Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) chairman, Johnson Boston, has condemned mainstream media in the country for not allowing opposition parties on their stations. He said only the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) is able to use mainstream media to project government agenda, while other registered political parties are sidelined.
Boston noted that only Q95FM Radio allows the opposition to use its radio platform to air opposing views. He credited Q95FM, owned by West Indies Communication Enterprises (WISE), for permitting free speech as well as unedited and unmanipulated radio time on its platform.
To buttress his point, Boston revealed that the DFP runs one programme per month on Q95FM, the DLP runs a programme on the station every Tuesday, the UWP does the same on the radio station also on Tuesdays, while other opposition parties have their programmes on the station at different times.
Boston cried that for 17 years, the major three local radio stations in Dominica have denied opposition parties unhindered access to its broadcasting services, choosing only to serve government interests. He said the stations serve the interest of the DLP during election periods and would only oblige if other parties would accept to “impossible demands that tend to manipulate or dictate what can be said” on radio.
Boston joined the new deputy chairman of the National Joint Action Movement (NJAM), Severin McKenzie, to call for PM Roosevelt Skerrit’s resignation, saying his administration’s CBI scheme and other foreign policy programmes have not benefited poor Dominicans.
This article is copyright © 2022 DOM767
