See full statement issued by the Guyana Press Association (GPA):
The Guyana Press Association bemoans the attempt by the organisers of the Guyana Energy Conference to constrain the media’s free access to delegates and other participants of the event scheduled for February 14 to 17, 2023.
For many of the delegates coming from free, open and democratic societies where press freedom and media access are norms, this quite possibly is a novel experience for them as conference organisers are holding themselves out as the “conduit” for arranging interviews.
Further, the GPA notes with alarm restriction of the media to physical access to the opening of the event Energy Conference and from all cosmetic explanations given so far, we can only conclude that there is a sinister motive.
These are nothing else but attempts at State-driven control of the media and so foreign delegates should not be seen to be a party to conduct that smacks of some sort of press restriction.
The media, rather than the organisers of the Guyana Energy Conference, are the true and authentic conduits between decision-makers and the working class.
The GPA, therefore, urges the organisers of the Guyana Energy Conference to conduct themselves in accordance with globally acceptable rules of engagement with the media rather than seeking to impose, enforce or introduce barriers.
---
