I was flipping through the channels on July 17 and I ended up watching First Look News which was on HBTV Channel Nine. I know Guyana’s broadcasters are a wild bunch but even for them, this was out there.

On the news were Norris Witter, Lincoln Lewis and Mark Benschop, the three musketeers as they have been nicknamed, and they were in fine fettle despite their time in the Brickdam lock-ups.

What I found very disturbing is that Witter clearly stated that “the fire has now begun to burn”. These are inflammatory comments, in more ways than one may first perceive, whose connotations are obvious – inciting the watching public to violence.

Benschop lashed out at Government and the Commissioner of Police referring to the Administration as criminal and made several disparaging remarks about the character of the Commissioner of Police.

Such statements are not news. They are the rantings of individuals who do not have the best interest of Guyana and Guyanese in mind. It is my opinion, and I am sure many other Guyanese, that this effluent should not be broadcast on television.

I urge the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB) to take the necessary steps needed to censure HBTV Channel Nine for their conduct.

CNS Channel Six was recently censured for showing unsuitable content and for the statements by one of its hosts, and was taken off the air for airing a caller’s threats.

These comments by Witter, Lewis and Benschop threaten the country, and the television station that aired them should be severely reprimanded.

I, and other law-abiding Guyanese, am waiting to see what actions will be taken by the ACB.
QUACIE GALLOWAY