Jamaican journalist kicked out of Grenada

[Amanda]

From Caribbean 360
Jamaican journalist Tenesha Thomas has been given until today (February 15) to leave Grenada.

Thomas, was yesterday ordered to leave the country within 24 hours since immigration officials claim that an error was made on the date stamped on her passport. Thomas had a return ticket for the first week in March and showed officials that her passport was stamped until August 2, 2008. She was detained by four immigration officials on the basis that she had over-stayed her time in the country.

`The date was meant to be the eighth of the second month, rather than the second of the eighth month,` said Head of Immigration Jessmon Prince.

The move has been decried by the Media Workers Association of Grenada, which said yesterday they are deeply concerned about the shabby treatment meted out to Thomas.

`We feel that it is an unfair ploy for a professional journalist or for that manner anyone to be forced out of the country in the manner in which Miss Thomas has been, on the grounds that an immigration officer imputed a wrong date on her passport,` said a statement from the Association.

Read the rest here

What thinks ye folks? Grenada's Association of Media Workers is up in arms and the atmosphere there for the media has been testy in recent years, thanks to Keith Mitchell...

[Kim J Young]

I don't believe it for one second. There is much more to this story and I shall endeavour (or perhaps you can) to follow up and find out what is going on.
Your views, Mandi?

[Amanda]

Well, Reporters Without Borders doesn't believe it for one second either.

Reporters Without Borders today expressed shock at the treatment of Jamaican national, Tenesha Thomas, of the regional news agency Caribupdate who was arrested yesterday on the grounds that her visa had expired and told she would be expelled today.

The worldwide press freedom organisation said the decision was all the more surprising since the Grenadian immigration service had admitted it had made a mistake. The organisation added it hoped this was not an act of covert censorship and urged the government to provide an explanation.
“We are shocked by the plight of Tenesha Thomas for more than one reason,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Jamaica and Grenada are linked through the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) which eases circulation of residents from one country to another as well as extensions of periods of stay. How can the expulsion of this journalist be maintained even though it has been admitted that her papers were in order? The incident gives rise to fears that the authorities are using Thomas to mete out unfair treatment to Caribupdate.”

You can read the rest here http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25760

The Media Workers Association of Grenada was also pretty blunt about what they think is the real issue behind Thomas' expulsion.

MWAG noted that it registered strong suspicions about the circumstances surrounding Thomas's forced departure from Grenada and the refusal by immigration officials to exercise their discretion in this matter.

The communiqué further added that, based on inquiries, MWAG are satisfied that there may be sinister motive behind Thomas's forced departure from Grenada, rather than a concern about an immigration infraction. "We are also satisfied that the immigration agents themselves would have acted differently if they were not under specific instructions. In this case we have no choice but to sympathize with the immigration department for the difficult position with which they have been placed," the statement read.

Read more here http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-6078--32-32--.html

Isn't CaribUpdate one of the online news agencies that have been pressuring Mitchell for the last few years over the Reistener issue? Since Mitchelle has been in power, Grenada has built up a long file in the RSF archives. Based on my own experience and what I've read, Mitchell seems to be a thin-skinned bully.

[Ruel Edwards]

Well
I am on the ground in Grenada and there are numerous schools of thought as to what rely transpired and the motive behind such an incident. Questions still to answer are:
1) Was any other visitor given the wrong stamp on their passport
2) If yes, Is the authorities going after them as well
3) Is the authorities taking action because the Journalist Boss is apparantly linked with the Oppositions

These are questions still be to answered.
Also in Grenada another Big story is centered around a local Bank heading into to trouble as an Administrator was appointed.

[Dwayne Greenidge]

Something is just not adding to. There is more to this story than we are being told. No one tells someone to leave a country in such a rush matter. Something is missing. Is this an attempt to silence the freedom of the Press and the Rights of the Media? I need to know. It is just not adding up.

[Amanda]

Well apparently the Jamaican government seems to think the same as us - something's funny and not funny ha-ha.

From today's Jamaica Gleaner:

The Jamaican Government is to conduct an investigation into the detention of Jamaican journalist Tenesha Thomas by Grenadian immigration who accused her of overstaying her time in that country.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Dr Kenneth Baugh, told The Gleaner on Friday that based on the information received, there was no justification for the action by the Grenadian authorities.

Thomas, who is employed to Caribupdate, a regional news agency based in Florida, was asked to leave the country on Thursday by the authorities.

Reports later said she had been given an extension until Tuesday, February 19.

You can read the rest here, including the response from Grenada's beleaguered head of Immigration, Jassmon Prince.

The head of the Press Association of Jamaica was even more blunt:

The Mitchell government, which uses the law as a tool to suppress freedom of expression, is at it again," PAJ President Desmond Richards said yesterday.

In condemning the action of the Grenadian immigration authorities, Richards noted that Prime Minister Keith Mitchell is the only regional leader in recent history who has filed a criminal libel suit against a journalist.

But what are we really going to do about it peoples? This is not the first time that Mitchell has stretched his long arm (well short really since he's less than my height - what's that about a Napoleon complex? hmmm) into other areas of government so as to harass the press. Furthermore, he is not the only Caribbean politician to do it. In fact, they harass the press with impunity. In the last year, media personnel have been kicked out of Antigua and Grenada, assaulted by the police (and the action defended by the then-Attorney General) in Barbados, murdered in Guyana (lest we forget the Kaiteur News 5) financially strangled by the government in Guyana, ordered off the air by the government in Bahamas and shut down in Venezuela. I have written about it quite a bit over at my blog, in posts from May last year when things were really bad and again in June and also back in March.

Frankly, I'm getting tired of writing about it. What can we as journalists do to press our recalcitrant regional governments into passing more accommodating media laws? And to stop wielding their power against people who write something they don't like? I for one am fed up with the fact that politicians all over the Caribbean seem to think it is ok to bully the media. Each generation of politicos is as bad as the last. They make promises (most recently Golding and Thompson have made freedom of information legislation promises) and then water them down. We always seem to be able to lobby effectively on behalf of others but what about ourselves?

[Amanda]

My only comfort in all this is that journalists are more durable than cockroaches - politicians rise but we inevitably remain to see them fall. I know of one reporter at the newspaper I used to work at who was 'banned for life' from the House of Assembly by the then Speaker. I believe the Speaker is now dead but the journo is still around and in the House.

Same thing here. Small fry though I was, I have had direct and indirect run-ins with at least two regional PMs - one of whom was so attentive as to try to get me in trouble by calling my editor and complaining for my impertinent behaviour (asking questions! gasp). Things eventually fell apart for him as they will for the other, based on the recent electoral tide in the Caribbean.

[Amanda]

Well, the Grenadian government has backed down from its position and allowed Thomas to stay.

From the Jamaica Gleaner:

The government of Grenada yesterday reversed a decision to expel Jamaican journalist, Tenesha Thomas, saying she would now be allowed to complete her assignment in that country.

Last week, immigration officials gave her 24 hours to leave the country after claiming she had mistakenly been authorised to remain there until August.

Following mounting pressure from regional and international media groups the Grenadian government intervened, saying it had no issue with journalists working freely in that country.

Now this is where it gets funny...

Enstein Louison, information minister in Grenada, said the Keith Mitchell-led government "which respects press freedom" was also "very concerned" about the situation leading to the decision of the immigration authorities to expel Thomas.... Louison said he was "alarmed that there is a perception that journalists are not permitted to travel and work freely in Grenada".

He added: "We have never had an issue with journalists working in Grenada and we don't intend for one to be made now. In fact, Ms Thomas has been here working for over a month."

According to Louison, his government respects press freedom as a right of the people.

Riiiiighhht.