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| Dr Mitchell (pictured above in a file photo) had sued the paper after it published a letter in 2001 that the court ruled had defamed him. | |
ST GEORGE'S, Grenada, October 28, 2009 - A High Court judge has ordered the liquidation of the Grenada Today newspaper following the failure of the company to pay EC$191,000 (US$71,151) in compensation awarded to former prime minister Dr Keith Mitchell. But the editor and publisher of the weekly publication, George Worme, is already considering being part of the launch of another newspaper.
Justice Claire Henry yesterday appointed former accountant general Garvey Louison as liquidator after hearing from Worme's attorney, Anslem Clouden, that his client was unable to pay the money.
Dr Mitchell had sued the paper after it published a letter in 2001 that the court ruled had defamed him. He first won EC$120,000 (US$44,692) in the law suit in 2003 but, on appeal, received the higher judgment. However, up to now not a cent of the money has been paid.
The judge last Thursday instructed the parties to try to reach agreement on the terms of payment by yesterday or the company would be wound up.
But while her decision may have knocked Worme down, he says he's certainly not out.
"I have been approached by several different people who are interested in forming a new newspaper and they have approached me to be associated with them," he said at a news conference after the judge's ruling. "I am giving consideration to my options."
But he also claimed that Dr Mitchell's law suit had a single purpose - "to close down the Grenada Today, which he regarded to be a thorn in the flesh of both he and the New National Party over the years."
Worme also used the opportunity to call for greater press freedom in Grenada.
"What I think we need to look at quite frankly, more than anything, is the law of libel. It's the same old archaic laws we're operating under. Some countries are seeing it fit to change the laws, update them, to give more guarantee of the freedom of the press and that is what I think we need to do - try to get our legislators in Parliament to make the necessary constitutional changes to guarantee greater press freedom," he said.
Meantime, the former Grenadian leader has defended his decision, saying that he had to clear his name.
"All I am seeking is justice for being slandered for literally 13 to 14 years consistently," Dr Mitchell said.
"I have said to people over and over that in the past 13 years if you check the editorials of Grenada Today, 90 per cent of them have been concentrated on attacking one man and slandering me consistently".
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