Asia-Pacific Network provides independent journalism on social, political, environmental, media and development issues in the Asia-Pacific region. The following is a selection of some of the articles, and links to other articles and websites. Seek permission from the editor of the copyright holder before republication. Copyright © 1996-2001David Robie and the authors. PO Box 78028, Auckland 2, Aotearoa/New Zealand, or PO Box U5, Laucala Campus, Suva, Fiji. TOKTOK: Feedback on stories Go to archive index Back to current index Check out Scoop!

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• MEDIA: FIJI COURT ORDERS DNA TEST FOR RABUKA OVER JOURNALIST'S PATERNITY CLAIM
  Fiji Sun/Pacific Islands Report: 29 December 2001
  Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is in a legal wrangle over claims by a woman journalist that he fathered her son. The Suva Magistrates Court ordered Rabuka to undergo a DNA test with the journalist, Margaret Wise, who was controversial over her reporting of the deposed Chaudhry government.
  

• WEST PAPUA: INDONESIAN MILITARY HELPS PROBE INTO THEYS MURDER
  Jakarta Post/Pacific Islands Report: 28 December 2001
  The Indonesian military has sent a five-member team to Papua to help police investigate the November 11 murder of independence activist Theys Hiyo Eluay. Central military police chief Maj. Gen. Djasri Marin said on Thursday that the team was led by Army Intelligence Chief Brig. Gen. Sardas Markus. The team was sent at the request of Papuan police investigators, who were denied access to the army in their efforts to probe the alleged involvement of soldiers in Theys' murder.
  

• MEDIA: THE PACIFIC JOURNALIST - VALUABLE INSIGHTS
  NZJTO's Noted: December 2001
  By Ruth Thomas
  If you have a vision of the Pacific as a paradise firmly in your head, and reckon you might like to retire there and run a little newspaper, think again. The Pacific Journalist quickly disposes of such dreams, providing some valuable insights into the diversity and difficulties for journalists in the region.
  

• MEDIA: NEW CRITICAL WEBSITE ANALYSES SOUTHEAST ASIAN MEDIA
  ABC Online: 19 December 2001
  A new interactive website, created by Radio Australia Education & Knowledge, challenges anyone with an interest in media in politics in Southeast Asia to face some of the difficult decisions confronting the media in the region today. On the Record: Media & Political Change, examines the role of the media in helping create a climate for change, focusing on issues of political and economic stability and independence and professionalism in reporting.
  

• SOLOMON ISLANDS: NEW CORRUPTION CONCERNS OVER NEW PREMIER
  Pacific Islands Report/Sydney Morning Herald: 18 December 2001
  Australia's hopes that elections in the Solomon Islands would end endemic corruption have suffered a setback after new Members of Parliament chose a prime minister recently subjected to allegations of serious impropriety. The incoming leader, Sir Allan Kemakeza, was removed as deputy prime minister earlier this year amid financial scandals.
  

• SOLOMON ISLANDS: SACKED FORMER DEPUTY PM NEW PREMIER AFTER ELECTIONS
  Reuters/ABC Online: 17 December 2001
  Sacked former Deputy Premier Sir Allan Kemakeza has been named the new Solomon Islands Prime Minister to lead the troubled country after an ethnic militia coup sparked widespread unrest. He was sacked in August because of concern over the distribution of compensation payouts stemming from the militia clashes and coup.
  

• MILITARY: A COUP, A MUTINY, KABUL AND THE MYSTERY OF "TOUCH-PINCH-PINCH": FIJI¹S COLONEL TARAKINIKINI
  Pacific Islands Report: 16 December 2001
  By Michael Field
  In Afghanistan's war-ravaged capital Kabul this United Nation's soldier might attract only passing attention, but in the South Pacific, rumor, intrigue and unanswered questions surround him. Republic of Fiji Military Forces Lieutenant Colonel Filipo Tarakinikini was last year almost as well known as failed coup plotter George Speight. Now a peacekeeping planning officer with the UN in New York and part of their mission to Afghanistan, his superiors want him back to face an uncertain future.
  

  CENSORSHIP: GUAM WOMEN BURN MAGAZINES IN PROTEST
  Pacific Daily News: 15 December 2001
  By Scott Radway
  Local leaders have burned Marie-Claire magazines in a black barbecue in protest over an article in the international women's magazine they claim defames Guam women. "This is an outrage. It is an insult to the women of Guam," Trini Torres, the spokeswoman for Colonized Chamoru Coalition, told a crowd of about 30 gathered in Latte Park.
  

  MEDIA: ETHICS GUIDELINES IN WAKE OF TERRORISM CRISIS
  Budapest Post: 13 December 2001
  By Charles Fletcher
  A comprehensive set of guidelines for broadcast media reporters in Hungary has been launched in the wake of the global crisis on terrorism. No set of guidelines were in existence to help broadcasters deal with the catastrophe that unfolded when hijackers slammed planes into New York and Washington. It happened too fast, left a world traumatised and television news operations such as ITN in the UK chose to forego hitherto stances of never broadcasting live pictures of people being killed.
  

  MEDIA: RACE, VIOLENCE AND THE MEDIA IN CONFLICT
  MediaChannel: 12 December 2001
  When headlines in Australia screamed "Muslim Rape Gangs!" did they incite more violence? Can Australian media cover race without resorting to racism? A MediaChannel exclusive by Nadya Stani.
  In this global conflict, are the news media too controlled and too biased to help us understand the true consequences in Afghanistan, the United States and wherever the war spreads next? Includes:
  * U.S. Media: Covering Up Thousands Of Afghan Deaths?
  * Why The Web Is Perfect For Propaganda
  * And much, much more...
  In "The Skeptical Environmentalist," Bjorn Lomborg denounced the warnings of Nobel and other scientists. And an all-too-eager press swallowed his conclusions whole. (From TomPaine, World Resources Institute)
  
  

• FIJI: FIJIANS FAVOURED OVER INDIANS WITH PASSAGE OF 'SOCIAL JUSTICE' BILL
  Michael Field's Homepage: 11 December 2001
  By Michael Field
  One of the aims of Fiji's coup plotters last year -- supremacy for the indigenous people over ethnic Indians -- has been achieved with the passing of a new parliamentary bill. With the passage of the Social Justice Bill on December 8, Parliament adjourned its second session and stripped one of its new members -- coup plotter George Speight who is awaiting trial on treason charges -- of his status.
  

  CENSORSHIP: AUSTRALIAN MINING COMPANY BLOCKS 10-YEAR-OLD FILM
  LabourNet: 6 December 2001
  By Peter Lewis
  An Australian mining company has successfully blocked the screening of a film in Fiji - critical of its operations and funded by the New South Wales Labor Council. Emperor Goldmines stopped the screening of Na Ma'e Na Ma'e - We Stand Until We Die - through their lawyer Sahu Khan. Filmmaker Senator 'Atu Emberson-Bain's response.
  

• MEDIA: WANSOLWARA, CONVERGENCE AND CULTURE
  
  Asia-Pacific: 6 December 2001
  By David Robie
  Covering Fiji's most vital general election since independence in 1970 amid post-Speight coup tension was a challenging assignment for the University of the South Pacific Journalism Programme. A new section on the Pacific Journalism Online website was created in July to cover the 2001 election and political aftermath over the next two months, ending with local angle coverage on the terrorist attacks in the United States.
  

• MEDIA: ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNALISTS QUESTION WAR ON TERRORISM
  Pacific Islands Report: 3 December 2001
  "As global terrorism evolved into a beast out of control, America enjoyed the good life," writes Sri Lankan journalist Amantha Perera, "until the beast struck at its very heart." Five Asia-Pacific journalists feature in a new East-West Center publication, "Terrorism and America: Five Asia Pacific Perspectives."
  

• GLOBALISATION: Commentary: MEKIM NA SAVVY: BOUGAINVILLE - SMALL NATION, BIG MESSAGE
  Scoop: 21 November 2001
  These days we are swamped by information about the impact of corporate capitalism, structural adjustment, and the power and influence of transnational corporations. We are bludgeoned with propaganda about the inevitability of globalisation, of there being no alternative to the global free market economy, of promises of globalisation with a human face. The US-led "war against terrorism" has rained yet more death and destruction on the people of Afghanistan. But the independently-produced documentary, An Evergreen Island, should resonate with all who struggle against the power of global capital.
  

• MEDIA: FIJI JOURNALISTS WIN MAJOR USP AWARDS
  Wansolwara Online: 16 November 2001
  Two Fiji Islands journalists won the major prizes at the University of the South Pacific Journalism Programme¹s annual awards tonight, presented by French Ambassador Jean-Pierre Vidon. Reggie Dutt won the Newsroom Tanoa Award for best student journalist of the year while independent broadcaster and community commentator Luisa Tora won a French Embassy sponsored media attachment in Noumea, presented to the student who has contributed most to enhancing Pacific relations.
  

• MEDIA: CONTROVERSY OVER FIJI TELEVISION REFUSAL TO SHOW TUNA CANNERY DOCUMENTARY
  
  Pacific Media Watch: 10 November 2001
  The Fiji Sun calls in an editorial for the showing of the controversial documentary In the Name of Growth about the Levuka tuna cannery plant PAFCO (Pacific Fishing Company), saying: "We say the documentary is for everyone in Fiji who cares about its people and their future."
  

• MEDIA: FIJI TELEVISION BLOCKS INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY ON EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN TUNA WORKERS BY INDIGENOUS BOSSES
  Pacific Media Watch: 9 November 2001
  Fiji Television will not be airing new local documentary by Senator 'Atu Emberson-Bain and Michael Rokotuiviwa Preston because the company "feels that it's not up to journalistic standard", reports the Sun newspaper. But independent broadcasters rate the documentary In the Name of Growth highly. It was broadcast by Australia's multicultural Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) network and has also been aired on Fiji's Community Television (CTV).
  

• VANUATU: FORMER PRIME MINISTER BARAK SOPE TO FACE FORGERY CHARGES
  Agence France-Presse/PIR: 8 November 2001
  By Michael Field
  Police in Vanuatu have moved to charge a former prime minister with forgery amid fears the Pacific nation may be facing bankruptcy from a multimillion dollar scam. Former Prime Minister Barak Sope, while still in office, is believed to have issued state-backed letters of guarantee (LOGs) worth at least US$ 100 million to an Indian businessman and they may now be called up for payment.
  

• MEDIA: DEFINING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: THE INDUSTRY;S GRASP ON MAINSTREAM MEDIA
  Daily Nexus: 7 November 2001
  By Erin James
  Investigative journalism is a dying art. For media companies, serious reporting is costly, time-consuming, difficult and oftentimes intimidating. The benefits may be negligible; audiences have been significantly dumbed-down by entertainment-style journalism - they often don't know the difference between a soft "consumer" piece and a hard-line investigative report. In the face of these overwhelming market pressures, mainstream media seems to have every incentive in the world not to pursue investigative stories. Yet, Americans have grown up believing Thomas Jefferson's words, that "the only security is a free press."
  

• TECHNOLOGY: TONGA UNPLUGGED: THERE'S A REVOLUTION GOING ON AND IT'S NOT WHERE YOU THINK
  Daily Nexus: 5 November 2001
  By Josh Braun
  In the heart of the South Pacific lies the secluded island country of Tonga. As late as the 1950s, the only thing connecting it to the outside world was a monthly banana boat to New Zealand. Times have changed. Next July, Tonga will be the recipient of the most advanced wireless communications network in the world. This hi-tech facelift comes with many difficulties, controversies and unanswered questions.
  

• MEDIA: SHOULD SAMOAN JOURNALISTS REPORT ON POLITICIANS' PRIVATE LIVES?
  Pacific Islands Report/Samoa News: 4 November 2001
  By Fili Sagapolutele
  Journalists in the region have been encouraged by a top Papua New Guinea official to report on the private lives of public office holders. So, should American Samoa journalists follow suit? Former Samoa News publisher Lewis Wolman said it depends on the situation and what the community wants. Leiataua B. Alailima, the Governor's press officer, said politicians should be accorded the courtesy of keeping their privacy. Former PINA president Monica Miller said if public office holders did something that would impact the general welfare of the community, it should be reported. During last month's meeting of the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) in Papua New Guinea, the country's Chief Ombudsman, Ila Geno, urged journalists to report on the private lives of public officials.
  

• MEDIA: INSIGHT TO CRISIS BUT NOT ALL DOOMED
  Wansolwara (USP): 2 November 2001
  By Laufa Eli
  The title of this edition of Pacific Journalism Review says it all. "Crisis and Coverage" is mainly on how the local and overseas media reported - in a sometimes questionable way - the Fiji coup on 19 May 2000, the Solomon Islands uprisings and the Samoan minister assassination. It also provides remarkable insight into the events that have shaped many present governments in the Pacific.
  

• MEDIA: PUBLISHER KALAFI MOALA TAKES UP NEW FREE PRESS ROLE
  Wansolwara (USP): 2 November 2001
  By Kaveeta Chand
  A Tongan newspaper publisher who was once jailed for championing freedom of the press says a new Pacific media body will strongly support the region¹s journalists. Kalafi Moala was elected first president of the Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA) at its inaugural conference in New Zealand last month. "PIMA is going to give prominent attention to journalists - their voice, their needs and their work - rather than media owners, funding organisations and governments as it is in other organisations," he says.
  

• MEDIA: Commentary: WHEN THE FIRST CASUALTY OF WAR IS THE TRUTH
  Fourth Estate/Wansolwara (USP): 2 November 2001
  By David Robie
  DEMOCRACY STRIKES BACK, exclaimed the Fiji Times front page banner headline when the United States finally launched its long-awaited revenge attacks on Afghanistan last month. Democracy? Give us a break. The US-led ³war on terrorism² was in reality a war against America¹s enemies. But the news coverage served up by the local Fiji news media was so narrow, and at times so misleading, that it echoed Philip Knightley¹s book The First Casualty.
  

• SECURITY: ANTHRAX SCARES SHOCK USP STAFF AND STUDENTS
  Wansolwara Online (USP): 30 October 2001
  Staff and students have been evacuated from the University of the South Pacific book centre in an "anthrax scare" after the manager found suspicious powder in his mail. The latest anthrax scare at USP comes a week after the chairman of Transparency International and well-known Fiji businessman Iqbal Jannif received a letter containing white powder. Anthrax scares have also hit New Caledonia in the wake of the US-led "war ofn terrorism".
  

• MEDIA: Commentary: FREEDOM AND CENSORSHIP IN THE PACIFIC
  Radio Australia: In Focus Pacific: 26 October 2001
  Over the coming weeks, the Solomon Islands, Singapore and Australia will all be going to the polls. Few months pass without a regional or national election somewhere in a Pacific or Asian territory. Yet, while the final results rest with the voters, what role do the media play in these significant events? Two Melbourne-based journalists - Rowan Callick of 'The Australian' and Peter Ellingsen of 'The Age' - have been pondering the question of press freedom and whether it's possible to have 'too much.'
  

• MEDIA: PACIFIC JOURNALISM REVIEW FOCUSES ON COVERAGE OF REGION'S CRISES
  Pacific Journalism Review: 10 October 2001
  Quote by Mary-Louise O'Callaghan from the latest Pacific Journalism Review, launched by Dr Wayne Hope at the inaugural PIMA convention in Auckland: "Certainly an environment of scare-mongering and emotional rhetoric played out in the local media in the months leading up to the coup now appears to have in part laid the ground for George Speight's actions."
  Index to articles
  

• MEDIA: TONGAN PUBLISHER KALAFI MOALA MOALA ELECTED TO HEAD NEW PIMA BODY
  Wansolwara Online: 9 October 2001
  Staff Reporter
  Tongan publisher and journalist Kalafi Moala has been elected founding chairperson of the new Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA). Moala was elected at the head of an executive committee tasked with formalising the establishment of PIMA - a support group for Pacific Island media professionals based in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
  

• MEDIA: POHIVA PRAISES ROLE OF INDEPENDENT MEDIA IN THE PACIFIC
  Wansolwara Online: 9 October 2001
  Staff Reporter
  Pro-democracy Tongan MP 'Akilisi Pohiva has praised the role of independent media in the region. Opening the inaugural Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA) conference in Auckland, he highlighted the "power of the media" in exposing the collapse of a US$26 million state trust fund investment leading to the resignation of two ministers.
  

• MEDIA: Commentary: FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THE PACIFIC: CULTURE AND CONFLICT
  USP Journalism: 5 October 2001
  By David Robie
  The University of the South Pacific journalism coordinator gave a keynote speech at the dinner of the inaugural Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA) at Auckland University of Technology. He examined media freedom and free speech in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States. His speech followed a workshop on media ethics over coverage of the "war on terrorism".
  

• TERRORISM: THE TALIBAN AND THE MEDIA
  Wansolwara Online/RSF: 23 September 2001
  Since they entered Kabul in September 1996, the Taliban have banned television, music on radio programmes, independent publications and the internet. The fundamentalist militia that protect Osama bin Laden, chief suspect over the United States terrorist suicide jetliner attacks last week, have also imposed drastic restrictions on the foreign journalists working in the country.
  

• TERRORISM: WHO DID IT? JANE'S SAYS IRAQ
  Janes's Security: 19 September 2001
  Foreign Report
  A new story on Jane's points the finger at Iraq, not bin Laden. Israel's military intelligence service, Aman, suspects that Iraq is the state that sponsored the suicide attacks on the New York Trade Center and the Department of Defence in Washington. Directing the mission, Aman officers believe, were two of the world's foremost terrorist masterminds.
  

• TERRORISM: UNTANGLING THE US HORROR
  Wansolwara Online: 16 September 2001
  "Goodday mediaphiles! ... It was as strange as if we had dreamed it. And, in a very modern sense, we have. We have seen Armageddon, Deep Impact and Independence Day. We have seen New York laid waste in the movies. As that great cloud of smoke, paper, masonry dust and human remains teemed down from the Trade Centre towers, then stormed towards the cameras, it followed a visual syntax familiar to us all. But this time it was real and that was what was so hard to grasp. This time, it wasn't Godzilla." From New Zealander Russell Brown's Hard News.
  

• FIJI: QARASE'S NEW CABINET EXCLUDES INDO-FIJIANS
  Wansolwara Online: 12 September 2001
  By Joe Yaya
  Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has taken his new cabinet to Government House to be officially sworn in as new government ministers without any representation from the Indo-Fijian members of Parliament. In a ceremony in which the only Indo-Fijian presence were those of the media, Qarase told reporters that he had successfully formed a "multi-party" government consisting of 20 cabinet ministers and eight Assistant Ministers to promote economic and social development in the country for the next five years.
  

• FIJI: PROBLEMS AHEAD AFTER CLIFFHANGER ELECTION
  The Independent: 12 September 2001
  By David Robie
  Now the Qarase government in Fiji faces a reality check. While his coalition may be more stable than one put together by Labour, it will still face major problems trying to patch up an economy crippled by the political upheaval.
  

• FIJI: QARASE TRIES TO WORK OUT DEAL WITH MODERATES, INDEPENDENTS
  Wansolwara Online: 7 September 2001
  By Peter Emberson
  Fiji's general election ended today with Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua capturing 31 seats and caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase moving towards forming a government with six moderate party and independent MPs. The SDL party was reported to have rejected "unrealistic and nationalist" demands from the extremist Conservative Alliance/Matanitu Vanua, which holds six seats. But the Fiji Labour Party, which is the second largest party with 27 seats, says it is not out of the race yet.
  

• FIJI: Editorial: SPEIGHT'S ELECTION A SICK JOKE
  New Zealand Herald: 7 September 2001
  Can the Pacific look forward to a time when Fiji has a stable and equitable political system? On the basis of results to date from the general election it seems a distant prospect. The lessons from the armed coup that George Speight visited upon his countrymen last year have gone unheeded and voters have split the country along the most volatile of lines - ethnicity.
  

• FIJI: ON TRACK AGAIN FOR RACIAL DIVISION AS ELECTION PROVIDES DIVIDED RESULT
  Agence France Presse/PIR: 5 September 2001
  By Michael Field
  Fiji is heading for a showdown between its two prime ministers -- one caretaker indigenous Fijian and one deposed indigenous Indian -- as counting in the general elections continues to move slowly. Current caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, an indigenous Fijian, and deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, elected in 1999 as the country¹s first Indian leader, both safely won their own seats in the 71-seat Parliament, but the question of who will be the next prime minister is far from clear.
  

• FIJI: MODERATE PARTIES FAIL TO WIN SUPPORT OF FIJI VOTERS
  Wansolwara Online: 5 September 2001
  Moderate parties have failed to win support in the Fiji general election as hopes of political parties working towards multiracial solutions fade. Constitutional lawyer Richard Naidu expressed disappointment that parties with moderate values had failed to win seats as counting progressed slowly at the country's four centres. "Parties which were bold and wanted to advance multi-racialism are the ones that have lost out," Naidu said on Fiji Television.
  

• PNG: UPNG STUDENTS TELL OF HORROR NIGHT OF POLICE KILLINGS
  Wansolwara Online: 4 September 2001 *Photo
  By Harry Aurere
  "By sunrise, Port Moresby came under siege. Four people, including two students from UPNG, had been shot dead. Their bodies were driven to the Port Moresby General Hospital morgue. Seventeen protesters with pellet wounds were admitted to the hospital's emergency ward." -- Uni Tavur. Last week, journalism students Wanita Wakus and Estella Cheung, and other students, relived their nightmare, telling their stories to the Commission of Inquiry into the Students' Protest and the Police Killing.
  

• FIJI: RAVUVU REPORT FACES FLAK ON FIJI TV'S CLOSE-UP
  Wansolwara Online: 3 September 2001
  By Pauline Curusara
  Former commissioners of the disbanded Constitution Review Commission are outraged at at the release of a report purported to have been produced by them. On last night's Fiji Television current affairs programme Close-Up, journalist Riyaz Zaiyed-Khaiyum interviewed Tomasi Vakatora, one of the members of the Reeves Commission, which drafted the 1997 Constitution, and University of the South Pacific sociologist Dr Sitiveni Ratuva, on the controversial Ravuvu Report.
  

• FIJI: MILITARY STILL EXORCISING THE GHOSTS
  Pacific Journalism Review: 1 September 2001 *Photo
  By Ben Bohane
  Fijians were at the polls in the final week of August, but with a court martial of rebel soldiers due, Fiji faces not just a divided society but a divided military.
  

• BOUGAINVILLE: CELEBRATING A PEACE AGREEMENT AFTER A 10-YEAR WAR
  ABC's AsiaPacific: 31 August 2001
  By Richard Dinnen
  Papua New Guinea and Bougainville have signed a peace agreement to officially end a war that raged for 10 years and claimed as many as 20,000 lives. After three years of negotiations, leaders from both Sides signed a comprehensive political settlement at a moving ceremony in the former Bougainville capital Arawa.
  

• JUSTICE: JOURNALISM STUDENTS TELL INQUIRY OF COLD-BLOODED SHOOTINGS
  Pasifik Nius/Post-Courier: 28 August 2001
  Two journalism students at the University of Papua New Guinea have testified that they saw students put their hands on their heads before they were shot. Second-year journalism students Stella Chung and Wanita Wakus were cross-examined [at an inquiry into the shooting of four students by security forces] after they read articles they had compiled in the journalism student newspaper Uni Tavur.
  

• MEDIA: FREE PRESS IN AMERICAN SAMOA?
  Pacific Media Watch/ABC: 25 August 2001
  By James Panichi
  In American Samoa, Governor Tauese Sunia's recent decision to stop a Samoa-based newspaper from establishing a local edition has raised concerns over freedom of speech in the American territory. The Apia-based Samoa Observer had applied to local incorporation in American Samoa in a bid to enter the local market, which is currently shared by the Samoa News and the Samoa Post.
  

• FIJI: BABA CASHES IN ON RUGBY CELEBRITY, HOTDOGS AND HOPE
  The Independent: 22 August 2001 *Photo
  By David Robie
  Some pundits believe Fiji's general election next week will be a contest between a new "united" indigenous Fijian party led by unelected banker Laisenia Qarase and the multiracial Labour Party deposed in last year's attempted coup. Others see the rise of a popular Fijian academic and his breakaway New Labour as a "moderate" compromise.
  

• MEDIA: WANSOLWARA ONLINE - NEW MEDIA TRAINING WEBSITE
  
  Wansolwara Online: 20 August 2001 *Picture
  USP'S Pacific Journalism Online today launches a new media training website in the lead-up to the Fiji elections coverage. The main website has also been undergoing a facelift. A feature of the website changes is the student coverage of the Fiji elections next week, including full counting progress reports by constituency.
  

• POLITICS: NZ PRIME MINISTER TAKES SWIPE AT FORUM FOR BAN ON JOURNALIST MICHAEL FIELD
  Pacific Journalism Online/NZPA: 18 August 2001 *Link
  By Sharon Lundy
  Nauru banned a New Zealand journalist from covering this year's Pacific Island Forum for the sake of consistency, claims President Rene Harris. Speaking after the forum leaders' retreat, the president said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark had questioned him at the meeting over his decision to ban Agence-France Presse reporter Mike Field from entering Nauru for the forum. "We believe that we should be consistent with our brothers in the Pacific,'' he said.
  

• POLITICS: FIJI'S MORAL IMPERATIVE
  Asian Times/PIR: 16 August 2001 *Link
  By Alan Boyd
  Optimism was once described as having an overriding confidence that the inevitable could be postponed. Or, if you happen to be Fijian coup leader George Speight, it is the God-held conviction that you can change your country's destiny whatever the odds. So far Speight has had remarkable success in lowering those odds. Jailed for his part in last year's destructive occupation of parliament, Speight has inexplicably been given leave to contest next week's elections, which will seek to legitimise the system that he has held in such blatant contempt.
  

• POLITICS: AUSTRALIA UNEASY AS BEIJING WOOS SOUTH PACIFIC
  InterPress Service/Asian Times/PIR: 16 August 2001 *Link
  By Kalinga Seneviratne
  An assertive and confident China is rapidly expanding links and influence with the cash-strapped island nations of the South Pacific. In recent months, China has increased technical and military links with South Pacific islands, offering Papua New Guinea millions of dollars in technical, trade and military aid and building sports stadiums in Fiji and Kiribati. It is also offering a new sound system to Fiji's Parliament, building a satellite tracking facility for Kiribati and spending more than US$4 million to upgrade the International Dateline Hotel in Tonga.
  

• POLITICS: RATU JONI'S LANDMARK SPEECH 'FIJI AT THE CROSSROADS' - FULL TEXT
  Wansolwara Online: 15 August 2001 *Link
  By Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi
  Former Fiji High Court judge Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi has called for reconciliation and forgiveness after last year's attempted coup, but says that justice is needed to rebuild trust. He says the nation needs to recognise the "thuggery, brutality and violence" involved in the seizing of deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry's elected government as hostages. Justice is needed to ensure that the "impressionable" would not carry out a rebellion in future.

• LEISURE: PACIFIC ATTRACTS GROWING NUMBERS OF HONEYMOONERS
  RA's AsiaPacific: 13 August 2001 *Link
  Presenter: Carol Colville
  More and more foreign newly-weds are choosing the South Pacific for their honeymoon. In fact, it's becoming a fast-growing niche area for South Pacific tourism, with the honeymoon market ranking only second to diving as the most popular reason for travelling to the region. Couples choose to travel far away from family and friends to be married in an exotic location.

• FIJI: PLEA FOR JUSTICE OVER SPEIGHT COUP BID
  Pacific Journalism Online: 11 August 2001 *Link
  By David Robie
  A Fijian constitutional advocate has called for justice over last year's attempted coup and criticised politicians for not doing enough to educate people about their rights. Rev Akuila Yabaki, executive director of the Citizens' Constitutional Forum, told a two-day media election seminar that it was essential for fair and free elections for people to know their rights.
  

• NAURU: BANNED JOURNALIST MICHAEL FIELD SPEAKS OUT
  Pacific Journalism Online: 9 August 2001 *Link
  By Noora Ali
  Veteran regional correspondent Michael Field has strongly condemned his latest banning by a South Pacific Government, calling to a stop to this "outrage" against journalists. Field was barred this week by the Nauru Government from covering the South Pacific Forum next week.
  

• FIJI: LABOUR PARTY REINVENTS ITSELF - WITH RUGBY STARS AND HOT DOGS
  Pacific Media Watch: 6 August 2001 *Link *Audio
  By Clement Paligaru
  In Fiji, election campaigning among the 26 parties has reached fever pitch. Many of the major parties are organising US presidential style campaigns in an effort to secure votes among an increasingly cynical electorate. The New Labour Unity Party - formed by former members of the Mahendra Chaudry-led Labour Party - launched its election manifesto at a rally over the weekend which featured rugby stars, pop groups and hot dog giveaways.
  

• MEDIA: RUGBY UNION BANS FIJI TELEVISION OVER POLITICAL ADVERT
  
  Pacific Media Watch: 3 August 2001 *Link
  The Fiji Rugby Football Union has suspended Fiji Television from covering any of its matches in protest over a political advertisement featuring celebrity player Waisale Serevi, according to news media reports. Fiji TV reported on its main news bulletin on 2 August 2001 that it had been banned and this was followed with a front-page report in the Fiji Times on August 3. An editorial in the Fiji Times condemned the FRFU for its action, saying rugby was "out of touch". The ban has since been lifted.
  

• MEDIA: FIJI PARTIES GANG UP OF QARASE, LABOUR
  Pasifik Nius: 3 August 2001 *Link
  By Mithleshni Gurdayal
  Smaller Fiji political parties have ganged up and given their last preferences to caretaker prime minister Laisenia Qarase's Soqosoqo ni Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) and the Fiji Labour Party (FLP). The ganging up was similar to what happened in the 1999 general election, when Sitiveni Rabuka's Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) and the National Federation Party (NFP) were snubbed by other parties in the sharing of preferences.
  

• FIJI: HOW CLOSE IS TOO CLOSE FOR POLICE RELATIONSHIPS?
  ABC's AsiaPacific: 2 August 2001 *Link
  By James Panichi
  The coverage of a recent double murder in Fiji has some media observers fearing the relationship between police and reporters has become too close for comfort. Crime reporters may pride themselves on establishing close relationships with police in an effort to obtain exclusive inside information for their stories, but where should the line be drawn?
  

• FIJI: CONSTITUTION BLAMED FOR DIVISIONS WITHIN SOCIETY
  Pasifik Nius: 1 August 2001 *Link
  By James Panichi
  In a staggered electoral process, the people of Fiji will begin to cast their votes over two weeks from August 25. The election will be held under the 1997 multi-racial constitution, but according to some analysts, the constitution itself is responsible for many of the divisions in society. Interview with Associate Professor Scott MacWilliam, University of the South Pacific, and Dr Brij Lal, Australian National University
  

• INDONESIA: JOURNALISTS PROTEST AGAINST INFORMATION MINISTRY MOVES
  Pacific Media Watch: 29 July 2001 *Link
  Indonesian journalists are mounting a campaign to try to dissuade new president Megawati Sukarnoputri from reopening the information ministry, closed by her reformist predecessor in 1999. The Jakarta Post said dozens of journalists staged a rally in front of the old information ministry building in central Jakarta.
  

• FIJI: FIJI TIMES EDITORIAL ON SCOTT MURDER COVERAGE - AND OTHER LINKS
  Pacific Media Watch: 28 July 2001 *Link
  The family of the murdered [Fiji] Red Cross director John Scott has called for the media to exercise some restraint and sensitivity in its reporting of this gruesome crime. The family's desire is understandable and justified. Parts of the media have been insensitive and less than balanced in their desire to beat their rivals in this most competitive of industries.
  

• FIJI: AMNESTY CALL BY COUP LEADER SPEIGHT'S PARTY
  Pasifik Nius: 28 July 2001 *Link
  Fiji coup frontman George Speight and his key advisers awaiting trial for treason will be granted immunity if the Conservative Alliance Natanitu Vanua Party gets into power in next month's general election, the Sun reports. But in an editorial, the newspaper launched an angry attack on this "crazy baldhead" for contesting the election.
  

• FIJI: NO PORNOGRAPHY AT MURDER HOUSE, SAY POLICE
  NZ Herald: 26 July 2001 *Link
  Fiji police have admitted that photographs and videotapes found in the Suva home of murdered Red Cross director John Scott and his New Zealand-born partner did not contain any pornographic images. Allegations had emerged during daily press conferences that the brutal killings on July 1 were connected to their homosexual lifestyle and Suva street kids claimed to have performed sexual favours for the couple in exchange for food and cash.
  

• INDONESIA: CONCERNS ABOUT PRESS FREEDOM UNDER MEGAWATI
  Pacific Media Watch: 25 July 2001 *Link
  By Dan Murphy
  Indonesia has been in the midst of its most free and liberal period since at least 1959, when the charismatic Sukarno - Megawati Sukarnoputri's father - dissolved Parliament and ended the nation's early experiment with democracy. Sukarno, who Megawati often refers to as her political inspiration, did so because of his lack of control over the nation's politicians. Many observers say the Indonesian establishment will swing in a more authoritarian direction under her leadership.
  

• INDONESIA: POLICEMAN CHARGED OVER JOURNALIST'S MURDER EVIDENCE
  Pacific Media Watch: 20 July 2001 *Link
  A detective at Indonesia's National Police Headquarters, Inspector Edy Wuryanto, who is charged with concealing evidence in the murder of local journalist Fuad Muhammad Safruddin in 1996, is currently in detention at the Yogyakarta Police Headquarters.
  

• MEDIA: WHY PACIFIC COVERAGE IN NZ IS LIKE THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE
  New Zealand Herald: 19 July 2001 *Link
  By Michele Hewitson
  "Russell Brown's Mediawatch is well-connected, well-researched, savvy, and serious without being ponderous. David Robie was good on the topic of why the media treats the Pacific (it¹s where we live, remember) like the Bermuda Triangle. I like their cheek too: What you hear is not all you can get. They run online-only reports."
  

• FIJI: PACIFIC BEAT LOOKS INTO THE DOUBLE MURDER MEDIA COVERAGE
  Pacific Media Watch: 19 July 2001 *Link
  By James Panichi
  More than a week ago, a 23-year-old man, Apete Kaisau, was charged with the double murder of Fiji's Red Cross director John Scott and his partner Gregory Scrivener earlier this month. But by the time he appeared before a magistrate, the story of how he had allegedly killed the two men - along with possible motives for the killing - had already received extensive media coverage.
  

• WEST PAPUA: RSF MAKES FRESH PLEA OVER BELGIAN TV FILMMAKERS HELD HOSTAGE
  Pacific Media Watch: 19 July 2001 *Link
  While Philippe Simon and Johan van den Eynde, Belgian TV documentary filmmakers, are beginning their sixth week as hostages in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya (West Papua), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Belgian authorities to intensify their efforts to obtain the release of the two journalists.
  

• MEDIA: A PACIFIC POINT OF VIEW
  
  Campus Review: 18 July 2001 *Picture
  By Anthony Mason
  Through a series of turbulent events, it is apparent that journalism educator David Robie in his new book seems to appreciate that there is a strong contextual element to journalism, and it is the context which determines the extent and nature of the coverage. That he can pass on these ideals to his students is commendable, especially given that he is working with students from a range of backgrounds and cultures.
  

• PNG: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS DELAY IN STUDENT KILLINGS INQUIRY
  Scoop/AI: 18 July 2001 *Link
  Amnesty International is seriously concerned at the failure of the Papua New Guinea Government to ensure a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the fatal shooting in June 2001 of at least four people during a police operation against anti-government protesters. The organization welcomes government promises to initiate a Commission of Inquiry into the protests and urges the Prime Minister to make the shooting deaths a central focus of the commission's investigations.
  

• FIJI: MURDER ACCUSED DEPORTED FROM NZ - TORTURE CLAIMS
  
  NZ Herald: 11 July 2001 * Photo *Link
  The accused killer of Fiji Red Cross head John Scott and his partner, Gregory Scrivener, was deported from New Zealand three weeks before the couple were brutally murdered in Suva. Scott has been buried in Suva. A pathologist has alleged torture of Scrivener.
  

• FIJI: POLICE COMMISSIONER 'ON GAY BASHING TRAIL'
  Scoop: 10 July 2001 *Link
  Fiji's Police Commissioner Isikia Savua has embarked on a gay-bashing trail. Over the past week, Savua has condemned the alleged lifestyle of murder victims John Scott and Gregory Scrivner.
  

• MEDIA: FOCUS ON NZ COVERAGE OF THE PACIFIC
  Mediawatch: 8 July 2001 *Link
  Radio NZ's Mediawatch profiles the new book 'The Pacific Journalist' and the realities of reporting in the region. It also takes a closer look at the way Pacific issues are reported by New Zealand journalists - and finds considerable room for improvement.
  

• FIJI: SENIOR SOLDIERS NAMED AS COUP CONSPIRATORS
  Scoop: 7 July 2001 *Link
  Seven senior Fiji military officers have been named as co-conspirators with George Speight's terrorists to hold the elected Coalition government hostage.
  

• PNG: PEOPLE REBEL AGAINST WORLD BANK
  Green-Left Weekly: 3 July 2001 *Link
  What started as a peaceful student sit-in against privatisation may yet erupt into a nationwide uprising against Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta, after police shot dead at least four students in what some have dubbed "Papua New Guinea's Tiananmen Square''.
  

• FIJI: RED CROSS DIRECTOR HACKED TO DEATH
  
  Xtra News: 1 July 2001 *Link
  Fiji police have confirmed that Red Cross director John Scott, a Fiji citizen educated in New Zealand, and his New Zealand-born partner have both been found hacked to death in Suva. Scott, 53, played a crucial mediation role in Fiji's coup drama last year, but police have downplayed any political angle to the motive for the killings. However, it is believed Scott had received warnings to get out of Fiji and he could have been a key witness against the terrorists.
  
• Threat of testimony may have fuelled Fiji killings
  
• Red Cross director threatened by terrorists
  
• BBC report on the killings
  
• Elected Coalition Government's spin on the killings

  
  John Scott (left) and Greg Scrivener (Photos: NZHerald *Link)

• TAHITI: OSCAR TEMARU RE-ELECTED HEAD OF PRO-INDEPENDENCE PARTY
  Tahiti Presse: 1 July 2001 *Picture
  Tahitian pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru has been re-elected as head of the party, but has left open the issue of contesting the territory's presidential elections.

ARCHIVE INDEX

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• 1969 VIETNAM

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21 July 2001

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