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2005/2006 |
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GREEN LIGHT FOR BACCHUS’ WORK
PERMIT
Georgetown, Guyana, Feb 19 (ACM) - St Kitts and Nevis Prime
Minister Dr Denzil Douglas has said the green light has been given for
the granting of a work permit to ACM General-Secretary, Clive Bacchus.
The Prime Minister gave the assurance following ceremonies to mark the
opening of the new CARICOM Secretariat building in Georgetown, Guyana
Saturday.
Regional journalists attending the function had worn red ribbons as a
mark of protest against delays in granting Bacchus a work permit,
continued conflict involving journalists in other Caribbean countries
and action seen as being in contravention of St Kitts and Nevis' CARICOM
commitments.
The red-ribbon protest was announced Friday by ACM President, Wesley
Gibbings, during a discussion on threats to the media in the Caribbean.
ACM Vice-Presidents Peter Richards and Bert Wilkinson, together with
Bacchus and a number of other ACM members, were in Guyana attending a
media conference sponsored by the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA)
in collaboration with the ACM and the Guyana Press Association (GPA).
The ACM has been waging a campaign to ensure the Guyana-born journalist
was not eventually expelled from St Kitts where he has functioned as
both a print and broadcast journalist since 1998.
The organisation had written Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Rudy
Insanally calling on the Government of Guyana to investigate the
situation.
The Minister had reportedly made efforts to gather more information on
the matter, but the recent flooding crisis in Guyana put paid to further
efforts, the ACM understands.
Gibbings had also Friday expressed concern about violent attacks on
journalists in Haiti, the forcible closure of CNS Channel 6 TV in Guyana
and continued action in some CARICOM Member States to undermine
agreement on the free movement of media workers.
“It is only a matter of time,” Dr Douglas told journalists, with
reference to the granting of Bacchus’ work permit.
He went further to state that the next move would be to put regulations
in place to ensure that media workers and other approved categories of
skilled CARICOM nationals are granted the right to live and work in St
Kitts and Nevis without a work permit.
Gibbings described Dr Douglas’ statement as “good news” but added it was
important to ensure the government of St Kitts and Nevis follow through
with action in keeping with Douglas’ verbal commitment. |
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