Georgetown: President Donald Ramotar has promised that his new Government would be seeking out every possible measure that would prevent media operatives from spewing racism and hate messages to the public. The Head of State blasted sections of the media, whom, he said, were bent on dividing the country through racial incitement. He said should his Administration get back into office after the May 11 Regional and General Elections, it would be strengthening laws and considering every legal framework within the system to address the ongoing excessive abuse.
“I think we will need to look at what measures need to be put in place from a legal and moral point of view to try to prevent persons from distortion and lies and deal with the abuses that have been taking place and the incitement of racism,” Ramotar told a group of journalists at the Office of the President.
The Head of State, who was at the time addressing the issue of racism, said that while the Constitution provided for freedom of expression, persons had no right to abuse that privilege. “While you have a right, you don’t have a right to incite violence, you don’t have a right to preach racism, you don’t have a right to practise racism in this country. People don’t have that right,” the President stressed.
He said if someone tried to persistently create problems among the people of different descent in the country, then that person did not deserve to have that media outlet. “So we will be examining this and seeking out what are the best practices and see legally, what are the best practices other countries use to prevent this type of abuse and see if it could be implemented here and also study our situation to see what could be done here.”
Meanwhile, the President told journalists that his Administration has always had a non-racial policy, and has been improving the economic and social conditions of all Guyanese. According to him, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), since its formation under late President, Dr Cheddi Jagan, has always taken a position against the hostility racism evokes. He said the Party was founded as a national political body and has never had any policy which favoured one race at the expense of another. He said while the Party may be guilty of fighting a little more for Guyanese of Amerindian descent, it was his Administration’s overall policy to advance the cause of every citizen.
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