62nd
General Assembly
Mexico City, Mexico
September 29 to October 3, 2006
Camino Real Hotel
Reports and Resolutions
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THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING CARIBBEAN
Report to the Midyear Meeting
Quito, Ecuador
BARBADOS
During the period under review there were no matters that impacted negatively
on the freedom of the press
The promise to introduce a Freedom of Information Act however remains a promise.
GUYANA
Two privately-owned newspapers, the Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News and
several private television stations operate freely.
The Government maintains a radio monopoly that it inherited from the previous
government in 1992. New broadcasting legislation had been promised a long time
ago to regulate the issuing and renewal of licenses and to monitor broadcast
standards and a government spokesman had said that private radio licenses would
then be issued, but nothing has been done. This would complete the liberalization
of the media.
In the meantime, however, an Advisory Committee on Broadcasting has been established
which advises the Minister on the issuance, suspension, and/or termination of
television broadcasting station licenses (including termination of unlicensed
broadcasts), monitors the adherence to or breach of broadcast standards relating
to content by licensees, receives and investigates complaints on broadcast standards,
advises on appropriate action in cases of violations of the conditions of the
license after due investigation and performs any other duties the responsible
Minister may ask it to assume within the confines of the regulations and the
Act.
There is no Freedom of Information Act. There is some access to government ministers
and other government departments but this could be better and an opposition
member of parliament has indicated an intention to lodge a Freedom of Information
bill for possible passage.
JAMAICA
The country is facing great
challenges from governments and agents of the state in doing their jobs. Several
violations of freedom of expression have been committed. Attempts have been
made to censor or exert pressure on forms of expressions; journalists have been
denied access to information, intimidated and their equipment destroyed.
A few examples:
Last year, weekly updates of the murder statistics from the Constabulary Communications
Network (CCN) were inaccessible to journalists and violated principle four of
Article 13 of the American Convention of Human Rights, which speaks of the right
to access to information held by the State.
Murder statistics were stopped for some time. Eventually the CCN began releasing
quarterly statistics, which affected the timely flow of information. It was
not until the end of January 2006 that weekly statistics were once again made
available to journalists.
Members of the Jamaican Constabulary force violated Principle nine of Article
13 in the Freedom of Expression Act, when they attacked up Television Jamaica
’s (TVJ) cameraman, Eldorando Mullings, while he was videotaping a police
operation in downtown Kingston in August 2005. His camera was taken away but
later returned to the television station without a written apology.
Jamaica ’s media managers have cited libel laws as the biggest threat
to freedom of the press as the laws are outdated. The World Press Freedom Review
cautioned the use of legislation to curb the press and cited the ongoing saga
of the libel case won by former Tourism Minister Anthony Abrahams against the
former Gleaner Company Limited Editor Dudley stokes and the Gleaner Company
Limited. Freedom House, a
US non-government organization supported the appeal made by Dudley Stokes and
the Gleaner Company to the Inter-American Commission on Human rights (IAHCR).
The World Press Freedom Review called for the IAHCR to “rebuke the Jamaican
Government for denying Dudley Stokes … protection of his freedom of expression
and by extension, threatening the citizens of Jamaica with restricted access
to diverse information”.
The IAHCR has asked the lawyer for the former Editor-in-Chief to enter into
“friendly discussions” with the government in relation to the petition.
The petition is seeking: “Just compensation for the cost and damages”
which resulted “from the violations” of the former editor’s
constitutional right of freedom of expression; and changes to the country’s
outdated laws.
TRINIDAD
Like Jamaica Trinidadian media practitioners are facing great challenges from
governments and agents of the state in doing their jobs.
Trinidad’s Guardian newspaper, photojournalist, Suzette Edwards-Lewis
was allegedly severely harassed up by policeman while covering a story in Port-of
Spain in January 2005 as she tried to photograph police handcuffing several
school children disturbing the peace at a pre-carnival event. She reported that
police stripped her of her blouse and also beat her on her arm and back. She
later faced charges for resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.
In August of that same year another Trinidad Guardian newspaper reporter claimed
that his digital media card was removed from his camera and flung into the muddy
water by a police officer while he tried to photograph flood damage at the Caroni
Police Station in Trinidad
Freelance television cameraman Ivan Toolsie, was detained by MTS security guards
(employed by the State) at the San Fernando General Hospital and was ‘encouraged’
to erase the video footage that he had just shot of illegal dumping and leaking
sewers on the compound.
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