Government has given details of a meeting held between Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell and two local newspaper editors considered to be closely aligned to the ruling New National Party (NNP) administration.

The meeting was held Friday at Mt. Royal, the official home of the Prime Minister between Dr. Mitchell and editors of the Grenadian Voice newspaper, Leslie Pierre and Carla Briggs of the Grenada Informer.

The session was also attended by Executive Secretary of the Barbados-based Eastern Caribbean Press Council, Ainsley Sahai who visited the island to access the deteriorating state of relations between the media and government.

The meting took place against the backdrop of charges from the Media Workers Association of Grenada (MWAG) of attempts to curtail press freedom by the Mitchell government. Executive members of the association are also trying to unseat Briggs who is under pressure for her alleged closeness with the NNP regime.

Briggs has been accused of remaining silent on a number of critical issues including the attack on local journalists by members of the ruling party at the NNP's General Council meeting two weeks ago in St. Patrick's.

Following is the full text of a government release on the meeting which the Prime Minister had with the trio:

Freedom of the press, the need for more responsible journalism and training opportunities for media workers in Grenada were among the issues addressed during a meeting today at Mt. Royal with Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, journalist and media consultant of Barbados Mr. Ainsley Sahai, president of the Grenada Media Workers Association (MWAG) Ms. Carla Briggs and Grenadian Voice editor Mr. Leslie Pierre.

Prime Minister Mitchell, who was accompanied by Press Secretary Nancy McGuire, noted that he has been consistent in supporting a free press in Grenada, as he believes such freedom enhances the democratic process.

The Prime Minister said members of the press have a responsibility to be "as impartial as possible" and should not allow themselves to be used by politicians and political activists or anyone else seeking to influence what is printed or aired.

The Prime Minister noted that some of the recent allegations about him in some local media outlets, for which no clarification was sought, have been repeated in the regional media without anyone bothering to check for verification.

"Freedom of speech should not interfere with one's right to defend one's character," the Prime Minister added.