On 17 March 2000, PINA expressed “great concern” at the removal of a Radio Fiji presenter from a news and current affairs programme on the Hindustani station Radio Fiji 2. Presenter Thakur Ranjit Singh was accused by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry of being biased against Chaudhry’s Fiji Labour Party. Singh, who hosted the twice weekly […]
On 17 March 2000, PINA expressed “great concern” at the removal of a Radio Fiji presenter from a news and current affairs programme on the Hindustani station Radio Fiji 2. Presenter Thakur Ranjit Singh was accused by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry of being biased against Chaudhry’s Fiji Labour Party. Singh, who hosted the twice weekly “Tanik Hamari Bhi Suno” programme, is also the publisher of “Fiji’s Daily Post”, in which the government is the biggest shareholder.
PINA understands that the decision to remove Singh was made by Radio Fiji’s board chairman following “advice” from Assistant Minister for Information Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi, who in turn was acting on direct instruction from Chaudhry. The prime minister is also minister for information.
PINA stated: “It is believed that the ‘request’ from the prime minister was based on complaints that the presenter had made comments critical of the government and that the standard of his Hindustani was poor. The government, as does any member of the public, has the right to complain about programming. But it is a matter of great concern that it appears pressure has been applied to ‘ban’ a current affairs presenter.
“Radio Fiji, as the national broadcaster, must remain totally free from government interference if it is to play its critical role in providing the people of Fiji with the information they need to participate fully as citizens in a democracy. The Fiji Media Council, of which Radio Fiji is an
active member, provides an independent complaints tribunal through which breaches of news and programming standards can be adjudicated on.
“The fact that Radio Fiji is dependent on public funding for its survival means that government must be extremely sensitive in its dealings with the organisation. Any attempt to use taxpayersâ funds to place pressure on the organisation would represent a severe infringement of the principles of media freedom and free speech enshrined in the constitution of Fiji.”
Commenting on Radio Fiji, Prime Minister Chaudhry said the government is the “custodian” of the taxpayers’ money and Radio Fiji has a responsibility to be fair, accurate and unbiased. He said Singh violated this and was biased against the Fiji Labour Party. Regarding media criticism, the prime minister said: “In the name of freedom they want to commit murder.” Chaudhry also suggested that the Fiji Media Council would take too long to handle a complaint.
Quoted in “Fiji’s Daily Post”, Singh said his programme was intended to “expose truth generally swept under the table.” A recent programme, which especially upset a Labour parliamentarian, commented on the oppression of women in the district the parliamentarian came from, he said. Singh also told Fiji Television that criticism of the Hindustani standards on the show was an
insult to the “forefathers” of Fiji’s people of Indian descent. He said they had developed a common language, Fiji Hindi.
BACKGROUND:
The Fiji Islands has amongst the most diverse and free news media in the Pacific Islands. They include: three seven-day-a-week English-language daily newspapers; weekly newspapers in Hindi, Fijian, and English; news, business, trade and entertainment magazines; independent commercial, community and religious radio stations; government-owned public and commercial radio
stations; and commercial and community television.
But there have been continuing tensions between the government and the country’s independent news media since Chaudhry came to power in general elections in May 1999. Chaudhry has claimed news media elements are trying to “destabilise” his government. He has begun defamation actions against journalists and threatened a government-imposed media tribunal. The government has refused to renew the work permit of the expatriate editor-in-chief of “The Fiji Times” group of newspapers.
