue will not be on the Agenda at this Intersessional Meeting,” a Government Information Agency (GINA) release stated.
According to the release, President Jagdeo has agreed to meet in St. Vincent and the Grenadines with regional media broadcasters at their request, as a matter of courtesy, since it is believed that many of these regional media houses were misinformed on the Stabroek News advertisement issue.
The release also said that when asked about former President Janet Jagan's statement on the Stabroek News advertisement issue in the current issue of the Guyana Mirror, President Jagdeo affirmed, “Mrs. Janet Jagan, as a private citizen, is entitled to her opinion. Her opinion is not Government's policy, especially when the matter relates to the use of taxpayers' funds.”
The Government of Guyana unequivocally and categorically denies unsubstantiated claims by the privately-owned Stabroek News that Government's decision to reduce advertisements in its newspaper is an attack on press freedom and suppression of a private newspaper.
However, Stabroek News continues to press its claim, despite the fact that another private newspaper had overtaken Stabroek News by far to become the largest privately-owned print media.
President Jagdeo is expected to return next Wednesday.