GOVERNMENT PULLS ADS FROM INDEPENDENT DAILY

UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 000110

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM GY
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT PULLS ADS FROM INDEPENDENT DAILY

REF: GEORGETOWN 915


1. (SBU) Summary: Citing the paper's supposedly falling
circulation figures, GOG recently stopped placing state
advertisements in the independent Stabroek News. During the
2006 election campaign, President Jagdeo and ruling party
officials repeatedly accused Stabroek News of criticizing the
government and favoring the opposition Alliance for Change
(AFC). Although GOG continues to maintain that the ad
withdrawal was a purely commercial decision, the move has
drawn sharp criticism both locally and abroad. End Summary.


2. (U) In a January 15 press release, Stabroek News reported
that the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President,
Dr. Nanda Gopaul, had ordered the Government Information
Agency (GINA) to stop booking new advertising with the paper.
According to Editor-in-Chief David deCaires, GINA had
already begun reducing the number of bookings starting in
November 2006. DeCaires called GINA's decision "an apparent
reversal of its policy of respect for freedom of expression"
and "an attack on the free press."


3. (SBU) GINA's immediate counter-press-release defended the
decision to withdraw government advertising from Stabroek
News, arguing that Kaieteur News is now the largest private
newspaper in Guyana, and emphasizing the government's need to
maximize its advertising dollar. (Note: Kaieteur News does
not audit its circulation figures. End Note.) GINA said
that the government now intends to advertise in only one
private paper alongside its advertising in the
government-owned Guyana Chronicle, although the government
also continues to advertise in the People's Progressive
Party/CIVIC (PPP/C)-owned Mirror. In a subsequent press
release, GINA denied Gopaul's involvement in the ad
withdrawal. Speaking with the press, President Jagdeo
insisted that the policy change was "purely a business
decision" and was not handled at the presidential level. He
also promised that Gopaul would bring legal action against
"some of these people who have tainted him."


4. (SBU) Jagdeo, Prime Minister Sam Hinds, and PPP/C General
Secretary Donald Ramotar repeatedly and publicly criticized

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Stabroek News during the 2006 election campaign, accusing the
paper of anti-government bias. Jagdeo accused deCaires of
creating the opposition Alliance for Change (AFC) as a front
party to get into government "through the back door without
facing the polls."


5. (U) GINA's ad withdrawal has been condemned by the AFC,
the People's National Congress Reform (PNCR),the Guyana
Press Association (GPA),the Guyana Human Rights Association
(GHRA),and the Guyana Manufacturing and Services
Association. Regionally and internationally, Reporters
without Borders, the International Press Institute, and the
Association of Caribbean Media have criticized the
government's action.


6. (SBU) Comment: At best, the GOG's withdrawal of
advertising from Stabroek News represents a ham-fisted public
relations fiasco. At worst, it constitutes a misguided
attack on press freedom from a government with a history
(reftel) of monopolizing media resources. End Comment.

Robinson