Pacific Media Watch
REGION:
Open letter challenges DWU stalking
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Title -- 2670 REGION: Open letter challenges DWU stalking
Date -- 20 April 2000
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Trevor Cullen, 20/4/00
Copyright -- Trevor Cullen
Status -- Unabridged
>> 'FLAMED' or defamed by Bill White or Coppcar? Fight back on the 'Clown' forum
>> Trevor Cullen's NEW 2003 open letter to Pacific Media Watch
>> How the PNG internet's biggest clown gets his payback
>> Trevor Cullen's 2000 open letter on Bill White
>> Background and links— Coppcar Unmasked
>> Attorney demands removal of 'lawyer from hell' sites — Chilling effects database
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Editor's note: After a long-standing campaign of stalking directed at current and former journalism staff of Papua New Guinea's Divine Word University, a disgruntled former staff member of DWU, Bill White, sent an email on April 14 addressed to senior journalism staff of DWU, the University of the South Pacific, Queensland University and Bond University in Queensland. The letter makes various allegations against DWU similar to those he has posted on previous websites and in an erratic but persistent email campaign to media across the Pacific region. Here, PMW puts these allegations in context with the following open letter from Trevor Cullen, one of the targets of the attacks. This letter is reposted with Trevor's permission.
WHO IS BILL WHITE?
For your information, from Trevor Cullen
I've been asked to give some background information to recent emails sent by BIll White to the above [a series of media and individual] addresses. My name is Fr Trevor Cullen and I am a final year PhD student in the journalism department at the University of Queensland.
I have the support of Professor John Henningham, the head of the journalism department, to write this email: j.Henningham@mailbox.uq.edu.au
Bill White was dismissed in February 1996 after only one semester of a three-year contract at Divine Word University (DWU) in Papua New Guinea. He was sacked for psychologically taunting and harassing staff members.
Basically he spread vindictive and malicious stories among the students about staff members.
At one stage he tried to have the Dean of Studies arrested by the local police in Madang for disagreeing with him. Since his sacking (over three years ago), he has used the fax machine, and in more recent times, the Internet, to defame and slander DWU and several teachers who taught there.
On one occasion I replied to one of his emails to find out what was bothering him. For my efforts I received a torrent of abuse.
I ran the journalism department at DWU for two years from 1996-1997. I left ( with high recommendations from DWU) to continue further studies. Currently, I am finishing a PhD thesis on "Media Coverage of HIV/AIDS in the South Pacific".
I hope to return to PNG after my studies to continue promoting awareness of the increasing spread of HIV/AIDS in the Pacfic region.
During my stay at DWU, I can't say that I really knew BIll White and I fail to understand why I have been singled out for his vindictive and vitriolic attacks. He knows I am a Catholic priest because he has contacted my religious order in London and Rome on several occasions. Each time they inform him of my priestly status and tertiary qualifications. Yet he continues with his defamatory and slanderous attacks.
In one sense I'm not bothered by what he says because it's just sheer nonesence. However, I am annoyed that in the past year he's been using emails and websites to undermine my credibility and work. I feel I'm being stalked.
Every time I write articles or travel around the Pacific to give talks and lead workshops on promoting HIV/AIDS awareness among the media and Church leaders, he sends abusive emails to news organisations and NGOs across the Pacific.
But last week he sank to a new low. I received a letter from an Austrian couple who worked for two years as volunteers at DWU. It seems they failed to respond to one of his emails and now he has created a website about them stating they were corrupt and that the wife had a number of extra-marital affairs.
Understandably they were distraught and I asked the editor of Pacific Islands Report to remove the postings with the address of the website. In fact, Bill White has created several websites for a number of individuals. Several have been removed but he just finds a another free website to play his sick mind games.
Apart from deliberately setting out to hurt and harm people, the actions of Bill White raise some serious ethical questions in regard to use of the internet. Invasion of privacy and defamation are two obvious ones. And while it is vitally important that people can freely express their ideas, views and grievances on the web, there must be some control to protect people from continually posting blatant defamatory and abusive material.
Bill White has been unemployed since his sacking from DWU. That's why he has all the time in the world to set up websites and send abusive email. Maybe he views this type of activity as part of some new and perverse cyber game.
Unfortunately, while he plays, many real people are being insulted, harmed and hurt. Due to hardly any regulation on the web, it seems anyone can say anything about anyboby and escape the consequences. Somehow this is not right.
Trevor Cullen
Journalism Department
Queensland University
This is the second time in less than a year that I have changed my email address in order to escape BIll White's frequent abusive emails.
+++niuswire
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