Press Association slams Energy Conference’s ‘media restriction’

The Guyana Press Association has blasted the organizers of the Energy Conference for what it calls a ‘constraint of the media’s free access’ to the delegates and other participants of the event which opens today in Georgetown Guyana and runs until February 17, 2023.

In a statement issued hours before the official opening of the conference, the GPA reminded that many of the delegates to the conference come from free, open, and democratic societies where press freedom and media access are norms.

It further stated that the conference is quite possibly a new experience for them as the conference organizers are holding themselves out to be the conduit for arranging interviews [between the delegates and media]

“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” The Guyana Press Association noted.

The Guyana Press Association regarded the developments as attempts at State-driven control of the media and called on the foreign delegates not to be a party to the process of ‘press restriction’

“The media, rather than the organizers of the Guyana Energy Conference, are the true and authentic conduits between decision-makers and the working class. The GPA, therefore, urges the organizers of the Guyana Energy Conference to conduct themselves in accordance with globally accepted rules of engagement with the media rather than seeking to impose, enforce or introduce barriers.” The statement from the Guyana Press Association noted.