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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AFX) - Newspapers in Guyana stepped up security Thursday and urged politicians to refrain from criticizing the media after gunmen killed four workers at a newspaper printing plant.
The South American country's three dailies said they were boosting security at editorial offices and printing plants following the killings Tuesday night of four Kaietuer News employees.
"The problem here is that we don't know who did it and why, and so we are stepping up our external security," said Compton Peters, general manager of the state-owned Guyana Chronicle. "Now is not the time to take any chances."
Police have not made any arrests. The motive for the attack on the newspaper's printing plant, about five miles (eight kilometers) south of the capital, was unclear.
Investigators suspect the involvement of a gang that forced its way into the home of Agriculture Minister Satyadeo Sawh, killing him and two of his siblings in April. No arrests have been made in that attack either.
In the latest attack, four people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds, including a printer critically wounded by shots to the back of his head, said Paul Slowe, the assistant police chief.
Doreen DeCaires, general manager of the Stabroek News, urged political parties preparing for Aug. 28 general elections to "refrain from rhetoric attacking media houses" for their political reporting, to avoid exposing media workers to violence.
Violence and protests have erupted around previous elections in the former Dutch and British colony. The U.S. State Department has warned of a possible repeat this year.
Ballistics tests determined that some of the automatic weapons used in printing-plant shootings were linked to a Monday slaying of a shopkeeper in a nearby town, said acting Police Chief Henry Greene.
The Kaieteur News, the country's highest-circulation daily, continued to publish and Thursday's edition appeared on newsstands.
"Our staff is trying to hold up and produce a paper," said Glenn Lall, the newspaper's owner and publisher. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
