(PINA/IFEX) – On 25 May 2000, PINA warned that misreporting of the so-called “coup” in Fiji by a number of foreign media organisations threatened efforts to promote media freedom in the Pacific Islands. PINA president William Parkinson said: “The irresponsible and destructive nature of some of the foreign coverage leaves us in an extremely difficult […]
(PINA/IFEX) – On 25 May 2000, PINA warned that misreporting of the so-called “coup” in Fiji by a number of foreign media organisations threatened efforts to promote media freedom in the Pacific Islands. PINA president William Parkinson said: “The irresponsible and destructive nature of some of the foreign coverage leaves us in an extremely difficult situation once the crisis is over and the ‘parachute journalists’ have gone, not only with politicians but also with the people from the region who become increasingly cynical about the value of media freedom. We in the Pacific Islands have suffered greatly through the highly inaccurate material being used.
“This is not the first time this has happened in the South Pacific. It seems that every time there is a crisis in the region these ‘parachute’ journalists appear, leaving journalistic ethics behind in their home countries. They rely on the fact that their readers, viewers and listeners have little or no knowledge and respect of our countries and cultures. They use this as an excuse to misreport stories or even worse as an opportunity to write themselves into the stories as supposed heroes exaggerating the danger or drama of the story they are covering.”
PINA appealed to all foreign journalists to take the time to research and understand the story and adhere to basic media ethics. PINA also said it would like to remind these journalists that the media of the region have fought long and hard for basic media freedoms.
But Parkinson also stressed: “At the same time there are international journalists who have taken the time to research the story and to establish contacts with local journalists, and who are providing a fair and balanced picture of developments in Fiji. We would also like to congratulate the efforts of the Fiji media who have done an excellent job under very difficult and trying conditions. They have balanced the need for providing their people with the facts and not worsening a volatile situation with sensational stories based on rumour or gossip.”
As the crisis in the Fiji Islands entered its second week, PINA Nius Online reported journalists continued to be allowed considerable access and to report freely. Local and international journalists continued to report from within the parliamentary complex in suburban Suva where Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, his government and other parliamentarians are being held hostage. This follows the storming of parliament on 19 May and the holding of the government and some parliamentarians by attempted coup leader George Speight and his indigenous Fijian followers, including some members of the army’s elite counter revolutionary warfare unit. On 25 May, both international and local journalists were able to enter the complex freely and meet with Speight and his followers. This came after earlier efforts by police – apparently acting on orders from President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara – to keep journalists a kilometre away from the complex. Some local and international journalists have stayed within the complex since early in the conflict and reported freely from there by mobile and satellite telephone. Foreign journalists continue to be allowed to enter Fiji without restriction.
Background Information
Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry won power as Fiji’s first ethnic Indian prime minister in general elections in May 1999. His Fiji Labour Party formed a coalition government which included some indigenous Fijian parties. The events of 19 May followed growing protests by indigenous Fijians, who are concerned about the protection of indigenous rights and land.
Speight, a businessman, and some men from the elite Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit of the mainly indigenous Fijian army, stormed parliament during a big protest march by indigenous Fijians in downtown Suva. They have held the parliamentary complex, Chaudhry and main members of his government since then, although they have let some parliamentarians free.
Fiji’s ethnic Indians are mainly descendants of indentured plantation labourers brought from India by the British colonial government in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In 1987, following widespread unrest and growing violence after the election of what was seen as an Indian-dominated government, Rabuka, then a colonel, led two coups by the army. Fiji returned to parliamentary government in elections in 1992, with Rabuka voted into power as a civilian prime minister. Chaudhry’s government was elected under a new multiracial constitution adopted in 1997.
