Tobago Chamber wants rebuttal from Guardian Media

THE TOBAGO Chamber of Industry & Commerce is calling on Guardian Media (GML) to publish immediately a front-page rebuttal of its lead story on Monday, headlined Carnival Letdown.

The article highlighted statements by National Carnival Commission (NCC) chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters about Tobago's October carnival.

During Sunday’s parade of the bands in Scarborough, Peters said compared to last year’s carnival, this year’s festival was not as organised.

He claimed the THA also did not ask for the NCC’s help to organise the carnival.

The THA Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation and its technical adviser Dr Charleston Thomas have rejected Peters’ position.

At a news conference on Wednesday at the McAL Building, Scarborough, the chamber’s vice-president Demi John Cruickshank told reporters the headline and story did not reflect the opinions of participants and stakeholders.

So, he said, a rebuttal was necessary.

“The chair and I have spoken to a number of prominent Tobagonians and people on the street, and we are calling on the Guardian as of today (Wednesday), to do a front-page rebuttal of the story that they did, because it is not in keeping with what happened on the island.

"It is not correct. It is not the overall sentiment as to what happened on the island.”

He said business during the carnival had gone “exceptionally well for the business community and we cannot sit by and just allow something like that. The same way the Guardian did a front-page story, we are calling on the editors and the managers of the Guardian to do a front-page rebuttal.

“When you get things right, you say it’s right, and when you get things wrong, you can come out and say sorry to Tobago, because the entire population of Tobago is literally upset (with) the headline of the Guardian on Monday.”

He said bandleaders were also upset about it.

“I heard the bandleaders came out and said it was wrong, the secretary of tourism (Tashia Burris) said it was wrong, and we are saying it was wrong. They did not get their facts correct.

"Even though one person would have said it, they should have at least gotten the wider views of the Tobago population or the participants of the carnival.”

Chamber president Curtis Williams described the headline as misleading and untrue.

“We definitely have to rebut this statement. So we ask the Guardian to do something about this. No way this ever happened on the island.”