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Rawle Titus Letter to George Grant

Dear Mr. Grant,

I am forced to write to you in a personal capacity not to attack you as is the norm with public letters these days but to register my disappointment and correct some inaccuracies you published in an opinion piece titled – “Thank God, The Public Knows Better”. I am not concern about your decision to write on this matter since I support your right to do so. I am also not bothered by your interpretation of varying public political statements since I am in no position to understand or influence the factors on which they are based.

However, since in the view of some, you are considered a senior and responsible member of the media, then there are certain protocols of information gathering which I would expect you to follow which I am confident would have put you in a better position to be less inaccurate. Your reference to an “unsigned” MWAG statement is puzzling since you of all persons should only too well be aware of the collective consultative method applied before an advocacy statement is released to the public on an MWAG letterhead.

Also to publicly or privately write that the statement was released without the knowledge of at least one executive member was inaccurate and could have easily been checked and confirmed. Allow me to clarify that the statement was drafted and circulated to every executive member one week before it was released to the public and this can be substantiated by email evidence. Further, the only executive member who seems to have some reservations about releasing an MWAG statement on the matter was the one you are attempting to defend.

Every other executive member supported the statement being released with suggested amendments.
Normal procedures were indeed followed and no one has been a victim. The fact that an executive member did not agree with some of the contents does not equate to lack of normal consultative procedures. I have been told that past executive members have put out public statements individually without executive consultation but no one can accuse me of upholding this practice.

Also, your troubles with the complexion or choice of words used in the statement are your entitlements and therefore my only comment to you and other like-minded persons is that anyone, without having to fear reprisals, has a constitutional right to criticize a Prime Minister regardless of how powerful the constitution allows him to be.

Let us be clear on one thing, MWAG has not launched an attack on Prime Minister Tillman Thomas nor defended Hamlet Mark but has advocated on a freedom of the press issue. As is our mandate, we have restricted our comments to freedom of the press issues only and have carefully avoided dabbling in any perceived political fall-out.
I have often said that defective political seeds planted in recent years, are germinating into political tribalism in Grenada. The unfortunate commentary is that those seeds have also been germinating in the local media and recent actions by individuals are providing the perfect manure for those seedlings of decadence, tribalism, infighting and disunity to grow and blossom.

Sir, I respectfully encourage you to research the creation and role of UNESCO in your spare time since I am sure the knowledge you would gain would help allay your fears since you are so “gravely concerned about the impact that MWAGs action will have on UNESCO”.

Only recently, MWAG has been forced to write to the manager of a local radio station to complain about an inaccurate outburst or attack on media practitioners by an on air personality who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. You will appreciate sir that no official mechanisms exist for addressing these types of inaccuracies including those made in your statement. Isn’t that the reason people like yourself have been seeking to champion the need for a media policy that includes a complaints commission? At the moment, anyone can write or broadcast varying degrees of inaccuracies with no proper recourse for public complaint and resolution.

Sir, I have been a serious and passionate media professional for 25 years, and I don’t have to tell you that one of the core values is to GET FACTS RIGHT. You have not gotten your facts right regarding your claims about the release of the MWAG statement and this could easily have been avoided by a telephone call or email request.

I trust that the aforementioned response would have cleared things up for you. I also trust that you would afford this letter equal prominence and public disclosure that you gave to your article of concern.

Sincerely yours

Rawle Titus

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