‘Sue, don’t muzzle the media’ – Edmund G. Maduro
Maduro made the statement yesterday August 29, 2016 in an exclusive interview with this news site.
“The media has a responsibility and they know it. If they step out [of line] sue, don’t muzzle the media,” added Mr Maduro.
Governor John S. Duncan OBE at a press conference at the Governor’s Residence on August 19, 2016 told the local media that he is having discussions with Leader of Government Business Premier and Minister of Information Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith and United Kingdom officials about “instituting measures that would help check and balance the press”.
Mr Maduro has joined many persons, civil society and most in the media fraternity in seeing this as another step to erode press freedom.
When Governor Duncan was pressed by a reporter, he had said he wanted to see a “information commissioner” who responds publicly on behalf of the people who feel that they have been defamed by false media reports.
‘All about secrecy & silencing media
“They are all about secrecy. The BVI likes to hide things, they want to continue to control what we the people know and not know and that is bad. We are the ones that put you there and we are not babies, we need to have information and if the media are the ones to put it there for us to know, well hell yes, let the media do their work,” added Mr Maduro.
He alluded to media houses around the world and closest as the United States of America (USA), “Do you look at CNN, do you look at BBC, NBC and all the big news outlets around the world? You see them digging into every tiny corner to bring the information that people have the right to hear out in the open. So why we here trying to become a [Fidel] Castro? Why?” Mr Maduro rhetorically questioned.
According to the former Chief Immigration Officer, this is not the first attempt by Government to muzzle the media, noting that some years ago it was either two of the local newspapers had published an article written by an international media body condemning attempts by government to silence the media.
The National Democratic Party (NDP) government passed a censorship Bill called the Cyber Act in March 2014 to put journalists in jail for reporting on some items, a Bill that has been condemned by the International Community.
“We have a lot of educated people here behaving like donkeys. The Governor to now try to go down this road is foolish, he needs to focus on things that matter more. Has he carried out the Commission of Inquiry as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee? I told him already he is behaving as if he is above the law, he is not carrying out his responsibilities,” said Mr Maduro.
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16 Responses to “‘Sue, don’t muzzle the media’ – Edmund G. Maduro”
Government KNOWS that the public wants and demands transparency, yet they insist upon hiding or obfuscating the facts in regards to various projects and other topics of interest. Some ministers at the highest level claim they "can't recall" or don't "have access to" the facts when questioned by the media about any particular project. They promise to present the facts at a "future date", but seldom make good on their promises and seldom (if ever) commit to when that future date might be.
Unless the press HOUNDS them, we are rarely told a darned anything. It's as though they are operating some kind of secret society - rather than a publicly funded and democratically ELECTED government. If someone feels they have been slandered or libeled, those of us who believe in and work under a democratic system use the law to settle our differences - whether it takes a long time or not! That's the way democracy works.
Now if we were talking about other less democratic countries such as China, North Korea, Laos, Egypt, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Iran, Angola, Sudan, Liberia, Belarus, Rwanda, Cameroon, Lybia, Chad, Kazakhstan or Russia then yeah, sure, go ahead and shackle freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom in general. That's standard practice for that bunch. Thanks a ton for the suggestion Governor Duncan, but I think we will opt out of that one.
For those who like to complain about the democratic system of justice or the speed at which the wheels of justice turn; you might appreciate the instant remedies offered in other places such as several of the countries noted noted above. Perhaps you would be happier if you moved there. Nobody is attaching any shackles to your feet to keep you here!