8 February 2006
TALK SHOW HOST MURDERED
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) have urged Guyanese authorities to thoroughly investigate the death of radio show host and opposition activist Ronald Waddell, who was gunned down outside his home in Subryanville, Guyana on 30 January 2006.
Waddell was shot by two armed men as he was getting into his car, reports RSF. As a talk-show host on HBTV Channel 9, Waddell often used the show to harshly criticise the government of President Bharrat Jagdeo. Under government pressure, Waddell's television programme was cancelled last November.
According to IAPA, Waddell was also an active member of the People's National Congress, the country's opposition party, and had denounced the existence of death squads in the country, according to IAPA. Police confirmed that they are looking into this aspect of the investigation but the motive of the crime is still unknown.
Visit these links:
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16339
- IAPA: http://www.sipiapa.org
- IPI Report on Press Freedom in Guyana: http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Americas/guyana.htm
- Freedom House: http://tinyurl.com/83nod
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