Page 6 - IB March 2018 Edition

WE SAY

“We need to realise something: Either we speak up now and draw a clear line

under freedom of speech, or we write it off in the Pacific region”

IT’S becoming far too common: Journalists and whistle blowers of freedom of speech and human rights. Fiji subverts the entire
are being singled out and silenced as governments throughout media establishment, and nothing is said. Kiribati outright says
the region allow the Pacific to slide down the slippery slope of ‘stop reporting on this story’, and aside from the usual angry
repression. Either we act now to stop it, or we accept that in ten squawks, nothing happens.
years, the region’s media may look a lot more like the People’s The very governments who claim to defend democracy and
Daily News than the Sydney Morning Herald. western values don’t seem as married to them as they once were.
Australia is no exception. Even now, the Coalition government We need to realise something: Either we speak up now and
is considering draconian new laws that would outlaw activity that draw a clear line under freedom of speech, or we write it off in
is necessary to the proper functioning of a democracy. the Pacific region.
In every country of the world, social media is eroding people’s The right to express oneself is not granted by governments.
sense of the truth, and undermining its importance in their daily Constitutions don’t give these rights either. They recognise them.
existence. These rights existed before we were born, and they will con-
In the Pacific islands, the threat is real. [In February], three tinue to exist whether we admit it or not. The only question,
veteran journalists, all of them with spotless reputations, were really, is how high a price do we have to pay to exercise them?
detained by police on suspicion of inciting unrest. They had Detention? Imprisonment? Deportation? Assault?
published the news that a magistrate who ruled against the This is not an abstract discussion. The truth matters more
government’s interest in a labour case had been sacked. They than ever, and media professionals across the Pacific need to
were held for hours, and their phones and laptops were seized. understand that time is not on our side.
As this editorial is being finalised, Samisoni Pareti, Netani Across the globe, people are beginning to see the damage
Rika and Nanise Volau are facing the possibility of charges of caused by Facebook’s pernicious influence on people’s perception
incitement to sedition. of what’s true. It’s felt in small communities more intensely than
This action by police, presumably with the blessing of the Fiji anywhere else. A few unprincipled and unrestrained people are
First government, is inexcusable. There is no possible justification playing fast and loose with the truth, and ruining people’s lives
for it. It is a direct assault on free speech and the freedom of the in the process.
media to question the actions of public officials. If our professional media associations were doing their job,
We have to ask: Are the days of dictatorship in Fiji truly past? they would set an example for others to follow. Instead, they
In Kiribati too, as details emerged about the tragic—and pos- cower, just as they’ve done in the face of government repression.
sibly preventable—sinking of a passenger ferry, we heard that And now, the worst excesses of social media are being used
a New Zealand television news crew had their gear confiscated. as justification for even more suppression from these same
This is just not on. governments.
Yes, the news media are often the bearers of bad tidings. Yes, If we don’t reaffirm this now, if we don’t repeat this chorus
sometimes they are the ones who dig these stories up. Yes, loud and long, we will lose our democracy. In New Zealand and
sometimes they make mistakes. Australia, in Fiji, in Kiribati, in Nauru—across the entire region—
None of this justifies punishing people for speaking their mind. media professionals need to stand up and speak in defence of
The danger is greater than it has been in a decade. Media the truth. We need to set an example for others, show them how
freedom pioneer Marc Neil-Jones suffered assaults, imprison- responsible, principled, fair and fearless reporting comes about.
ment, deportation and constant threats as he fought to build and Nobody is going to do this for us. If we don’t act, our govern-
preserve media freedom in Vanuatu. He did not do it alone. Every ments will. And that won’t end well for any of us.
time he suffered another affront, an uproar spread across the
region, making it clear to the government of Vanuatu that there - Condensed version of editorial republished with permission of
would be consequences for their ill-advised actions. Dan McGarry and Marc Neil-Jones, Media Director and Publisher
Now, government and civil society leaders will gather in Nauru, respectively of the Vanuatu Daily Post newspaper. The Vanuatu
and not a peep is heard about their government’s serial abuses daily first published this on 16 February, 2018.

So what’s stopping our 22 countries and territories of the Pacific from giving women

50 per cent or more of positions in national leadership? Why can’t we have 10 or 11

more Hilda Heine, the current President of Marshall Islands?

PLAIN and simple, the Pacific has a long way to go in the work It is nothing sort of unbelievable that just a year short of four
of gender mainstreaming. Indeed in spite of the many colourful decades after the adoption of CEDAW, the UN Convention on
and enthusiastic rhetoric about women rights delivered in much the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
fanfare over the years by our politicians and bureaucrats, statistics women and girls in the Pacific are still lagging behind in what-
from the islands around the region tell the same story. A story ever indicators one cares to apply. In our national parliaments
that is bleak at best and depressing at worst. for instance, women currently make up only a mere 7 per cent

6 Islands Business, March 2018