The withdrawal of government advertising from the Stabroek News is "an issue of manipulation which goes to the root of freedom of the press," the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) said yesterday, adding that the government explanations thus far appear "spurious".
The GCCI issued a statement placing on record its deep concern at the withdrawal of advertisements by GINA and its astonishment at having learnt that three state agencies - the Guyana Power and Light Inc, the Guyana Sugar Corporation and the Guyana Revenue Authority - had also withdrawn their advertisements.
Joining a growing number of organisations here and abroad who have criticised the government move, the GCCI said the reasons for the withdrawal of the advertisements as advanced by the government seem spurious as a comparative analysis will reveal that the Stabroek News is a very popular and credible newspaper nationally and internationally.
Therefore, it added, regardless of what the government may say publicly, the perception that it is deliberately embarking on a strategy to destabilise the Stabroek News was now firmly entrenched in the minds of the public.
The GCCI said while it agreed that every organisation had a right to choose its service provider, it was urging government to reconsider its action of withdrawing advertisements from the Stabroek News.
The organisation proclaimed itself ready to enter discussions with all stakeholders to have the matter amicably resolved.
Two weeks ago, another local private sector body, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) had issued a statement expressing concern about the implications for the viability of a marketing business as well as "for the continued existence of a free press in Guyana".
The GMSA had said it challenged the explanation given and would only take it seriously if it were "supported by evidence that flows from a scientific survey and from audited circulation figures."
It said it believed any analysis of readership would indicate that the Stabroek News was widely read and respected. "The paper occupies a specific market niche in the public domain which is of direct concern to the business and economic circles for which government advertising is appropriate."
It added that in the absence of any structural commercial evaluation of the print media, the refusal to allocate an appropriate portion of government advertising to the Stabroek News suggests an unfair and discriminatory policy.