PRESS and Publicity Officer at the Office of the President, Mr. Kwame McCoy, has issued a statement in which he chided Kaieteur News reporter  Mr. Neil Marks for what he described as disruptive and uncouth behaviour during a post-Cabinet press briefing at the Presidential Complex yesterday.
“Today, Wednesday, July 27, 2011, at the Office of the President, during its weekly post-cabinet press briefing Mr. Neil Marks, who is a Kaieteur news reporter, took it upon himself, to be obtrusive, rude and overtly antagonistic,” McCoy stated.
“He constantly interrupted the briefing by heckling, talking loudly while others had the floor and hurling snide remarks throughout the briefing. Although he was warned by the moderator that he was out of order, Mr. Marks persisted with his unprofessional behaviour,” McCoy said.
He noted that after several warnings on no less than five  occasions, Marks’ behaviour did not abate and  security personnel were summoned as a precautionary measure in keeping with Office of the President’s standard operating procedures.
McCoy said that even the presence of the security did not deter Marks from what appeared to be his  “planned misconduct”’.
McCoy also made it clear, for the record, that at no point during or after the press briefing did  security engage Marks.
“Mr. Marks’ disruptive and uncouth behaviour was unnecessary and avoidable (and) the moderator’s action resulted from his several interjections while others were speaking including Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon and Minister of Education Hon. Shaik Baksh and his (Marks) colleague reporters,” McCoy stated.
“After being told by the moderator that the press briefing was not his, Mr. Marks’ retorted that it did not either belong to the moderator suggesting he, Marks had a prerogative to behave in the most unethical and unprofessional manner,” he added.
The Press and Publicity Officer also indicated that it is the duty of the moderator to ensure order at press briefings apart from giving reporters an equal opportunity to pose their questions. “No one person can dominate, as Mr. Marks was insisting that he be given the floor unlimited time and to his own leisure,” McCoy stated.
He noted that the Kaieteur News reporter was afforded the same number of opportunities to pose questions which were all addressed. McCoy said at no time was Marks impeded, nor his questions ignored. In fact, he was the second of the seven reporters who asked questions, including Kwesi Isles of Demerara Waves, Telesha Persaud of Guyana Chronicle, Janelle Persaud of Guyana Times, Adele Rampersaud of NCN, Chad Ramsaroop of MTV and Zoisa Fraser of Stabroek News.