Speaker chides Govt. media over ‘false story’ on Opposition MP

-    threatens appropriate sanctions

Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman has threatened to consider allegations of contempt against two government-affiliated media houses over what he described as the deliberate alteration of the comments of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Keith Scott during his budget debate presentation last Tuesday.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman

The news items had to do with Scott’s comments during the debate on the National Budget 2013, regarding the impacts of mining in the interior of Guyana.
Scott had complained to the speaker about a violation of privilege, accusing the media outlets – I-News Guyana (an online news outfit) and the Guyana Chronicle – of disrespecting him by the falsity of the articles they carried, which caused him to be seen in a negative light.
Speaker Trotman described the news items as offensive to both Scott and the National Assembly.
He said that following Scott’s complaint, which was made minutes after I-News’ hasty publication, he has since been able to peruse the relevant sections of the verbatim transcript of the MP’s presentation and is satisfied that what was stated by him is “an extremely far cry” from that which was stated in the news items of the media in question.
According to Trotman, despite his pronouncements on the matter on the very evening that it was brought to him, the situation was compounded by the publication of the same story in the Guyana Chronicle the following day, which has led him to believe that the two media entities work in tandem.
In a written ruling that was distributed to members of the National Assembly handed down yesterday the Speaker recapped the exact words spoken by Scott (as supplied by the Hansard Department), followed by the words of the news story.

Mr. Scott’s Portion on Mining
“Mr. Speaker, mining is one of the traditional pillars of our economy. The Minister gushes that gold production has reached unprecedented levels. More jobs he claims will be created. What he has not told us is the real cost of this money to the society as a whole. Go to internet and Google “Major General Ret’d Joe Singh”, the pictures you will see of our rivers will show the unbelievable discoloration and damage to our river banks as a result of dredging and other mineral extraction in the interior. A few days ago we saw the deadly effect of the outbreak of water borne diseases in Region 1 as residents of Port Kaituma struggled to contend with polluted water from the river. There is a quote, “only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned, the last fish has been caught will we realize that we cannot eat money”.
Tell us then Mr. Minister since gold production was the highest in history, even 20.8 percent higher than last year, how much will we set aside from this wealth to clean up our rivers? How do you intend to restore our river banks and how do you plan to enhance the capacity of the environmental protection agency and other environmental forces so they can adequately police mining operations ensuring that best international safety practices are maintained so that the residents can live in a clean and safe environment? Show us how some of the wealth extracted will be used to help the small man enjoy a better standard of living.”

FROM THE I-News Story
“The opposition A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Keith Scott today launched an attack on miners and other operators in the mining sector, accusing them of destroying Guyana and the lives and dwelling of Guyanese.
During his presentation on Budget 2013 Debate, Scott claimed that miners continue to rape Guyana of its natural resources, while destroying waterways, fishes and trees.
He has also demanded firmer action by the authorities against miners. Scott also called for more resources for the EPA and other agencies to effectively carry out their mandate.
Meanwhile, the miner’s association representatives have reportedly taken the APNU MP to task, demanding an apology. The association reportedly intends to write APNU about the “unfounded accusations”.

STATEMENTS ALTERED
According to the Speaker, it is pellucid that both the content and context of Scott’s statements have been altered.
“There is no reference to the words “destroy” and “rape” that are used in parenthesis by the publishers. Further, the alteration is so vast that the explanation of a grammatical slip, or misinterpretation, will be too incredulous and unbelievable to be acceptable. There is no doubt in my mind that the Honourable Member’s words were deliberately altered to create a negative impression of him. This, in my opinion, is offensive both to him, and to this august House,” Trotman declared.

APNU MP Keith Scott

He noted that as Speaker, he recognizes that the Press, as the proverbial “fourth estate” has a critical and irreplaceable role in guarding our democracy, and that in doing so, no fetters should be placed on its ability to discharge its responsibilities.
“I juxtapose this truism against the privileged rights and responsibilities of representative assemblies the world over. There is an obvious tension between the two – some may even say a “necessary tension;” with each acting as a countervailing force and check and balance on the other,” the Speaker stated.
However he pointed out that in its zeal to bring information to the public, particularly of persons in public office, the press actions must still be circumscribed by laws, social norms and professional ethics.
Likewise, in its quest to provide full and unadulterated representation to constituents, Members of Parliament must be aware that this privilege must however not be abused or taken for granted and that they are, as elected officials, and representatives of the people, “fair game” in the eyes of the press, Trotman argued.
Therefore, he said, a balance has to be found between what is permissible in the context of free speech and the protection of the privileged rights of the National Assembly.
“I believe that Members of Parliament must not only be aware of the protections afforded them, but must be able to feel its protective cloak when needed. Guyana is by no means singular and unique as it grapples with this perennial issue, which issue has become exacerbated in the digital and technological age,” the Speaker said.
In concluding, the Speaker said that he found that the publishers of I-News and the Guyana Chronicle have violated the privileged rights of the opposition Member of Parliament.
He ordered a full and unqualified apology, and that a retraction of the story must be made at the same level and manner of publicity as was given to the “false story” by today.
“Should the publishers fail to abide by this ruling, the House will be moved at the earliest opportunity to consider allegations of contempt against the publishers and to recommend an appropriate sanction,” the Speaker said.