PM distances himself from decision to mute Zion-I

PRIME MINISTER, Dr Ralph Gonsalves has distanced himself and his government from any form of influence in the decision of VC3 where viewers of cable tv were unable to see the performance of calypsonian, Alvin Zion-I Dennie at the Calypso finals on Sunday, July 3.

Zion-I was the first competitor on stage, with his social commentary called “Hypocrites.’ Subscribers to VC3 on the night of the competition were unable to see Zion-I’s performance. The station decided to run looped advertisements during his performance.

This apparent censoring of Zion-I has sparked a heated debate on social media.

The prime minister was asked about the matter when he called in to WE FM’s Issues at Hand programme on Sunday, July 10.

Asked if his government had put any pressure on the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) or any entity to suppress any calypso, Dr Gonsalves said, “absolutely not.We have not done that.”

“If anybody were to defame me for instance, I either ignore it, or I sue them, I exercise my right,” Gonsalves rebutted.

He continued, “ I am not going to tell anybody don’t do this, or don’t do that.”

The prime minister added that he expects media houses to make a determination with their lawyers concerning their print or broadcast content.

“I don’t get involved in that,” he echoed.

Gonsalves added that some calypsonians sing for popularity, or because they have a political axe to grind.

“Or they want to pretend as though they are fearless, but they are cowards.

“I haven’t gotten involved in those things,” he said.

“Nobody in the government gets involved in those things.”

He however added that there are some calypsonians who feel no obligation to telling the truth.

The PM said he heard about the discussion concerning the VC3 matter, but he does not know the basis of the station’s decision.

“We didn’t give anybody any directive, that’s not how this government functions in any case,” the prime minister declared.

“If you want to find out, ask Corletha Ollivierre, who has been head of 705, general manager for years.”

“Ask her if in all those years I ever call about programming content, or about anything anybody say on the radio station,”he said.

“Ask Dionne John, same thing.

“I don’t get involved in [those] kinds of things,” Gonsalves stressed.