Barclays, Sark and the GP

Am I alone in feeling that Richard Digard (Editor) in today's GP opinion coumn is being exceptionally biased towards the Barclays and their relationship with Sark and Chief Pleas?

No

Furthermore the Guernsey Press have not allowed any reader feedback / blog opinion to be expressed beneath the article in the online version? So much for democracy and the free press. Are they so biased that they are afraid of listening to alternative views or afraid of the Barclays lawyers? Either way I call it censorship.

I think it speaks volumes on the Barclays true colours.
They have always claimed that all they care about is giving Sark residents democracy, and they worry about their human rights.
Then they say, "We will drop all that if you help us bypass the domocratic process to put our man in a position to push through our desires".
Typical dictators.

The GEP editorial makes it look as if the Barclays are the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus all rolled into one. To be fair they may be, but we will never know the full story. I always think one gets nothing for free so there must be a catch in the free loan etc. Although I have visited Sark on many occasions I can't say that I really know any Sarkies. The reaction from Sark does not surprise me, Sark has always been portrayed as a community that takes no "shit" and will not be dictated to, well that is my perception. Perhaps that attitude is admirable but there are times when it is diplomatic to bend a little, this may be one of those times. A standoff with a loose peace may be better than a constant battle.

The GP have now re-instated the comment section under some of their online articles on this subject but with the following explanation:


"Many thanks for making contact on this. As you will appreciate, this is potentially a sensitive area and, although our sister website offers a moderated comments service, there is still a risk of defamatory comments being posted.

Having carried out that review and because of the interest in this, comments will be available on the story that is in the GP today on the same topic – Conseiller Maitland’s defence of releasing the correspondence – as will our own editorial comment. It might also be helpful to mention that the website uploads only a selection of stories from the Guernsey Press and does not allow comments on every single item.

I hope this goes some way towards answering your concerns.

Best regards,

Richard Digard
Editor
Guernsey Press"

Editorial integrity restored? A democratic free press? Un-biased reporting? Free and fair? Balanced journalism? A sponsored vehicle for propaganda? A whiff of cronyism? GP readers should decide for themselves.

So Sark O'Zee the solution is?????? do you fight goliath or do you tolerate goliath. I can't see you winning a fight, Sark hasn't the finance. Sark can wait it out, the Barclays won't last forever but Sark as an Island will. Just depends how much you can avoid change.

Reminds me of the saying:-

He who sups with the Devil should use a very long spoon.

Can democracy or principles be bought?Lets wait and see.

Most of my letters re: Sark and political situation on Sark have been published in the Sark forum of the GP, sometimes edited by them, but still published there, so cannot say either way that the GP is biased.
My thoughts on the current situation there are that were Sark NOT a 0% Tax Haven, the BBs would never have shown one iota of interest in the Island, as would so many individuals signing off on as many as possible directorships, wanting to get rich quick, over the past 3 decades. As for democracy there, this would have eventuated there in its' own good time, and is being used as a leverage tool plus their dreadful so called "Free Press of Sark" ie.(Sark Newsletter) to gain control of the Island by the BBs. The BBs should never have got even a toehold there, never mind a foothold.

Wasp, you are absolutely 100% bang-on. The BB's are nothing worse than very clever big time serial tax-avoiders. This is their sole purpose for being in Sark and they care nothing for anything else. All their propaganda and rhetoric is simply a smoke screen.
As newspaper barons they hold huge influential sway over small regional rags like the little old GP. The may not own the Guiton Group financially but, boy O boy, they undoubtedly have editorial influence.