FIJI: Another Move to Muzzle the Media

Analysis by Shailendra Singh

SUVA, Jul 28 (IPS) - Since independence in 1970, this Pacific Island nation has had a succession of elected and unelected prime ministers. Both sets of leaders have tried to muzzle what they see as errant, if not dangerous, media.

Currently, media are faced with a proposal by interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama to consolidate all existing media laws covered under the Constitution, the Public Order Act, and the Media Code of Ethics into a separate "Media Promulgation".

Fiji’s prime ministers, whether they came to power through the ballot box or the barrel of a gun, have shown little regard for its robust and often strident media.

Founding prime minister, the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, had little patience with what he clearly saw as an impertinent media corps. Ratu Mara was a daunting presence at press conferences and a stare from him was enough to stop a question in its tracks.

His successors clearly regretted that along with the British parliamentary system, inherited from the colonialists, came the ‘irksome’ free press tradition.

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