Government's "spurious" attempts at justifying its decision to withdraw its advertisements from Stabroek News cannot disguise its hatred of the newspaper and must be condemned as vicious and vindictive, the Working People's Alliance (WPA) said yesterday.
And the party warned in a press release that the withdrawal of advertisements by the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) and Guysuco is an open assault on the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Guyanese.
The WPA said government's use of its control over supposedly independent corporations to further tighten the noose around Stabroek News's neck must be seen for what it is - "a crude and sordid attempt to use the resources of the state to destroy an institution it has come to regard as its enemy."
The party said whether it agreed or not with positions taken by this newspaper was immaterial as its concern was with the "protection of our fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of Guyana."
The release quoted Article 146 (1) of the Constitution: "Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, that is to say, freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference and freedom from interference with his correspondence."
The WPA called on Guyanese across race, gender, religious and political persuasions to stand "in defence of our fundamental rights and freedoms" and demand an end to the government's campaign to bully and punish those who dare to disagree with it. "Today it is the SN that is in the line of fire. Whose turn will it be tomorrow?"
Meanwhile, in his column published yesterday in the Trinidad Express, Guyanese/ Caribbean journalist Rickey Singh restated his position that government's withdrawal of advertisements to Stabroek News should be speedily reversed.
Singh had said the same thing in a column, which was published in the SN on January 21 He repeated that the government's specious argument that it was an economic decision smacked of the governance politics of the late Forbes Burnham..
Singh said President Jagdeo needed to discuss with his colleagues why the decision must be reversed, as there is "a world of difference between reducing ads to any media enterprise and withdrawing such ads altogether."
Stabroek News's editors have maintained that the government is penalising the newspaper for its editorial stance on issues pertinent to the government.