Carry me to Balsam Ghut! – Edmund Maduro
“Were it not for the freedom of speech and communication of the press, would slavery have been abolished?” Maduro asked on the EGM radio show aired on ZROD 103.7 FM last evening, February 20, 2014.
Maduro was at the time making reference to the National Democratic Party (NDP) government’s proposed Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act, 2013.
Opponents of the bill have argued that the bill is likely to interfere with existing freedom of expression laws in particular and also limit the scope of whistle blowers in the Territory.
“We are here now going to pass a law, it’s in the House being debated, to stop the press and talk show hosts from saying what is true and what is harmful to the people,” Maduro argued. He also noted that the NDP has enough members to pass the legislation given their majority.
Government issued a release earlier this week stating that there were a number of erroneous articles that appeared in the local and international media on the proposed legislation but did not specify which articles they were making reference to.
The release stated, “The Government of the Virgin Islands (BVI) confirms that the first reading and deliberations on the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act, 2013 took place on January 13 [2014]. The draft legislation will receive two further readings with the aim of being enacted by the House of Assembly in the coming weeks.”
It was further argued that, although the BVI Criminal Code, 1997 has certain provisions for the criminalising of certain acts of computer misuse, it does not sufficiently address the other aspects of cybercrime.
To this end, the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act, 2013 seeks to provide a comprehensive approach to deterring and punishing illegal activities relating to cybercrime and misuse of information.
“The press is indispensable, you cannot do without the press in any country,” the host stated firmly, “particularly a democratic country.”
Maduro said the fact that slavery was exposed and brought to the consciousness of the people at the time was the only reason that it was widely considered.
He added that if it were not for the press and freedom of communication in the United States, civil rights icon Rosa Parks may have still been sitting at the back of the bus. “Who would have heard what she had to say and who would have cared what she had to say?”
Co-host Rajah A. Smith added that it was only in undemocratic countries that the press was oppressed. “Look at places like Iran, Syria, Cuba, South Africa,” he said.
21 Responses to “Carry me to Balsam Ghut! – Edmund Maduro”
Wikipedia Arab_Summer for a better understanding.
Some people's idea of it, is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage