The latest response by Kaieteur News to publish the homes of two former world leaders is indeed a sad attempt to mislead Guyanese. The photos which are available through the Google search engine were released by the said governments after being vetted by security agencies for obvious reasons.
The fact that the photographs had to be checked and cleared for publication is an accepted practice, particularly given the times in which we live.
The move by Kaieteur News has rightly been condemned by many right-thinking Guyanese as reckless journalism and indeed as a security breach. It should be noted that when Google decided to make available online satellite views of certain key facilities, many governments objected and some areas were redacted. It is disturbing that the publisher of the newspaper is willing to take what can only be described now as a personal vendetta to new heights. Given the measures many key figures in society take to insure their personal safety, the move by the publication was slammed by a senior police official as a flagrant security breach and an abuse of press freedom. He likened it to publishing the schematics of the homes of private individuals and noted that the response from those so offended would be swift.
The fact was noted that many countries have had to adapt to a constantly evolving security situation and the press should be cognizant of this fact. The home of the former president should be considered sacrosanct and indeed this applies to all former heads of state across the world. The two former world leaders have at their disposal far greater resources with which to guarantee their security; indeed, the airspace around many of those homes and facilities are tightly controlled, much less access by ground. Closer to home, I challenge anyone to find online a clear aerial photograph of the Prime Minister’s residence of Trinidad and Tobago. The pictures online of the residence show shots from certain angles and interior shots, all of which are officially vetted and sanctioned.