Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo’s attack on media houses that do not support his views does not appear would end anytime soon.His administration had once referred to the private media houses as vultures and carrion crows, but that was a few years ago. Today, the scaling back of the hostility towards the media, as many would have expected, seems to be a pie in the sky. The former President latest outburst was delivered at a recent meeting with supporters, during which he implored them to boycott the newspapers which do not support the views of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).
From a cursory look at things, Mr. Jagdeo was most likely encouraging his supporters not to buy the Stabroek News, the Kaieteur News and the Guyana Chronicle. These newspapers are not under his wings, and the latter he no longer controls. There are a number of issues that can be examined in light of the appeal by Mr. Jagdeo, but three readily come to mind that really give a useful insight into his thinking and general posture regarding scrutiny.
It would be recalled that at one time, the former President enjoyed a healthy relationship with Kaieteur News owner Glenn Lall, and even praised Lall for being a prudent businessman. It was only when the Kaieteur News became critical of his administration on the award of a slew of questionable contracts and a number of secret deals that the newspaper was deemed a rag, spreading hearsay and distortions of the facts.
Prior, hardly any condemnatory statement came from his government against the Kaieteur News, since in his view staying silent on wrong-doings in his administration was doing a good for his government. Things do not remain the same forever, and today, the Guyana Chronicle is no longer under his contagious gaze. This newspaper is now free to be balanced after for years it was suffocated in its attempts to be thorough and fair. Not strangely, the sordid reporting by this newspaper then was praised by Jagdeo.
Of course, party loyalists of the former administration, some of whom had no professional training as journalists were put in charge to manage the state media. And what came out was of no surprise at all as the nation was made to endure the substitution of verification for allegation-based journalism. Today, the Chronicle no longer dances to the tunes and whims and fancies of the Jagdeo loyalists, and for him, it is now a requirement to tell the supporters of the PPP not to buy the newspaper which many of them once embraced.
Sadly, the hypocrisy seems not to stop. And the latest newspaper boycott call by Jagdeo points in this direction. Some would recall months before the last elections, then A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Co-Chair Dr Rupert Roopnaraine made a call for the boycott of the State media and was roundly criticised by the Guyana Times.
The question has to be asked: “Why the Jagdeo PPP sees it wrong for Dr Roopnaraine to call for a boycott of the State media, but is silent on Jagdeo, who has also committed a travesty by calling for a boycott of newspapers critical of the party he leads”.
From the posture of Jagdeo, it appears as though he has bestowed upon himself special privileges and rights, in the sense that it is wrong for others to make reckless statements, but it is right for him to do so. This brutish reasoning is disgusting to say the least. But there is more to it. The latest boycott call tells of the former President’s ingrained abhorrence for differing views and opinions. This does not speak well for transparency and accountability and it is not happenstance that his administration was dogged by accusations of lack of transparency and accountability.