Latest update April 20th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 02, 2014 Features / Columnists, My Column
Governments always find a way to make the news. Every Minister who cuts a ribbon to officially declare a facility open, or one who goes about shaking the hands of old people and children, want to be in the news. More often than not, they are accommodated. The media make them by putting a human face to them and they all like this. They smile for the cameras and life is beautiful for them.
But as the old people would say, we have to mix the coarse with the fine. And so it is that we in the media would take those same politicians to task when they stray along a path that would do no one any good.
Under these conditions the politicians, the same ones who were smiling with us just a few moments ago, suddenly bare their fangs. I suppose that life is like that; we only want our good side exposed. And so it is that we are now embroiled in an issue that exposed one side of the Attorney General.
I was surprised that very few people realized that the Samsung phone has a feature named ‘call recorder’. It is a useful feature because it allows everyone to record all calls. As a reporter I found it so useful because I could not misquote.
And there is nothing to worry about, because the calls are deleted and life goes on. What caused the problems in this case was the threat of physical harm to the staff of Kaieteur News. People get annoyed with us and threaten us with harm. At no time when we got angry with politicians did it cross our mind to threaten that politician.
Of course, some of those we offended would simply not talk to us. For example, we questioned the construction of the Marriott Hotel. Many things were said to us by the people behind the construction and these things turned out to be less than true. So we challenged the messenger, Winston Brassington. We even made jokes that annoyed him.
In turn, he simply said that he would no longer speak to the people at Kaieteur News. That was fine because we approached other sources, sometimes none better than President Donald Ramotar. The hotel is still being constructed and the questions remain, but life is going on. No one threatened us.
One unfortunate aspect of hostile political reactions, is that the world immediately sits up and takes notice. Globally, the media are seen as the sources of information of a country. Historians rely on the media for their research. This is why people always say that the media should not be restricted unless they step out of line with attacks on people or deliberately falsify events.
Under such conditions there is always recourse to the courts and not to violence. So it is that most people feel that the Attorney General crossed the line, and for the country’s chief custodian of the law to do that was found to be shocking.
For his part, he is saying nothing, although a statement would do wonders. Perhaps he feels that he has done nothing wrong, that he simply issued a warning to one of his friends working at Kaieteur News. But the big question is that since he is aware of what he said is an impending attack on the newspaper, why has he not stepped in to avert it?
He has access to the security mechanisms in the country and he took an oath to protect every citizen. However, he chooses to remain silent, and that is his prerogative.
Things get ugly when the state mechanism rallies to his defence. A report was made to the police and suddenly Kaieteur News becomes the focus of attention. The consensus of the police and the state is that Kaieteur News had no right to shout out that it is about to be attacked. A wild animal attacks someone and that person has no right to cry out.
One would have expected the police to ask the Attorney General whether he did utter the words and to question him about the nature of the ‘imminent’ attack. The police would have needed this information to protect the people at Kaieteur News. But this is not the case.
I went with one of my colleagues to Brickdam Police Station and learnt that the investigation is about the recorded phone call. Of course, the investigation was operating under the pretext that the call was intercepted.
Before I left, I gave one of the ranks the feature. Needless to say, he was excited and he even proclaimed that this was a great thing. He must have shared this by now with hosts of colleagues.
Immediately my mind went back to 2006 when telephone calls between the then Police Commissioner and others were really intercepted. The very Attorney General penned a letter that said that whoever did that interception did the country a great favour. He even quoted laws to support his contention. Indeed, the laws pertaining to interception were not in place, but from what the Attorney General wrote, even if that was the case, the interception was in the interest of the nation.
I do not know what has changed now; perhaps it is because the shoe is on the other foot. Do as I say and not as I do.
The police owe us an explanation, but then again, in this country officialdom does not have to say anything to anyone. The police can detain anyone for seventy-two hours for no reason; the police can charge even if there is no reason to charge. And so it is that I look on in awe at what passes for protection by the state.
The question is protection for whom? Surely not Kaieteur News at this time.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
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