(PINA/IFEX) – Concern is growing in the Fiji news media over comments by the Assistant Minister for Information calling for the accreditation of journalists covering Parliament. The Assistant Minister, Ratu Josefa Dimuri, has said a policy would be in place by the end of the year and would bring Fiji into line with many other […]
(PINA/IFEX) – Concern is growing in the Fiji news media over comments by the
Assistant Minister for Information calling for the accreditation of
journalists covering Parliament. The Assistant Minister, Ratu Josefa Dimuri,
has said a policy would be in place by the end of the year and would bring
Fiji into line with many other countries. According to PINA, however, there
is concern over Dimuri’s comments suggesting journalists would have to pass
some type of test before they will be
allowed to cover Parliament.
Dimuri was quoted in the “Daily Post” newspaper on 14 May 1998 as saying: “I
have received a number of complaints from members of Parliament regarding
the reporting standards of the media … and their ability to correctly
report on proceedings made both in the House and select committees.” He
added that he would raise the issue at the next meeting of Government
parliamentarians. He would suggest they get the support of
all parties to require journalists be accredited before they cover
Parliament. In the “Sunday Post” of 17 May, Dimuri added: “One wonders why
the media are always defensive when any suggestion is made requiring those
personnel who report on the issues that are of interest to the public to be
qualified and properly trained.”
Fiji’s most experienced political affairs journalist, Robert Keith-Reid,
publisher of the Islands Business magazine group, responded in the “Daily
Post” of 23 May, saying: “The nonsense being put out by the government about
accrediting journalists to the Parliamentary Press Gallery based on some
sort of skill test needs a reply. Journalists working in parliaments such as
those in Australia and New Zealand do need accreditation but the passes they
carry don’t mean they’ve passed a parliamentary proficiency test. In most
parliament buildings the press gallery is located in an area not open to the
general public. Those cards are purely a matter of reasonable security
permitting the carrier to enter areas not open to the public.” He added that
Dimuri, as a former journalist, should “blush in advocating what smacks of
nothing more than an attempt at press control, with some parliamentary
committee declaring ‘That reporter is a rude bloke. He reports too much of
what we don’t like being reported. Let’s kick him out of the press gallery
by declaring him to be an idiot’.”
Background Information
Fiji’s main daily newspaper, “The Fiji Times”, has faced a number of actions
against its reporting by both the elected House of Representatives and the
appointed Senate. On 8 April 1998, “The Fiji Times” announced that its
lawyers were beginning a legal challenge against a finding by the Senate
Privileges Committee that “The Fiji Times” breached
parliamentary privilege by reporting and editorialising on the cost of a
short meeting of the Senate. Though the Committee recommended that no formal
charges be laid, it warned that for any future breaches, the Senate “will
not hesitate to impose sanctions that will have severe repercussions” (for
more information on this case see IFEX alerts of 9 and 6 April 1998, and 8
and 6 October 1997).
On 6 December 1996, the House of Representatives’ Privileges Committee ruled
that a prima facie example of breach of parliamentary privilege had been
established against “The Fiji Times.” The ruling followed the newspaper’s
publication of details of in-camera meetings of parliamentary sub-committees
responsible for reviewing the country’s constitution. No further action has
been taken.
