KIRIBATI (Pacific Media Watch): An Auckland-based independent newspaper in Kiribati is facing a bureaucratic roadblock in its attempt to gain permission to publish in the republic.
Editor of the Kiribati Independent Taberannang Korauaba says the Secretary of Communications in Tarawa is withholding the publication of the paper for no apparent reason.
“It's not clear why the secretary withheld her decision to allow the publisher and editor to sell the paper,” he says.
“According to what the publisher told me this morning the Kiribati Independent will go through a long process.
He said the process may end up at the High Court.
“I can't understand why they are doing this. The publication publishes stories in Kiribati and New Zealand.
“We run 500 copies, it's a fortnightly publication, with a focus on stories from New Zealand and Kiribati. This is our slogan: 'focusing on real stories'.”
Korauaba says he told the secretary the publication is similar to others in Kiribati and he has provided the necessary details to the department.
He says he received an email from the deputy secretary some days ago saying they had no copy of the details, nor a written request for publication.
Korauaba says the publication, which started online, is now the fourth newspaper in Kiribati.
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Alex Perrottet
