(PINA/IFEX) – The following is a 30 April 2004 PINA statement: Media Freedom Day Message by Apulu Lance Polu, President, Pacific Islands News Association – PINA REGION – The media in conflict situations and transition becomes not too distant anymore for us in the Pacific region. Political corruption, ethnic violence and segregation, and the threat […]
(PINA/IFEX) – The following is a 30 April 2004 PINA statement:
Media Freedom Day Message by Apulu Lance Polu, President, Pacific Islands News Association – PINA
REGION – The media in conflict situations and transition becomes not too distant anymore for us in the Pacific region.
Political corruption, ethnic violence and segregation, and the threat of terrorism in our region are realities that the Pacific media and journalists have dealt with and will continue to deal with in the future. Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Papuan border and the improved situation in East Timor require vigilance by Pacific journalists and media to bring out not only the truth but the reality in these situations without being compromised when on unfamiliar ground.
Natural and environmental disasters make us in the region all the more vulnerable as cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, drought and forest fires are no longer in set patterns and come with extended force and destruction. We as journalists and the media continue to be the medium that bring a stabilising balance in such situations, especially in our small and remote societies. We help bring our societies wrought by civil strife or natural disasters to normality.
We need to be more vigilant in our reporting and coverage.
However, threats to media freedom in our region remain. From physical attacks of journalists, cameramen and photographers to legal limitation of media freedom and that of freedom of speech and expression.
The media legislation in the Kingdom of Tonga against media freedom and free speech and expression are real threats and control in another form.
Excuses by political leaders using culture and tradition as a smokescreen no longer hold basis for us in the region. Rather, it had been demonstrated that a free and independent media correlates to economic development and building society in all its sectors as it plays a crucial role in the democratic process.
But we journalists must always remain to bear that media freedom has its known responsibilities and confines in order to contribute to society and humanity in general.
As we celebrate this year’s Media Freedom Day with the focus on reporting conflicts, as depicted by the UNESCO theme for this year, “Freedom of Expression and Conflict Management in Crisis Situations and Countries in Transition”, we should take time to refocus on our own responsibilities.
PINA had in the past conducted training on these issues with support from UNESCO, AusAID, NZAID, UNICEF, British DFID, Thomson Foundation, CPU, CBA, Sasakawa, and other partners, in order to equip our media fraternity with the ability and skills to report adequately to our readers and audiences.
PINA is undergoing changes to set itself up as the single media organisation providing a combined and single voice for the media in our region.
PINA, with its traditional and emerging partners, will continue to offer training in the many facets of the media towards professional development and standards, in order to report and serve our societies well in the face of a globalised world and the impacts on our immediate region.
On celebrating media freedom this year, we must also pay tribute to the courage of men and women who, through their work in the media, have made our societies and the world a better place.
