Guyana's Government Information Agency (GINA) has withdrawn advertisements from private newspaper Stabroek News on the instructions of Dr. Nanda Gopaul, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President.

David de Caires, editor-in-chief of the Stabroek News, said Tuesday that, since the beginning of November 2006, the newspaper's advertising manager reported a significant reduction in the booking of advertisements from the agency which handles all the ads of government ministries. The advertising manager later said that, except for advertisements from the Guyana Revenue Authority dealing with impending value added tax, no other bookings were being received from GINA.

Several efforts were reportedly made to contact Dr. Prem Misir, the director of GINA, to discuss the matter but he neither accepted nor returned any telephone calls.

On January 3, de Caires wrote Dr. Misir referring to the cessation of advertisements which had resulted directly from a political directive and stated that this was a direct attack on the newspaper for political reasons and was completely unacceptable. He noted that President Bharrat Jagdeo had signed the declaration of Chapultepec, a famous declaration of free press principles adopted by the Inter-American Press Association in Mexico City on March 11, 1994. Clause 7 of that declaration states explicitly that "the granting or withdrawal of government advertising may not be used to reward or punish the media or individual journalists".

De Caires requested Dr. Misir to "urgently review this new discriminatory policy and that you let me have your written assurance that you will not persist with it."

Ready for review

On January 9, a reply was received from Karen Persuad, advertising coordinator of the GINA Advertising Unit, which referred to the letter and stated that "the issues raised have been acknowledged and have now been presented to the relevant department for review".

On January 10, de Caires responded that Ms. Persuad's statement was inadequate and that it was expected that appropriate levels of advertising would be re-established.

Since that day, no ministry advertisements have been received from GINA though several have appeared in the Guyana's other newspaper.

De Caires said the decision by the Government to withdraw ads constituted an apparent reversal of its policy of respect for freedom of expression and constituted an attack on the free press. He said he regretted that the Government, which had when in opposition suffered from restrictions on press freedom, had seen it fit to behave in such a manner.