THE GOVERNMENT of Guyana has made it clear that journalists and media workers in Guyana are no longer subject to physical and verbal attacks by government officials, nor are they imprisoned, killed or maimed because what they print or broadcast do not meet the approval of political or other forces.

The point was made in a statement issued by the coalition government on Tuesday evening in observance of World Press Freedom Day today, under the theme: Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies.
According to the government, “media houses do not suffer from government- imposed advertising blackouts, are not targeted or shut down; state media are not used for vulgar propaganda or ethnic and political attacks; media workers are not subject to threats, bullyism, intimidation, victimization or other forms of abuses.
“Simply put, media in Guyana are not curtailed or under attack as they used to be a few short years ago.”

The statement noted that the press in Guyana has the freedom and latitude to pursue, publish and broadcast whatever it wishes without fear of hindrance or harassment. “The enabling environment for journalists has undergone progressive change in the past two years to allow for a strengthening of the conditions under which they operate.”
The Coalition Government reiterated its commitment to protecting the constitutionally enshrined rights of the people of Guyana to freedom of expression and information, along with acting in accordance with the Declaration of Chapultepec to which our nation is a signatory.

According to the statement, World Press Freedom Day 2017 comes at a critical time when the world has witnessed and is being inundated by an explosion of fake news and misinformation fuelled by ambitions and agendas.
“The Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, therefore calls on the media, in the executing [of] their most important mandate, to observe the principles of the Chapultepec Declaration and be responsible and to eschew being lured into propagating narrow and partisan agendas which can engender hate, hostility, division and destabilization. Freedom of the press and freedom of information do not permit hate speech, libel, slander or defamation. Indeed, a free and independent press is most important in Guyana’s efforts to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the statement noted.

While acknowledging that the press zealously embraces its freedom, the government emphasized that it must also act responsibly as it seeks to inform, educate and entertain the populace.