August 9, 2006 (GEORGETOWN) - The Guyana Press Association (GPA) condemns the attack at the Kaieteur News Printery by unidentified gunmen in the strongest of terms. The attack left four media workers dead and two others seriously wounded.

We roundly condemn this dastardly act that was clearly intended to stop the work of one of our leading dailies. This is a brutal and deadly attack on the freedom of the press. The Guyana Press Association urges the security forces to take the necessary steps to ensure there are no repeat attacks on media houses.

Further, the GPA wants the police to find the perpetrators of this deadly rampage.

The media has a responsibility to report on all events and such reports must ever be seen as a reason to injure or kill media workers or damage any media operations.

The attack on the Kaieteur News Printery, the second in three years, cannot be seen as any other thing than an attack at silencing the media. This direct attack on Kaieteur News could also impact on media workers at other media houses as they go about their duties. We urge media workers to take all the necessary precaution to ensure their personal safety and that they must remain vigilant at all times.

The GPA also takes this opportunity to urge responsibility from those politicians appearing on
political platforms during this campaign period. We have taken note of the singling out of certain media houses by politicians. This singling out of media houses by politicians must cease forthwith.

While this incident has unfortunately rattled another pillar of the state, media workers MUST remain resolute and steadfast in ensuring that our foundation is not fragmented, as we go about our jobs in the public's interest.

The killing of the printery workers underscores the vital but often unsung importance of technical staff in the daily work of reporters and photographers and in this regard we take this opportunity to posthumously recognize their vital contributions in the production of the final product.

The GPA trusts that the death of our colleagues will not go in vain but act as a catalyst for the
allocation of financial resources at organisational and individual levels to cater for unfortunate
eventualities in the event of death or disability.

The GPA offers it sincere condolences to the management and staff of the Kaieteur News and the surviving relatives of those who died. The GPA fully supports the position taken by Kaieteur News publisher Glen Lall to continue with the publication of the newspaper.

August 9 (ST GEORGE'S) - The Media Workers Association of Grenada (MWAG) expresses deepest sympathies and condolences to the victims and their families for the heinous attacks that occurred in Guyana on Tuesday August 8, 2006.

MWAG joins with the Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM) and other regional media bodies in expressing solidarity to our colleagues in Guyana.

MWAG condemns in the strongest terms this brutal murder.

AUGUST 10 (PARAMARIBO) - The Surinamese Union of Journalists (SUJ) condemns the attack on the Kaietur News Printery and the brutal murder of media workers on Tuesday August 8, 2006.

The SUJ expresses deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to the victims and
their families and to the management and staff of the Kaietur News.

The SUJ also expresses solidarity with the ACM, GPA and all other colleagues. The SUJ do hope that the police find the perpetrators and that security forces take necessary steps to ensure that there are no repeat attacks on media houses.