Wansolwara: 30 October 2000
MEDIA: THE ANGIKI AFFAIR AND THE HYPOCRISY OF PINA
It's about time the Pacific Islands News Association secretariat in Suva has a rethink - and takes a more global and even-handed view about media freedom issues, rather than expedient parochialism. Diversity and plurality is the way forward in the Pacific. PINA should encourage this, not stifle it.
DAVID ROBIE: Fourth Estate Column
Solomon Islands journalist faces threats by militia
Note: Since these articles were written, a ceasefire was signed at Townsville on 15 October 2000.
Duran Angiki with Luisa Tora at the USP journalism
awards night, 1999.
WHEN one of our graduates returned to the Solomon Islands after completing his bachelors degree in journalism last year, little did he realise that he would stir up a political hornet's nest.
Duran Angiki, 32, won USP's Storyboard Award for regional journalism and already had a media track record back home.
He also made a name for himself for his enterprising and pull-no-punches style of journalism at USP. He became "prime minister" of the Solomon Islands in the annual SPICOL regional leadership training conference.
But on his return to Honiara, he was determined to make better use of his analytical skills and report the crisis in greater depth.
This set him apart from some of his former colleagues in the capital.
Confronted with a hostile environment, he decided to move with his family to Gizo, Western Solomons.
He was, after all, not of the right ethnic stock. He comes from Rennell and Bellona province - not from among the feuding islanders of Guadalcanal and Malaita whose conflict have left more than 100 dead since 1998.
Four other journalists are in "hiding" in the area too - Francis Pituvaka (Solomon Star and a University of Papua New Guinea graduate), Donaldson Rusa (trained at New Zealand's Manukau Polytechnic), Sam Seke (former Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation news editor), and Bryan Beti (the government's former chief communication officer).
From Gizo, Angiki gave a fresh perspective on developments in the country for overseas media as diverse as Agence France-Presse, Gemini news service and Pasifik Nius website.
On September 13, a report from Angiki alleged government payments had been made to Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) spokesman Andrew Nori, a lawyer and key player in the June 5 coup, for his legal services. This report was published on Pacific Islands Report, Pasifik Nius, Scoop and other regional websites.
Warning: On 27 September, Andrew Nori demanded that Angiki issue a public retraction and apology for this report within one week. He was also warned to stop reporting on the Solomon Islands crisis.
If the demands were not met, Angiki's family would be at risk.
On September 28, both London-based Amnesty International and Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) distributed "action alerts" expressing fears for the safety of Angiki and his family, and also his uncle, Dykes Angiki, in Honiara.
Pacific Media Watch also sent a protest to Prime Minister Mannaseh Sogavare over the threats, appealing for the government to ensure the safety of Angiki and his family.
However, on October 2, in a remarkable act of hypocrisy, the Suva-based Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), whose claimed role includes "developing and maintaining freedom of information and expression", distributed a biased report on Angiki's case via IFEX media freedom exchage.
A media freedom organisation is obliged to make contact with journalists and get first-hand information. Amnesty International, RSF and Pacific Media Watch all communicated personally with Angiki in the course of their inquiries.
But PINA chose not to. It relied on an SIBC report of Nori's news conference when he denied the MEF threats.
It also said Nori pledged "total commitment to media freedom". This was less than two weeks after the government imposed internal censorship.
It also made a rather weak dig about "senior journalists" saying Angiki was in Gizo, far from Honiara. Since when did distance prevent a journalist with good sources reporting events? Fiji's crisis, for example, was covered for two days by BBC World's Wellington correspondent.
Why did PINA not get Angiki's side of the story? Of course, this would have little to do with Angiki's past criticism of PINA.
As Angiki says: "I don't believe Nori's assurance for my safety is real or genuine. Nori has no control over the MEF criminals in Honiara, thus my family and relatives' security isn't guaranteed."
Journalists are obliged by international codes of ethics such as the International Federation of Journalists' to "defend freedom of information, comment and criticism".
The hypocrisy displayed by PINA over the Angiki case is by no means the first example. Aid donors should expect such an organisation to be working fairly in the interests of all in the region.
Early in September, for example, the role of PINA was "lukewarm" at best over Agence France-Presse correspondent Michael Field being barred by Kiribati from the South Pacific Forum. It also lagged behind RSF in raising the issue.
PINA's stand over Field's ban from Tonga has also been hypocritical. And so was its position over Times of Tonga editor Kalafi Moala's jailing for contempt of Parliament in 1996.
It only took up the case after intervention by the Commonwealth Press Union, Pacific Media Watch and others on behalf of Moala.
In September 1998, PINA distributed a statement misrepresenting the USP media "work permit" affair.
More recently, on May 29, the University of the South Pacific closed the journalism training website Pacific Journalism Online, which effectively gagged news coverage of the Fiji crisis and the online newspaper Wansolwara (until the University of Technology, Sydney, hosted the USP reportage).
Once again, RSF and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists came to the rescue - along with an assortment of global journalism schools and media groups.
Not a beep: Yet not a beep from PINA. Instead, its acolytes applauded the shutdown of the website - a fundamental assault on media freedom.
It's about time the PINA secretariat in Suva has a rethink - and takes a more global and even-handed view, rather than expedient parochialism.
Diversity and plurality is the way forward in the Pacific. PINA should encourage this, not stifle it.
By HARRY AURERE (Wansolwara, October 30)
FREELANCE journalist Duran Angiki who was in early October threatened over his reporting of the Solomon Islands crisis launched into a journalism career almost by accident.
He started off his working life as an apprentice mechanic.
"My change of mind came from my uncle, Dykes Angiki, who is a broadcast journalist. Even now I still treasure his advice as a professional colleague," he says.
"Even when I was working as tradesman, I took an interest in reading about Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and other people."
Mr Angiki, 32, said defiantly in a public statement to the Solomon Islands media - and not published: "I have to accept that some section of our community will dislike my reporting but that's the nature of our profession.
"Weıre not going to please every single person.
"I wish to assure the good people of this country Iıve no hidden agenda against anyone."
After working for a motor and marine engineering company in Honiara for five years, Mr Angiki got a chance to join the Solomons Toktok as a cadet reporter in 1990.
After a two-year stint there, in 1992 he completed a certificate in Pacific journalism course at New Zealandıs Manukau Institute of Technology.
He then worked for the Solomon Star for three years and in 1996 joined the USP journalism programme.
Mr Angiki quickly impressed with his independent journalism.
In 1991, he won the "best participant award" of a Media Association of the Solomon Islands news writing course.
Rewards didnıt stop there. In 1993, he won the MASI "best young journalist" award.
He capped this off last year by winning the Storyboard Award and Daily Post Prize for the "most outstanding regional journalism".
Since earlier this year, Mr Angiki, has been covering the Solomon Islands crisis.
He and his family moved to Gizo, Western Solomons, for security.
In a report published by the online Pacific news digest Pasifik Nius on September 13, it was alleged that Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) spokesman Andrew Nori had been paid by the Solomons government for his legal services.
Amnesty International, Reporters Sans Frontieres and other media freedom groups reported that his family had been threatened.
He was reportedly warned to withdraw his report from the Internet, apologise within one week and stop reporting on the crisis.
Mr Nori called a press conference on October 2 and denied threatening Mr Angiki.
SOLOMON IS JOURNALIST FACES THREATS BY MILITIA