¦ Mr. Callikan, you are a media man but you seem to be avoiding the media at all costs. Any particular reason?

No, I do not avoid the media. I communicate when there is a need to communicate. When there are important things to say, important developments at the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), I come in front of the media and I put the information forward. What I am interested in is getting things done and delivering concrete results.

¦ You remained silent when the debate about the dismissal of three people from your organisation created a very big polemic.

The polemic was engineered. In any case, there were not three dismissals - one resigned from the Corporation for her own reasons, one was made to retire with all the allowances she was entitled to and one was dismissed.

¦ Still, Rehana Ameer and Pamela Patten were dismissed with no further ado. What were the causes which you have not disclosed so far?

Let me insist that only one was dismissed. At one point they were both suspended but much as the media would like to link them, they are different and unrelated cases.

Pamela Patten was suspended while an enquiry was carried out over an incident that happened during a transmission while she was duty officer. This was a professional matter. Rehana Ameer was suspended in the context of the circulation of an anonymous letter judged by the disciplinary committee to be highly defamatory.

¦ She says she was not responsible for the circulation of that letter.

Well, in front of the disciplinary committee, it was clearly established that she had circulated that highly defamatory letter.

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Touria PRAYAG