Ms. Nazima Raghubir obviously had to approve the Guyana Press Association (GPA)’s statement criticising what it said was state-supported social media entities attacking journalists. The GPA specifically referred to the social media outlet named, “Live in Guyana.”
Ms. Raghubir should be the last person on Planet Earth to talk about the media. She was selected to be president of the GPA in what was one of the most disgraceful elections by a civil society group in Guyana. As a sitting president, Ms. Raghubir had access to the GPA’s membership roll but the GPA refused to make it available to contestant, Neil Marks.

The French Ambassador to Guyana said that the embassy has ongoing discussions with civil society groups in Guyana. I wonder if the gentleman knows how Ms. Raghubir was “elected.” Ms. Raghubir’s election takes me back to all the rigged national elections I have witnessed.
When you look at the numbers the PNC gave itself in the 1973, 1980 and 1985 general elections then you want to believe that someone in the GPA read about those elections and copied the methodology. Ms. Raghubir is a conspicuous media figure on the opposition side. Yet her votes were an incredible piece of mathematics reminiscent of 34 instead of 33 being the majority of 65.

Mr. Marks had the support of media houses, both state and private, and should have won handsomely. But he didn’t and the votes Ms. Raghubir got as against Marks’ remind one of the 70 percent Burnham claimed in the 1973 general elections as against 26 percent for the PPP. The result of the GPA’s 2023 elections is identical with the 1973 results – Raghubir 70 (PNC- 70), Marks 25 (PPP 26).
Logical deduction would reveal even to a moron that Ms. Raghubir could not get 70 votes because if you add up all the opposition aligned media houses, the employees in total do not reach 70. In contrast, State media houses and private newspapers voting for Marks would have put him far past Ms. Raghubir. As it stands today, Ms. Raghubir has exceeded the time limit of two terms.

Let’s look at the ironies that are entrapped in the mind of Raghubir. The GPA intoned that social media outlets aligned to the state attack journalists. This is coming from the GPA whose president was at the public meeting called by the PNC in support of Melly Mel. The online malignancy of Melly Mel and Rickford Burke has no parallel in the English speaking Caribbean.
But we don’t have to go online to see what the atrocities are that characterise media houses that are aligned with anti-government organisations. The Kaieteur News (KN) and the Stabroek News (SN) are perhaps deeper into political activism than even Fox News in the USA. Does Ms. Raghubir read the KN and SN?

Let’s us give more examples of the entrapped ironies in the psyche of Ms. Raghubir. I quote from the GPA: “The relentless and spurious reports from Live in Guyana, and others like it, are an insult to journalism and a distraction from well-researched and ethical outlets that work to deliver the truth to the Guyanese people.”

Two responses can be offered to this statement. First, the manner of Ms. Raghubir’s selection as president of the GPA is an insult to journalism. The KN that I did columns for is an insult to journalism. The racist and cultural insults in the SN editorials against the leaders of the ruling PPP are an insult to journalism. Ms. Raghubir’s description of me afraid to debate her and while running away from her she had to chase after me at Giftland Mall is an insult to journalism.
Secondly, who delivers the truth to the Guyanese people? And what is truth? Does KN deliver the truth to the Guyanese people? Does SN deliver the truth to the Guyanese people? What is the truth of what is taking place in Gaza? Did SN bring the truths of Gaza to the Guyanese people?

SN has not featured any of the Palestinian marches in Georgetown or any of the four symposia on Palestine held right here in Guyana. SN did not cover the visit to Guyana on different occasions of the Palestinian Ambassador to Guyana and the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN.
SN has not interviewed any Palestinian global personality but got in touch with the Israeli Ambassador to the UN and did a most sycophantic interview with him that is an insult to journalism. The final irony is that all the executives in the GPA are opposition aligned. Now that is an insult to journalism.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.