Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has voiced shock at the murder of journalist Ronald Waddell, a former talk-show host on HBTV Channel 9, who was gunned down outside his home in a Georgetown suburb on January 30. Waddell was also an opposition activist who was outspoken in his criticism of the current government.
As Waddell was getting into his car in the garage of his home at about 8 pm, two men armed with .38 and .32 calibre pistols emerged from a car parked on the other side of the street and shot him 13 times before getting back into their car and driving off. Hit in the head, back and chest, Waddell died in a Georgetown hospital.
"The circumstances of Waddell's murder resemble the extrajudicial executions he had denounced on the air," RSF said. "The suspicion that his killing was politically motivated raises concern for the future of free expression in Guyana. We expect a serious investigation to establish what links there were between Waddell's activities and his murder and we hope the Guyanese authorities will act with impartiality."
A former reporter with the "Stabroek News" daily newspaper, Waddell had been hosting a talk-show on HBTV Channel 9 since 2001. He was also an active member of the People's National Congress Reform (PNC/R), which is strongly backed by Afro-Guyanese, and was a fierce critic of President Bharrat Jagdeo, who is of Asian descent.
Both the government and the opposition have already started trading charges, according to Caribean Net News. Jagdeo told a press conference that the shooting was unfortunate. "We all know who would benefit from confusion at this time and who are the people who would benefit from such a killing." Jagdeo said, "You can mislead people and create confusion. Now some people already want elections postponed."
The PNC/R condemned the killing describing it as an "assassination." A statement issued by the party said, "The assassination of a political activist and journalist has far-reaching implications for the country." The PNC/R said that "the Guyanese people are not fooled by attempts by the state media to link Waddell's assassination to gang warfare." The statement said that it is no secret that Waddell has been one of the most aggressive critics of the Jagdeo regime and has earned its perpetual ire.
"Ronald often used his talk-show as a platform," HBTV Channel 9 co-director Eve Blackman told RSF. "He criticised Guyana's 'sham democracy.' Last October he encouraged Black resistance against the authorities in the district of Buxton." The programme drew strong criticism from Jagdeo that was posted on the presidential website. "We had to suspend the programme in November under government pressure," Blackman added. "It is still too soon to say Ronald was killed because of his work as a journalist but it is hard not to see a link."
Julia Johnson of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) told RSF: "Ronald Waddell made enemies within the government, which he accused of covering up extrajudicial executions." A journalist with a privately-owned TV station said: "He did not hesitate to denounce collusion between the government and drug-traffickers. So one cannot rule out the possibility that they wanted to silence him, even after his talk-show was taken off the air."
Johnson said relations between the government and press continue to be tense. Jagdeo's People's Progressive Party (PPP), which has been in power since 1992, "boasts of having established press freedom, but the privately-owned media continue to find it very hard to get access to public information," she said. There are 23 TV stations but the state continues to keep its monopoly of radio, she added.
The GPA said in a statement that "our responsibility is to protect media workers and we, more than anyone else, recognise that people may not share all the views that we espouse, but we expect people to appreciate that there are different opinions in every sphere of life." Many did not share Waddell's views, the GPA noted, but that was no reason for his execution.
Bernice Smith, Waddell's mother, told Stabroek News that he had received many threats and "knew he was going to be killed." Smith said, "My son was preparing for this, he told us that people were after his life, but yet he was not prepared to stay off the political platform."
