SUVA: Today marks six months since the Fiji interim government imposed the media decree which the military regime promised was to coincide with the lifting of emergency regulations.
The media decree was presented on June 28 as a tool to bring about transparency, accountability and good governance.
The Permanent Secretary for Information, Sharon Smith-Johns, said at the time that the guidelines were needed as hidden agendas and deliberate distortions in media reporting could do untold damage to a nation.
However, six months after the decree’s introduction, the emergency regulations and the censorship provisions have remained.
They had been put in place in April last year after the regime abrogated the constitution but were to be lifted once the media decree was in force. - Radio NZ International/Pacific Media Watch
Pacific Media Watch
