The Guyana Press Association (GPA) is facing challenges in their efforts to uphold press freedom in Guyana. In a recent press release, the GPA highlighted the importance of freedom of expression as a fundamental human right enshrined in both the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and Article 146 of Guyana’s Constitution. This right is essential for the media to play its critical role in creating awareness about other human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The statement reads that, “Journalists, according to UNESCO, play a key role in disseminating verifiable facts and making complex matters intelligible for the public.” The GPA has embarked on a concerted effort to educate Guyanese and media practitioners about their roles and responsibilities. However, the integrity of journalism in Guyana is under threat not only from partisan interests but also from those who disseminate clearly partisan and unverifiable content that passes off as interviews or discussions.
This year’s World Press Freedom Day is being observed at a time when there appears to be a creeping intolerance towards media that seek answers, especially from the political directorates across Guyana’s major political divide. Defaming the character of journalists on politically-aligned social media pages or responding with expletives are violations of Article 12 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights that protects people against attacks upon their honor and reputation.
The GPA states that “the sitting government is using its leverage in the State Media and its aligned privately-owned media to violate the inalienable right to freedom of association as enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of Guyana.” The government is coercing workers to engage in practices that are inimical to the GPA at the altar of political expediency. Decades later, the government has embarked on a two-pronged strategy of using its leverage and pressure on media workers in the State media and sympathetic privately-owned media to take over the GPA or form a parallel organization.
The GPA is clear and unambiguous in its position that “the government’s sole interest is to control the narrative of the reality of the Guyanese media landscape locally, regionally, and internationally.” This World Press Freedom Day, it is important to remember the challenges faced by the GPA and other media organizations in their efforts to uphold press freedom in Guyana. The government of Guyana must be held accountable for any attempts to undermine this fundamental right. We must all stand together to protect freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights.
