Sharma’s Suspension… Jagdeo misled nation about Broadcasting Committee – Corbin
October 6, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under News
Source - Kaieteur News
President Bharrat Jagdeo
The constitutionality and impartiality of the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting which reportedly recommended an eight-month suspension for CNS TV 6 to President and Minister of Information, Bharrat Jagdeo, has come in for severe flack.
And President Bharrat Jagdeo has come in for serious criticism by Robert Corbin who in his capacity as leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has called the Head of State a liar and has accused him of being dishonest and of misleading the nation.
Jagdeo on Tuesday at the Office of the President had chided critics of the suspension. He said that he was acting on a recommendation by the ACB on which he said there was an opposition nominee when the recommendation was made.
That opposition nominee was supposed to be Ron Case who was recommended by the opposition. But Corbin said that Case was pulled from the ACB since 2003. He said that Jagdeo was downright lying when he said that Case was a party to the recommendation to suspend Sharma.
Opposition Leader Robert Corbin
Corbin said that he will today host a media session and provide all of the details and evidence to prove that the Head of State has been deceitful to the nation.
Prior to Corbin’s revelation National Executive Member of the Alliance for Change Cathy Hughes reiterated that former ACB member, Case, had not been on that body for several years.
At an AFC press briefing at the party’s Head Office in Campbellville, Hughes questioned the impartiality of the decisions being made by the ACB in light of the fact that one member of the ACB had been absent since 2003 and was not replaced.
Her party has also signed on to a joint position against the President’s decision to ban the television station for four months.
This position is one adopted, according to Hughes, by the combined political opposition, along with the religious community, civil society and the trades union movement all of whom have expressed disappointment with the suspension of the broadcasting license.
They believe that the “frivolous explanation proffered by the President is intended to cloud the real intention behind the suspension: the silencing of all voices of dissent.”
“The very fact that the controversial Tony Vieira commentary was also aired on another channel, but no such action was taken against that channel, evidences the reality that CNS TV6 is the victim of sustained Government harassment and persecution…
“Also, given the fact that this controversial commentary is currently engaging the attention of the Court, this suspension indeed flies in the face of the procedural sanctity of the judicial process.”
Opposition elements including the AFC Presidential Candidate Khemraj Ramjattan are questioning why the President did not wait until the outcome of that court action before coming to a decision.
“The reality is that the suspension is purported to be done on the basis of the recommendations of the improperly constituted body of the ACB, the status of which is the subject of court proceedings, has to be seen as morally and legally repugnant
“The closure of CNS TV6 at this critical period, just before the holding of the 2011 General and Regional Elections can only be calculated to silence all voices of dissent.”
The explanation that the President proffered in relation to the fact that the suspension had nothing to do with the election period did not find favour with the AFC. Ramjattan insisted that the president could have waited until after the elections to impose the suspension if the breaches were that egregious.
The opposition did come in for a blow however when AFC member David Patterson reported to media operatives that a request by the Opposition to have the Guyana Elections Commission intervene given its role to ensure free and fair elections, met with a block.
Patterson said that GECOM said that it will have to seek legal advice to determine whether it has ‘locus standi’ to act in the matter.
Ramjattan told this publication that as it relates to the ‘leniency’ by the Head of State, “Jagdeo’s statement justifying his sentence of the four months suspension of Sharma must be seen as petty and vindictive and an action which exposes his party and government for what they have become.”
Ramjattan explained that the President wants to put a spin on the suspension saying that it was Sharma’s wife Savitri “whose will was completely sapped as one could imagine,” got what they begged for.
He was speaking to the fact that the president had said that it was Savitri Singh who had requested a four-month ban instead of the recommendation of the ACB.
Ramjattan said that the President wants to come off as being “so nice and forgiving that he gave Sharma what they begged for.”
He said that this public rationalization by the President as to his infliction of the four-month suspension, “into the heart of an election campaign is macabre as it is Machiavellian.”
AFC Presidential Candidate Khemraj Ramjattan (right) and NEC Member Cathy Hughes
The AFC Presidential Candidate says that the president wants to now placate the public’s anger. “He wants the public to appreciate (this being the appreciation season) how gracious, generous, a Pontius Pilate he is and how he should be venerated and revered for his sense of justice.”
The joint Statement issued states that, “It is a shameful breach of all the rules, values and conventions of the democratic societal model.
“Moreover, this suspension has to be seen as a blatant attack on the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression, both in its letter and spirit.”
It added too that coupled with the PPP’s monopolization of the State media – treating it as if it is a propaganda arm of the PPP – along with a scarcely disguised control of MTV 65 and the Guyana Times, Sharma’s closure is effected with the intention of denying the political opposition the right to communicate with the Guyanese electorate.
“It also flies in the face of the electorate’s right to receive such information which would enable voters to make informed decisions.”
October 6, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under News
Source - Kaieteur News
President Bharrat JagdeoThe constitutionality and impartiality of the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting which reportedly recommended an eight-month suspension for CNS TV 6 to President and Minister of Information, Bharrat Jagdeo, has come in for severe flack.
And President Bharrat Jagdeo has come in for serious criticism by Robert Corbin who in his capacity as leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has called the Head of State a liar and has accused him of being dishonest and of misleading the nation.
Jagdeo on Tuesday at the Office of the President had chided critics of the suspension. He said that he was acting on a recommendation by the ACB on which he said there was an opposition nominee when the recommendation was made.
That opposition nominee was supposed to be Ron Case who was recommended by the opposition. But Corbin said that Case was pulled from the ACB since 2003. He said that Jagdeo was downright lying when he said that Case was a party to the recommendation to suspend Sharma.
Opposition Leader Robert CorbinCorbin said that he will today host a media session and provide all of the details and evidence to prove that the Head of State has been deceitful to the nation.
Prior to Corbin’s revelation National Executive Member of the Alliance for Change Cathy Hughes reiterated that former ACB member, Case, had not been on that body for several years.
At an AFC press briefing at the party’s Head Office in Campbellville, Hughes questioned the impartiality of the decisions being made by the ACB in light of the fact that one member of the ACB had been absent since 2003 and was not replaced.
Her party has also signed on to a joint position against the President’s decision to ban the television station for four months.
This position is one adopted, according to Hughes, by the combined political opposition, along with the religious community, civil society and the trades union movement all of whom have expressed disappointment with the suspension of the broadcasting license.
They believe that the “frivolous explanation proffered by the President is intended to cloud the real intention behind the suspension: the silencing of all voices of dissent.”
“The very fact that the controversial Tony Vieira commentary was also aired on another channel, but no such action was taken against that channel, evidences the reality that CNS TV6 is the victim of sustained Government harassment and persecution…
“Also, given the fact that this controversial commentary is currently engaging the attention of the Court, this suspension indeed flies in the face of the procedural sanctity of the judicial process.”
Opposition elements including the AFC Presidential Candidate Khemraj Ramjattan are questioning why the President did not wait until the outcome of that court action before coming to a decision.
“The reality is that the suspension is purported to be done on the basis of the recommendations of the improperly constituted body of the ACB, the status of which is the subject of court proceedings, has to be seen as morally and legally repugnant
“The closure of CNS TV6 at this critical period, just before the holding of the 2011 General and Regional Elections can only be calculated to silence all voices of dissent.”
The explanation that the President proffered in relation to the fact that the suspension had nothing to do with the election period did not find favour with the AFC. Ramjattan insisted that the president could have waited until after the elections to impose the suspension if the breaches were that egregious.
The opposition did come in for a blow however when AFC member David Patterson reported to media operatives that a request by the Opposition to have the Guyana Elections Commission intervene given its role to ensure free and fair elections, met with a block.
Patterson said that GECOM said that it will have to seek legal advice to determine whether it has ‘locus standi’ to act in the matter.
Ramjattan told this publication that as it relates to the ‘leniency’ by the Head of State, “Jagdeo’s statement justifying his sentence of the four months suspension of Sharma must be seen as petty and vindictive and an action which exposes his party and government for what they have become.”
Ramjattan explained that the President wants to put a spin on the suspension saying that it was Sharma’s wife Savitri “whose will was completely sapped as one could imagine,” got what they begged for.
He was speaking to the fact that the president had said that it was Savitri Singh who had requested a four-month ban instead of the recommendation of the ACB.
Ramjattan said that the President wants to come off as being “so nice and forgiving that he gave Sharma what they begged for.”
He said that this public rationalization by the President as to his infliction of the four-month suspension, “into the heart of an election campaign is macabre as it is Machiavellian.”
AFC Presidential Candidate Khemraj Ramjattan (right) and NEC Member Cathy HughesThe AFC Presidential Candidate says that the president wants to now placate the public’s anger. “He wants the public to appreciate (this being the appreciation season) how gracious, generous, a Pontius Pilate he is and how he should be venerated and revered for his sense of justice.”
The joint Statement issued states that, “It is a shameful breach of all the rules, values and conventions of the democratic societal model.
“Moreover, this suspension has to be seen as a blatant attack on the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression, both in its letter and spirit.”
It added too that coupled with the PPP’s monopolization of the State media – treating it as if it is a propaganda arm of the PPP – along with a scarcely disguised control of MTV 65 and the Guyana Times, Sharma’s closure is effected with the intention of denying the political opposition the right to communicate with the Guyanese electorate.
“It also flies in the face of the electorate’s right to receive such information which would enable voters to make informed decisions.”
Members of the opposition parties are calling for the return of CNS channel six, however according to President Bharrat Jagdeo it was the Sharma's who agreed to the four month ban.
