THIS week, Chandra Narine Sharma, the so called arch-enemy of President Jagdeo, paid him a ‘courtesy call’ wherein he was told that his television station would be pulled off the air for four months.

Strange indeed for a courtesy call  of this kind, because there was nothing polite or friendly in the issuance of a ban on one’s television station which leads me to believe that there is much more to this story. Be that as it may, let us take a closer look at the case before us.

Sharma was issued a four-month censure for airing very highly controversial statements. CNS Channel 6 is known to have these programmes wherein individuals publicly express their opinions, the content of which are often libellous and seek to incite sedition.
For this reason, Sharma was slapped with a four-month ban. There are those who believe that this represents a gag order on Sharma or a direct threat to free speech.

I beg to disagree because in an age of technology when the content of a broadcast can be vetted before its release to the public, more work should have been done by Sharma’s technicians. Sharma being moderator of these shows should have been more vigilant and responsible and should have seen to it that such views do not become public.

Speaking of free speech, I would like to remind those in the opposition who believe that just anything can be broadcast that the stark reality is there to be seen in the recent Abdul Kadir case.

These were just men having an informal ‘joke’, if you please, about a terrorist attack at a US airport at rush hour and the lethal damage this could cause and the result is a life sentence for those involved.

They were having free speech in a country that promotes it, so why punish them? And to think of it, they were not on national television having  any formal ties to a terrorist organisation! But the verdict is out – life for the conversationalists. So my question for those who think that the government is out to get Sharma and to silence its critics, please study the American case carefully and come up with a very good conclusion that merits my attention.