Guyana Press Association Condemns Media Allegations By Opposition Leader

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, April 17, 2019 (CMC) – The Guyana Press Association (GPA) said, today, it would hold Opposition Leader and General Secretary of the main opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Bharrat Jagdeo, “accountable”, should any harm come to media professionals, as it sought to link him to statements, it said, were aimed at a veteran journalist, here.

In a statement, the GPA said that it wanted to condemn, “in the strongest possible terms”, Jagdeo’s insinuation, during a public meeting in the United States, that a journalist, in Guyana, was paid, in relation to a story, regarding the qualifications of Irfaan Ali, the presidential candidate of the PPP.

The GPA said that during a public meeting in New York, last weekend, Jagdeo is alleged to have said the situation, regarding Ali’s qualification, was started by a local journalist, who was paid.

“Jagdeo could only be referring to journalist, Julia Johnson, who first reported on Ali’s story in January, and who Jagdeo also singled out, at his press conference a few months ago, in response to questions on the very story,” GPA said, adding that his position is tantamount to “calculated recklessness”.

The GPA said that Jagdeo is continuing his “decades’ long attack” on press freedom, here, and his “masquerade, as a champion for the free press, must be seen for the farce it is”.

The media association said that it was reiterating its position that “it will hold Jagdeo accountable, if any harm comes to our media professionals”, and urged the “diplomatic community and members of civil society to condemn Jagdeo’s attacks on the media.

The GPA said that it is also informing its regional and international partners to the latest attacks, by Jagdeo, on the media, here.