HAVE we ever stopped to think what impressions are conveyed by the bold front page headlines daily appearing in the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News especially, to visitors on their first experience coming to Guyana?
Invariably the news items are vulgar, depraved or associated with crimes of violent nature, including murder, and the texts employed are always imputing negative complaints involving the government. This willful policy has been, over the years, embraced by the two daily newspapers.Take as an example the headline employed by Stabroek News on Saturday February 22, 2014. “DPP asks cops to reopen baton rape probe.” This question of an allegation of a baton rape on a male victim by a police rank is itself of a vulgar nature, but it has been receiving wide front page publicity since early January 2014 including sordid details on what is yet only an allegation.
The front page stories quite often report on four different kinds of violent issues including murder and vicious attacks on persons, quite alarming and frightening to contemplate by potential investors visiting the country.
Where is the patriotism in all of this perfidious policy clearly intending to do harm? Yes it may be considered news but surely should not rank front page prominence, in any event where do we rank all the varied developmental issues taking place throughout the country in every sector be it electrification of roads, housing, water, schools, health, making life more comforting, they are always interesting stories to tell about the improvement taking place.
Our people are at work feeding the nation, building their own homes and generally improving themselves in myriad areas of endeavour. These people are concerned with building their country not conveying negative news or actions as is happening at the moment with the opposition Members of Parliament on the Money Laundering Bill which clearly demonstrate their determination to have Guyana blacklisted in so far as conducting International Trade Transactions.
I say we cannot afford to let this happen but unfortunately the opposition’s one seat majority will have the final say and with their vicious agenda of paralyzing the government’s forward movement, the future looks absolutely ominous.
We have to get rid of these imposters.
By David De Groot