Vexed Bermoothes

The Premier  has ordered Government communications officers to “reduce their contact” with the Royal Gazette and the Mid-Ocean News.

He informed the newspapers that his move was designed “to reduce the rancour and lower the toxicity that have become the norm”.

This, to put it bluntly, is sign of power and control run amok.  It puts the Premier’s personal feelings above Government’s responsibilities.

It is also in direct contravention with many international standards on press freedom.  For example, from the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a wing of the OAS whose hospitality the Premier has enjoyed:

Prior censorship, direct or indirect interference in or pressure exerted upon any expression, opinion or information transmitted through any means of oral, written, artistic, visual or electronic communication must be prohibited by law. Restrictions to the free circulation of ideas and opinions, as well as the arbitrary imposition of information and the imposition of obstacles to the free flow of information violate the right to freedom of expression.

The exercise of power and the use of public funds by the state, the granting of customs duty privileges, the arbitrary and discriminatory placement of official advertising and government loans; the concession of radio and television broadcast frequencies, among others, with the intent to put pressure on and punish or reward and provide privileges to social communicators and communications media because of the opinions they express threaten freedom of expression, and must be explicitly prohibited by law. The means of communication have the right to carry out their role in an independent manner. Direct or indirect pressures exerted upon journalists or other social communicators to stifle the dissemination of information are incompatible with freedom of expression.

This is yet another sad comment on Bermuda’s governance and maturity.

It’s also counterproductive.  With the growing dissent and disasatisfaction in our community, details that run counter to the official spin inevitably leak out to the media.  By restricting official communication, the Premier is disabling Government’s ability to get its perspective across.  This move will simply fuel the growing questions about the Premier’s leadership and the PLP’s willingness to be associated with such heavy handed measures.

It’s indicative of the growing fixation with control and spin in our Government, following the cutting off of official advertising in the Royal Gazette, Government’s lavishly funded CITV mouthpiece, the threat of a punitive Press Council, and the hints of a possible PLP-affiliated newspaper.

I’d be remiss in not pointing out that many international organisations have already protested the Premier’s earlier rough handling of the local media. These include the  International Press Institute, Association of Caribbean Media Workers, the Index on Censorship, the UK Press Gazette, Reporters Without Borders, IFEX, the International Freedom of Expression eXchange, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Sunshine Week/ American Society of Newspaper Editors, the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, and Caribbean Net News, and The Guardian.

And I can’t resist commenting that, while the Premier may hate the newspapers, he is an avid reader.  I often sit behind GP1 in traffic to see him in the back seat comfortably engrossed in his morning Royal Gazette.