EDITORIAL

Personal insults no excuse for debating the real issues

Friday,  April 29, 2005

It comes as no great surprise to us that this newspaper and its publisher have been coming under attack on the political hustings from candidates who, quite frankly, are seemingly devoid of any resources to address the real issues in this election.

Regrettably, this is merely a carry-over from what passes for debate in the Legislative Assembly, where personal attacks on those advancing an opposing point of view apparently represent the only response to criticism and opposition.

Cayman Net News is not the political opposition in this country and the electorate should not therefore be misled into thinking that we favour one side or the other. Our only mission is to report the truth and fact for the edification and benefit of the people of the Cayman Islands.

We are proudly independent of any political influence and we are beholden to no one. If and when inaccurate reporting on our part can be shown, then we will gladly print a correction or clarification.

However, when the only response to our reporting of fact is personal insult, that is highly revealing in itself and again, the voters should take due note of that when the time comes to assess the credibility and honesty of candidates.

Over the past five years of publishing a newspaper in the Cayman Islands, there have been frequent attempts to suppress the freedom of the press by a variety of economic and other means – all of which have failed dismally and, usually at some cost to the very country in whose interest the politicians are supposed to be acting. Regrettably, personal interest and financial gain seems to take precedence over what is good for this beloved country.

Most recently, a prepaid contract between the Port Authority and one of our associated companies was terminated abruptly, following disclosures in Cayman Net News of questionable transactions by leaders in Government. In the circumstances, such early termination represented a waste of public funds and we have registered an appropriate complaint with the Auditor General.

On at least two other occasions, public relations service provided to the Port Authority have been cut short. 

Indeed, the Cabinet tried last year to ban all Government advertising with Cayman Net News on completely spurious grounds.

Mysteriously, Cayman Airways suddenly pulled our publications that were provided by us free of charge from all of its flights, leaving the travelling public with no local reading material whatsoever.

Our readers will by now realise that there is no foundation in law for any such proposition that will try and muzzle our independent voice and we are certainly not going to be intimidated by any form of manipulation.

It does not take a rocket scientist to perceive the individual or individuals representing the common denominator in these efforts to stifle the freedom of the press in this country.

The questions that have to be asked are why are such person or persons so afraid of the truth and do we really want them running the country for another four years?

The electorate should not accept personal insults as a proper answer to these questions.

An independent voice for the Cayman Islands

   Back...