I ENTERED the lounge of Herdmanston Lodge for the book launch of Dr. Mark Kirton’s text on Guyana-Brazil relations. At the door was journalist Denis Chabrol. I extended an invitation to Mr. Chabrol to be on the Gildarie-Freddie Kissoon Show. He simply said, “I will not come.” I asked why, but he refused to explain.

As I sat down, I noticed that in the same lane with me were Vincent Alexander and Enrico Woolford. I invited Mr. Alexander, he accepted and he appeared on the show. I invited Mr. Woolford, he agreed to appear and indicated that I must contact him for dates. How ironic, the journalist that puts his mike to all types of public figures to get a comment from them, refused to speak to other media practitioners.

Why did Chabrol decline? I believe it is for the very reason that Nazima Raghubir and Anand Persaud, editor-in-chief of Stabroek News (SN) refused to come. They feel that their (not “the” but “their”) practice of journalism will be in the spotlight and I think they doubt their capacity to answer questions from me and Gildarie. They feel intimidated because their journalism won’t be able to stand scrutiny.

This is in sharp contrast to other Guyanese whose self-confidence and intellectual capabilities they want the nation to see. Mr. Alexander had his hour and he spoke his mind. He said he will challenge the Attorney-General on the programme on the votes for the East Coast in the March 2020 elections.

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton was our guest and he fielded an hour of questions from us. Ganesh Mahipal was on the show twice and he let me and Gildarie know how he feels about Frederick Kissoon and his politics.

He spoke his mind. Dr. David Hinds appeared twice on the Gildarie-Freddie Kissoon Show and shouted down on me to be quiet because I am behaving like a parrot. We can go on with the names of so many guests from different opposition parties who simply sat down and discussed what they want our viewers to hear.

We had cartoonist Paul Harris whose items are 99 percent a negative reflection on the government. None of the hosts confronted Mr. Harris.

So, Ms. Ragubir who heads the Guyana Press Association (GPA) and who attends all kinds of press conferences and solicits information from people such as Cabinet ministers and the President, do not want to discuss journalism with other media houses. The identical cocoon Denis Chabrol and Anand Persaud live in.

What are they afraid of? Is Mr. Chabrol uncertain that Demerara Waves’ (DW) credibility may take a knocking if he is asked if Mr. GHK Lall owns the outfit? If he does, then DW is finished with because Mr. GHK Lall uses the most violent and scatological vocabulary to condemn the Guyana Government, therefore dissolving the practice of professional journalism at DM.

What is Ms. Ragubir afraid of? Maybe it is the theory of Ruel Johnson that we will put to her. That she should quit the presidency of the GPA this year because her four-year term would be up because she served for two years when there was no election because of the COVID-19 restrictions. This means that she should not be the president way into 2025? Is she afraid to answer how three members of the entire executive made the decision not to have the voters’ list available to the members before the GPA elections a few weeks ago?

But why would Persaud, Chabrol and Ragubir criticise ministers of government for being opaque when they themselves do not want to face questions? Mr. Persaud, the chief at SN does not want to comment on why he issued two edicts to presidential adviser Professor Randolph Persaud. One – that his letters will not be carried if he criticises certain civil society groups, especially Article 13, and soon after, the second edict came: his letters will no longer be accepted.

Well, if he does not want to comment, so be it. But he has a moral responsibility to SN readers, the public and journalism to say why. Refusal to do so puts Mr. Persaud in the terrible position where he does not have the right any longer to do two things – seek interviews and answers from ministers and criticise the government for not being accountable.

To conclude, Chabrol, Ragubir and Persaud cannot be that arrogant to seek answers from national actors in Guyana when they themselves are national actors and do not want to make themselves available to answer questions about their questionable journalism. How can that be right?