The government of Trinidad and Tobago is under fire for its attempt to discredit two investigative journalists.
According to the press watchdog, the International Press Institute (IPI), Denyse Renne, of the Trinidad Guardian, and Asha Javeed, of the Trinidad Express, have been the targets of a government-led smear campaign.
It followed their reports that the country's security minister, Jack Warner, had pushed through a legal reform that protected two prominent donors to the ruling United National Congress (UNC) party from prosecution for money laundering.
The journalists were the subject of widely circulated anonymous emails making allegations about their private lives. Warner said the pair had an axe to grind and should be beyond reproach themselves. Attorney general Anand Ramlogan then accused the media of bias against the UNC.
The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago posted a response on its Facebook page: "Personal attacks in response to news reports are not a valid or acceptable means of discrediting the information unearthed by journalists who are simply doing their job."
Soon afterwards, Trinidad's communications minister Jamal Mohammed announced a plan that will require private radio and television broadcasters to transmit official government messages for free every hour.
He said: "The people must know what the government is doing with its resources so that they can make informed decisions."
IPI says that if Trinidad and Tobago goes through with the broadcast rule, it will join Venezuela and Ecuador in requiring private media to carry official messages at no cost.
Sources: IPI/Knight Centre/Trinidad Express/Facebook
