Pacific reporter fights off smear campaign

By Lucy Mullinger: Pacific Media Centre

World Press Freedom day was celebrated around the globe this weekend while one of New Zealand's top reporters has been fending off a nasty smear campaign over a controversial report about gangs and guns in Samoa.

The Samoan government has threatened legal action against Television New Zealand and Pacific affairs reporter Barbara Dreaver because of her report on April 6 which highlighted the issue of guns being smuggled into the Pacific country.

Gangs are accused of being involved and also as drug dealers.

Samoan authorities claim there is no “gang culture” in the country. Dreaver is accused of bribing young Samoan men with alcohol to get a fabricated story about the gangs.

Dreaver denies the claims. She says no legal action or complaint has been filed through the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) – and she vows to fight it if it does.

Dreaver stands by her story, saying: “There are a lot of people working on TVNZ stories and I would never be allowed to film something that was untrue”.

Her network recently publicly issued a sworn affidavit by her rejecting the allegations, and she adds: “I have proof and their argument would never stand up in court.”

The regional media freedom conference is being held in Samoa this week and the director of the Pacific Media Centre, Associate Professor David Robie, will be attending and expects the controversy to be debated.

Hot topic
“The issue will be a hot topic. I hope that it will be conducted fairly and professionally,” he says.

A Samoa Observer article written by an anonymous reporter on April 26 said: “Whether Dreaver and TVNZ agree, the truth is that as anyone who has lived in this country for many years will vouch, there is no such thing as a gang culture in Samoa”.

The Sunday Samoan refers to Dreaver’s story as “a sickening documentary”.

The reporter goes on to refer to a scene with young men “brandishing guns” as a “despicable scene” where Dreaver is alleged to have misled them to believe they were in a Hollywood film.

Dreaver denies this and says: “The boys had a lot of marijuana on them and Samoa has strict rules about carrying joints, of course they are going to deny being involved.”

The reporter continues: “The images are so disgusting you feel like running outside and bury[ing] your head in the mud.”

This time the reporter does not completely rule out the fact there are problems in Samoa: “We admit there are drugs-and-guns-related problems here but then every country has them”.

Dr Robie describes an unsigned editorial in the Sunday Samoan on April 20 that personally "threatens" Dreaver as one of the worst personal attacks on a journalist he has seen in some time.

He defends Dreaver, saying: “She is one of the leading roving Pacific correspondents in the region” He believes she is unmatched in New Zealand television and has been “a role model to many journalists”.

Strong support
An ex-colleague and friend of Dreaver, Sandra Kailahi, is a producer and presenter on the new digital channel TVNZ7 who agrees with Dr Robie.

She has known Dreaver for many years after attending the same journalism school in 1990 and says: “I don’t believe Barbara would deliberately mislead anyone.”

Editor of Spasifik magazine Peter Rees used to work for the Samoa Observer. He notes Dreaver has written columns for Spasifik in the past and says: “Her determination to expose NZ audiences to Pacific issues through her role on One News is to be commended”.

He says there is gang activity in Samoa “but not at the levels that people are led to believe”.

In Dreaver’s story, he believes that gangs are not the same in Samoa as they are in New Zealand.

“It is more to do with unemployed and bored youth in the urbanised areas of the capital Apia.”

Rees believes there is a problem in Samoa but it involves “ice” or harder drugs, rather than marijuana. It is an example of a problem that is more serious than the “youth gang reports”.

Sandra Kailahi believes Samoa is a great place to visit and wasn’t aware of the gang issue until the story.

“But in all honesty, I am not surprised given its strong ties and links to New Zealand, Samoa and America”.

Stopping place
She admits Samoa is not the only place where drugs are an issue as Tonga was used by many gangs as a stopping place.

“In one big case many years ago, drugs were hidden in root crops like yams bound for NZ”.

When asked why Samoan authorities and many news people reject the accusations of gangs in their country, Kailahi says: “A story like this can alter peoples’ perception of an ideal South Pacific destination and that translates in hard cash or lack of it”.

She also believes it might also be “about not being fakama” and the people felt shamed.

Samoan resident Annette Wazhia lives near Apia and says she is “very angry” about the allegations of gangs in Samoa.

“I haven't seen or heard of gangs in Samoa. It is a very safe place”.

She is one of the local people who believe the story is not true and is “saddened” by the story.

A Pacific Island representative who is not from Samoa but has visited the country many times agrees that Samoa is a safe place but believes there is some criminal activity.

“The motive is more to do with getting cash rather than competing for ‘turf’ which is quite an urban attitude,” said the representative, who declined to be named.

Frowned upon
The representative says that strong family ties in Samoa, community and church networks “frown upon gangs” and it would make it difficult for gangs such as exist in Western countries to take hold.

“If the gang culture does exist at all, it would not be ‘paraded’ as we find here in Auckland with patches because the networks will root it out very quickly”.

However, “wayward kids have been sent home by their families from US and NZ to get away from the gang environment”.

The same representative believes that Dreaver's story “lacked credibility because she got taken in by a group of kids who conned her into thinking they were ‘bigger’ than they really were”.

This person adds: “There could be guns being moved from American Samoa to Samoa … but I don't think that it is large enough to warrant trade.”

If the Samoan government does bring an action against TVNZ, Dreaver says: “I don't mind healthy debate but these accusations are defamatory and are a character assassination against me”.

Dreaver and her team at TVNZ will “fight it all the way”.

Lucy Mullinger is a Graduate Diploma in Journalism student on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University. She photographed the Samoan scene image ... "tarnished ideal destination".

Another piece of Barbara Dreaver's puzzle
Barbara Dreaver: The evil side of journalism
Barbara Dreaver affidavit on Pacific Media Watch
Jason Brown on the Samoan Observer 'shoot the messenger' threat
NZ drug trade fuels Samoa gun smuggling [video]

Amnesty boosts Pacific human rights campaign

Pacific Media Centre

Amnesty International’s New Zealand section is stepping up a new strategy focused on grave abuses of human rights in the Pacific.

And Fiji has emerged as the major target at the organisation’s national annual general meeting at AUT University this weekend.

“Demanding dignity gives Amnesty International members an unparalleled opportunity to be regionally relevant,” chief executive Patrick Holmes told delegates.

“Grave and growing human rights abuses in the Pacific region are a big concern.

“We will work to ensure dedicated human rights laws in the Pacific are on the radar.”

Amnesty’s Pacific researcher Apolosi Bose, who last month spent two weeks in Fiji on a fact-finding mission, said in a report that the regime could commit further human rights abuses now it had almost unlimited power.

He said people who were critics of the government were afraid to speak out because there was no constitution, no judiciary and the media had been censored.

Holmes said Amnesty International would work towards developing strong partnerships with local human rights groups in Pacific nations.

“Human rights is the only way to human dignity,” he said.

The organisation’s strategic plan for the next two years said the two main objectives were to focus on:

• Grave abuses of human rights in the Pacific, including New Zealand.

• Understanding and contributing to a “footprint in the Pacific”.

One of the two keynote speakers, Sacha McMeeking, law lecturer at the University of Canterbury and a member of Te Hunga Roia Māori (Māori Law Society), spoke of the “antipodean dream” and a wide belief that New Zealand had an exemplary human rights record.

“But embodying the dream means giving effect to the law,” she said. “Having an international human rights role means taking responsibility to step up and show by example.”

The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi had been a legal attempt to embody the dream by articulating rights and responsibilities on both sides.

The 1975 Waitangi Tribunal had been set up to drive things forward.

But the tribunal was only an advisory body and as it had no judicial powers, governments could ignore recommendations.

McMeeking said a challenge for these times was for New Zealand to develop a legal system that balanced protecting Māori human rights and the cultural right to survive as a people while protecting the rights of other New Zealanders.

Fiji human rights lawyer and women’s advocate Imrana Jalal spoke about the need for a regional human rights commission or agency as many smaller Pacific countries could not establish a sustainable national commission.

Picture: Governance board member Tuwhakairiora Williams, Fiji civil rights lawyer Imrana Jalal and Amnesty International Aotearoa's chief executive Patrick Holmes. Photo: Del Abcede.

Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand

Kele'a defends 'no bylines' policy

By Josephine Latu: Pacific Media Watch

The acting director of the Friendly Island Human Rights and Democracy Movement and former publisher of Kele’a, Siosiua Po’oi Pohiva, has defended the newspaper’s policy of leaving out bylines in its stories.

The newspaper does not print any of writers’ names, whether for news or editorial pieces.

Pohiva said that this was primarily to protect the journalists, adding that responsibility for the content was taken by senior staff.

“Isn’t having an editor and a publisher enough? Leave the messengers alone – just focus on the message. Don’t threaten the messenger,” he told Pacific Media Watch.

Kele’a is renowned for its controversial criticisms of the Tongan government and was fined TOP$500,000 last month for defaming Prime Minister Dr Feleti Sevele and his economic advisor Rob Solomon.

It is currently under receivership due to this unprecedented fine.

Kele’a made a statement that despite the court order the newspaper would be vigilant in scrutinising the actions of public leaders, especially the Prime Minister and his advisers.

Fiji, Tonga media least free in Pacific, says Freedom House

By Josephine Latu: Pacific Media Watch

Fiji and Tonga have the least free media among the Pacific Island states, according to Freedom House’s just released 2009 annual report on global press freedom.

Fiji was ranked 85th out of a total of 195 countries - dropping from 80th last year, while Tonga maintained its rank at 73rd.

Along with East Timor (78), they were the only countries in the region to be categorised as only “partly free”. The rest were free.

New Zealand and Palau enjoyed top status in the region, tying at 11th spot worldwide. Last year New Zealand ranked 8th and Palau at 12th.

Both were rated to have higher press freedom than Britain (27) and Australia (38).

The Freedom House ratings were calculated based on three criteria - the legal environment in which the media operates, the political influences on reporting, and the economic pressures of distributing news.

The rankings are based on information gathered about 2008.

Fourteen Pacific Island nations were included in the report and were ranked out of a total 195 countries as follows: New Zealand (11), Palau (11), Marshall Islands (21), Federated States of Micronesia (33), Australia (38), Vanuatu (43), Papua New Guinea (53), Tuvalu (53), Kiribati (59), Nauru (60), Samoa (63), Solomon Islands (66), Tonga (73), and Fiji (84).

Negative trends
The report also stated that after two decades of progress, press freedom is now in decline in almost every part of the world.

Only 17 percent of the world’s population enjoy free media in their countries, although key trends showed that threats to media freedom are evident even in established democracies.

The report stated that media freedom remained “fragile” in emerging democracies, and that authoritative governments were increasing their control over media. Also, restrictive laws and physical attacks continued to hinder press freedom around the world.

However, Freedom House reported that compared to the rest of the world, the Asia-Pacific region as a whole boasted a relatively high level of press freedom.

At the same time, it underlined that Fiji media suffered from “official pressure”, which caused its decline in ranking, and cited the deportation of two foreign national publishers and the Fiji Times held in contempt for publishing “unflattering letters about three judges”.

The recent media censorship crackdown under Fiji’s military regime is expected to pull the nation’s ranking down even further in future.

Freedom House 2009 global report media release
Freedom House 2009 report on the Pacific Media Watch database

Tongan defamation ruling a 'wake up call', say editors

By Josephine Latu: Pacific Media Watch

As World Media Freedom Day marks a strengthened drive towards free speech and a free press in the Pacific, some media editors in Tonga are more concerned with the alleged abuse of these rights.

A recent defamation case involving the Kele’a newspaper has focused public attention on the balance between media freedom and media responsibility in Tonga.

In late March, Tonga’s Supreme Court imposed a crushing fine of TOP$500,000 in damages on the pro-democracy newspaper Kele’a for defaming the Prime Minister, Dr Feleti Sevele, and his economic adviser Rob Solomon.

The newspaper was also told to run a front-page apology to the prime minister for six weeks.

The case involved a letter to the editor published in October 2007, making allegations about Solomon’s appointment to the prime minister’s office, and a July 2007 editorial making allegations about the prime minister over government loans from China.

A regional media freedom group, Pacific Freedom Forum, recently condemned the ruling as “excessive” and “draconian”, making the comparison that “on a per capita basis, the fine would be equivalent to a NZ$8.3 million judgment in New Zealand - an unheard of amount even for a much bigger country and economy".

However, Taimi Media Network head Kalafi Moala, who oversees both the Taimi ‘o Tonga and the Tonga Chronicle, as well as Talaki deputy editor Tevita Motulalo, disagree.

“If you’re going to say something is ‘excessive’, you have to go back to the offence and examine how excessive the offence was,” said Moala.

“We’re talking about two years of constant accusations and defamation.”

Personal attacks
He believes Kele’a continues to violate other Tongans’ right to free expression by personally attacking those who do not hold the same political views in their newspaper.

Moala has also been accused by Kele’a of using government resources allocated for the Chronicle to benefit his independent newspaper, Taimi ‘o Tonga – an allegation Moala rejects.

Talaki’s Motulalo also applauded the judge’s decision, calling the ruling a “wake up call” for the press to be more cautious and accurate about what they print.

“Press freedom is related to the people’s right to know – not just to know any information, but the correct information,” he told Pacific Media Watch.

Pesi Fonua, president of the Tonga Media Council and editor of Matangi Tonga Online, said that there was always a possibility of abusing media freedom, although he pointed out that people should be allowed to make “fair comment” on public figures.

“With defamation you have to take it case by case. The Defamation Act needs to be looked at. It makes it difficult to differentiate who is a public figure,” he said.

However, acting director of the Friendly Islands Human Rights and Democracy Movement, and former publisher of Kele’a, Siosiua Po’oi Pohiva, said the lawsuit indicated the government was “desperate” and “out to crush” the newspaper.

He is one of three people named defendants in the lawsuit.

Pohiva defended the newspaper’s role to “provide an alternative perspective in the media and to look at things in a way that would benefit the people”, saying that most of the media in Tonga were “puppets” of the government.

“We’re afraid the quality of journalism in Tonga may be held back or threatened by money and power,” he said.

Pohiva believes the defamation case should have been struck out because the editor at the time, Tavake Fusimalohi, died in December 2007, thus preventing a fair investigation.

The court has placed the Kele’a under receivership, managed by accountant ‘Aisake Tu’iono. He has until May 15 to collect money from the defendants and come up with a report.

Josephine Latu is contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch at AUT's Pacific Media Centre.

Kele'a damages ruling excessive, says PFF
Supreme Court awards damages against Kele'a

Martial law wipes out Fiji's media freedom day

By Violet Cho: Pacific Media Centre

Media organisations and newspapers worldwide are ready to mark World Media Freedom Day tomorrow - but this important day has been censored in Fiji because of the military regime’s decree banning media and political meetings.

Sources at the University of the South Pacific, where an annual free speech debate was due to be co-hosted with the Fiji Media Council, said plans had to be abandoned.

“The journalism programme was working with the Fiji Media Council to organise activities as it has done through the years, but decided against it after advice from the Information Ministry,” said one organiser.

“We had already held a meeting but could not hold a follow-up meeting to continue with preparations.

“We were told that all meetings to do with the Media Council should be deferred until after period of the 30-day emergency regulations expired.

“We were further advised to familiarise ourselves with the emergency regulations.”

The Fiji Media Council, comprising the country’s leading news media organisations, was also ordered to cancel its monthly meeting.

“Media freedom is seriously curtailed in Fiji,” said TV3 reporter Sia Aston, an AUT graduate who was recently expelled from Fiji.

“Reporters there have to carry out their jobs with members of the military and police within their offices censoring stories.

“International media are given selective access to government ministers and officials, banned from attending sensitive press conferences, monitored heavily while in Fiji and told that any reporting perceived as negative will not be tolerated.

“That is not what I would consider media freedom.”

In a statement marking Media Freedom Day, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), said governments guilty of "censorship, hypocrisy, and neglect are putting press freedom to the sword world-wide”.

The president of IFJ, Jim Boumelha, said: “Governments around the world are failing to defend press freedom and the rights of journalists.

“And in the process they endanger civil liberties and democracy.”

According to the IFJ, journalists worldwide are being targeted in justification of security and counter-terrorism by authorities.

“Even democratic states are putting in place laws that constrain the exercise of journalism,” says Boumelha.

“Snooping on investigative reporters and forcing journalists to reveal sources of information is increasing. As a result, media work in an intimidating atmosphere in which censorship, direct and indirect is becoming routine.”

The Pacific regional media event, “Building courage under fire”, originally planned for Fiji has been moved to Apia, Samoa, because of martial law.

The regional event, with aim of boosting Pacific journalism’s ability to counter pressure on media freedom is being organised by the Pacific Freedom Forum, UNESCO and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

The meeting starts on Wednesday and will run until May 8.

Other regional World Media Freedom Day activities include:

Malaysia: According to International Freedom of Expression (IFEX) exchange, Independent Journalism in Malaysia is organising a public forum on “media under Najib: Hope or Disappointment?” at the Central Market in Kuala Lumpur on May 10.

Philippines: The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) plans a wreath-laying ceremony on May 3 in memory of journalists who have been killed.

Thailand: The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and UNESCO Bangkok is organising an event to highlight the importance of freedom of expression and media independence after conflicts and crises ranging from Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge regime to the Philippines under Marcos.

Violet Cho is the Asian Journalism Fellow at AUT's Pacific Media Centre.

IFJ accuses governments of ‘hypocrisy’
Fiji government
Fiji Media Council
University of the South Pacific

Target Fiji in Samoa - how to beat censorship, media repression

Pacific Media Centre

A media freedom strategic planning workshop due this week in Fiji and climaxing with a World Media Freedom Day event in Suva on Sunday, May 3, has ended up exile. It has been moved to Samoa next week - censorship by Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama's regime is to blame.

The Pacific Freedom Forum reports that journalists and observers from 12 Pacific nations and all forms of mainstream media are making their way to Apia, Samoa, for a "Courage under Fire" media freedom event.

The workshop takes its ‘Project XIX’ theme from Article 19 (XIX) of the UN Declaration on Human Rights. Article 19 confirms the right to express an opinion or idea without fear for one’s safety, and forms the basis for what is commonly known as media freedom or free speech.

Lead trainer Deborah Muir is the Sydney-based programme manager for the International Federation of Journalists, and will bring a strong background in media training, advocacy, and development to the event.

Co-trainer Kalafi Moala is an award-winning media veteran, newspaper publisher and author recognised for his achievements by the Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA), University of the South Pacific and Amnesty International.

He is currently chief executive of Taimi Media Network in Tonga. Project XIX national counterpart Vicky Lepou, lecturing in journalism at the National University of Samoa, also forms part of the training team.

“The Courage under Fire workshop comes at a critical time for free speech for Pacific journalists, and the insights and information which Deborah, Kalafi and Vicky will bring to the table make an ideal mix for meeting the needs of our training group,” says Project XIX facilitator Lisa Williams-Lahari.

“As journalists, it’s good to turn the lens inwards and examine ourselves as much as we put the spotlight on others. These events always provide that opportunity. But our trainers are also geared to help us take journalism to the next level, in terms of speaking out in creative ways - not just to protect the rights of people to be informed, but the right of the next generation of journalists to report what Pacific people think on issues, without fear or favour,” Says Lahari.

“In this respect, we are especially honoured to have NUS journalism students as part of our regional workshop group and we look forward to the energy and experiences of our future media managers as we also debate and chew through the current real-life situation of newsroom issues around article XIX.”

While Muir and Moala will be focusing on sessions around freedom of expression and the right to information, the PFF facilitator is keen to develop strategies from the discussions which will strengthen the relatively new PFF.

Lahari, from her own background as a Pacific journalist, advocate and trainer, says for this event, she has “picked up a unique air of excitement around the current activity which is good to see".

"It bodes well for ownership and involvement by Pacific journalists in their own industry ‘family’. Most of us are part of an online network. We are looking forward to meeting each other and our chair Susuve Laumaea for the first time, at this meeting."

The workshop was made possible by a grant from UNESCO, with support from the SPC Regional Media Centre and the global freedom of expression body IFEX, under its Outreach programme.

Journalists and observers from Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu will be representing their organisations for the May 6-8 event.

The New Zealand contingent includes AUT's Pacific Media Centre director David Robie with support from the New Zealand National Commission of UNESCO.

Cartoon of Voreqe Bainimarama by Malcolm Evans for Pacific Journalism Review and digitally modified by Josephine Latu.

• Other regional events for World Media Freedom Day
• IFJ accuses governments of hypocrisy over press freedom
• Support the free Fiji media online petition