(PINA/IFEX) – On 23 June 1999, the new Labour Party-led Fiji Islands Government continued its attacks on the country’s news media, including indicating it planned to move against “foreign” ownership. “We cannot have foreign interests dictating to us standards of what is right and wrong,” Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry told the House of Representatives. Chaudhry […]
(PINA/IFEX) – On 23 June 1999, the new Labour Party-led Fiji Islands
Government continued its attacks on the country’s news media, including
indicating it planned to move against “foreign” ownership. “We cannot have
foreign interests dictating to us standards of what is right and wrong,”
Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry told the House of Representatives. Chaudhry
was seen as referring to the country’s biggest daily newspaper, “The Fiji
Times”, which is part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. “The Fiji
Times”, a winner of the PINA Pacific Freedom of Information award, has
published a number of news reports which have angered Chaudhry’s coalition
government. Chaudhry said the news media need to be disciplined and
standards have to be improved.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 21 June, 18 June, 15 June, 11 June, 4 June, 21 May
and 7 May 1999**
Chaudhry was also quoted on Bula Network radio news as saying his government
would discourage cross-ownership of media organisations and majority foreign
ownership. On the government’s majority shares in the “Daily Post”
newspaper, Chaudhry was quoted as saying that the shares will be sold to the
Fiji public. He said: “Pending the sale of its shares, the government will
finalise a media policy to ensure that media ownership is spread as widely
as possible, so that no one company or organisation can buy in excess of a
certain number of shares. There will be conditions restricting the maximum
percentage of shares that can be held.”
Chaudhry, who is also Information Minister, and his Assistant Minister, Lekh
Ram Vayeshnoi, attacked criticism of their plans to introduce media
legislation, including imposing a new media council in place of the present
independent self-regulatory council. Vayeshnoi called editorial comment in
the two daily newspapers “sheer arrogance”. It came after strong editorial
criticism from both “The Fiji Times” and the “Daily Post”. The “Daily Post”,
in which the government is the biggest shareholder, said on 23 June: “There
is only one way to describe the attack on the media by Assistant Minister
for Information Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi: Rubbish. It is really not worth any
other comment.” The newspaper then left the rest of its editorial column
blank.
There was growing criticism of the government’s attacks. “The Fiji Times” of
24 June (local time) quoted Shiu Charan, the leader of one of the country’s
main ethnic Indian political parties, the National Federation Party, as
saying: “Mr Chaudhry’s information maestro … now hides behind the
carefully scripted words of an anti-media regime – a regime that used the
media to get elected and then dumps it once in office.” He said Chaudhry’s
coalition had made a complete about turn on its election manifesto which
promised to recognise a free and open media. Ema Druavesi, the secretary of
the indigenous Fijian Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party which led the
government defeated by Labour in general elections in May, said Chaudhry was
showing the tendencies of a dictator. Despite the promise of more open
government they were going in the opposite direction, she said. She said
Chaudhry was now even stopping his ministers talking to the media.
Background Information
The Fiji Islands has amongst the most diverse and free news media in the
Pacific Islands. Its present independent, self-regulatory Media Council has
an independent chairperson and secretary, seven media members, and seven
prominent citizens as public members representative of Fiji’s various
communities. Its independent complaints committee has no media members.
Following his election, Chaudhry pledged to not legislate against the media
or impose media licensing, “The Fiji Times” reported. But Chaudhry said
media organisations, starting from management, need “a lot of tuition,” the
newspaper reported.
Chaudhry complained during the general election campaign that some media
organisations were biased against his Fiji Labour Party. He alleged a “media
plot” to prevent Labour from winning. This charge was vigorously rejected by
the media, especially “The Fiji Times”, which pointed out that politicians
from all political sides were alleging media bias against them and in favour
of their opponents (see IFEX alert of 7 May 1999).
On 12 June (local time), “The Fiji Times” reported that news organisations
had complained that police guarding Chaudhry manhandled journalists.
On 18 June, PINA urged the government to withdraw a directive for government
advertising to be placed in only the “Daily Post”. PINA said: “PINA notes
that in the past this advertising tactic has been used both in Fiji and in
other Pacific Islands states as a means of intimidating media
organisations.” News of the directive followed a week in which ministers
criticised “The Fiji Times” over reports it carried.
On 21 June, the government announced that it plans to introduce legislation
to set up a government-imposed media council to replace the present
independent, self-regulatory council. Assistant Minister for Information
Vayeshnoi told the House of Representatives this during an attack in which
he accused the news media of making “little effort to rise above their own
political agendas. They have consistently gone out of their way to promote
and project the views of the people or groups that they support – at the
expense of others.”
