Concerned Journalists in Eastern Region disassociate themselves from "PRIMPA"

Koforidua, April 27, GNA - A group of Journalists, calling itself Concerned Journalists (CJ), in the Eastern Region, has reacted to a statement made by the Private Media Practitioners Association (PRIMPA) in the area, to the effect that they had decided to boycott the Regional Ministers' programmes.

At a press conference in Koforidua on Wednesday, Mr Edwin Gawugah, Chairman of the association, said they did not know any media association that purports to be working in the interest of Private Media Practitioners in the region

He said CJ disassociated itself from the stand taken by the so-called association, adding that, 93PRIMPA" did not speak for all Private Media Practitioners in the area. Dr Kwasi Akyem Apea-Kubi, the Eastern Regional Minister, was said to have launched some verbal attacks on journalists, who covered a meeting of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at his residence, in Koforidua, last week. Mr Gawuga said even though the concerned journalists did not agree entirely with Dr Apea-Kubi's action, they felt that 93instead of resorting to boycotts and black-out, there were other channels that could be used to resolve the matter".

He said the CJ perceived some kind of hypocrisy and selectivity on the part of PRIMPA and the regional Ghana Journalists Association (GJA). Mr Gawuga cited several instances, where journalists in the region were physically assaulted but the GJA and the 93PRIMPA" did not utter a word. He said in all those recorded attacks on journalists in the region over the past years both the GJA and PRIMPA maintained a stony since.