“I HAVE absolutely no confidence in the MMU (Media Monitoring Unit).” Former president, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo made the emphatic declaration yesterday at a news conference, where he charged that the Unit ought to report to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).Speaking from Freedom House, he said, “Unless the MMU reports to GECOM, because it is GECOM that receives funding for the MMU and GECOM should be able to have oversight of the MMU.”
CONTROVERSIAL CONCLUSION
The MMU in its first report, at the end of March, concluded that comments made by Jagdeo himself on March 8 were “racially divisive.”
On the day in question, at an event at Babu John last month, Dr Jagdeo was stressing that there is no place for division in the Guyanese society along racial lines, and in doing so pointed to an example of what was done during the 2011 General and Regional Elections.
He said: “They shout about racism of the PPP, but they practise racism. They whisper campaigns. In the last elections they went to some of the Afro- Guyanese villages and beat some drums at 6 O’clock in the morning and say let us throw out these coolie people. Get up, go out and vote, throw out the coolie people. That’s the kind of language they use. Anybody from our party who uses that sort of language, we will kick them out. This is our approach.”
This comment was the basis of the MMU’s controversial conclusion– although the Unit did say that this was “probably” not intentional.
The Unit said: “Taking into consideration the historically and politically influenced divisions that persist up to now between Africans and East Indians in this country, and which are usually more pronounced during elections periods, the Unit came to the conclusion that the anecdotal illustration used by Dr. Jagdeo to make his point about racism, boomeranged disastrously, since it came over as a calculated exploitation, for political purposes, of the known fears and insecurities of one section of the population – East Indians.
“It is within the foregoing context that the Unit verily concluded that the remarks made by Dr. Jagdeo were racially divisive[though] probably, not intentionally.”
INCIDENTS IGNORED
According to the former president, while his comment was singled out, the MMU’s unequal assessment has been reflected in the fact that glaring infractions on the part of other individuals have been ignored.
“They are never going to deal with the issues. There are numerous cases of distortions,” he posited.
Dr Jagdeo added, “How come the Media Monitoring Unit doesn’t say anything that Adam Harris openly admitted here in the presence of a number of people that he changed a headline, that Glenn Lall told him to change; a headline that I said and Rohee [Clement Rohee] said that the PPP is a “coolie party.”
These concerns, first voiced by the Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon, were expected to be communicated to the GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, who, in an earlier comment, told the Guyana Chronicle that he will address these once he is in receipt of such correspondence.
INTIMIDATION
The MMU report was also the basis of legal action advanced against the former president by a vocal critic of the current Administration, Christopher Ram.
Commenting on the action, which had its first hearing at the Whim Magistrates Court, Region 6 (East Berbice/ Corentyne) on Monday, Dr Jagdeo made it clear that he will not be intimidated.
He also warned on the dangers of such endeavours. “When your turn comes around, who is going to defend you?” Dr Jagdeo questioned the media practitioners, referring to the undemocratic practices of the former People’s National Congress (PNC), under which free speech was practically non-existent.
“Our supporters know what we are facing and I say to them, understand what we are up against…we are never going to get a fair shake from a few people,” Dr Jagdeo stressed.
The PPP/C, in addition to a formal complaint to GECOM, has also called on the MMU to review its decision at the earliest possible time and undertake a retraction of what was published.
The objectives of the MMU’s work include to: promote the maintenance of the highest professional standards in the media during the upcoming General and Regional Elections; nurture a responsible media environment that is supportive of the country’s democratic processes; facilitate the building of harmonious relationships between and among GECOM, the media, the Government, political parties and civil society – a relationship that results in peaceful elections; and to positively influence the process of self-regulation by local media practitioners.