Editorial by Daily Post publisher Marc Neil-Jones
OPINION: PORT VILA: It has now been more than two weeks since the assault on myself as Daily Post publisher by a group of men blatantly led by Minister Harry Iauko, and despite more than a dozen eyewitness statements and photos, absolutely no criminal charges so far have been made by police and nothing is currently with the Public Prosecutor.
The minister has not resigned or been stood down as would be the case anywhere else in the world, despite a huge international reaction, simply because of the numbers game as government would likely fall if Iauko was removed as a minister.
Staying in power obviously has a far bigger priority than justice. The Prime Minister has said little or nothing other than stating that the courts should decide.
The trouble is they all know it is highly unlikely as usual to ever get to court as the Public Prosecutor’s office is understaffed and weak and will be highly reluctant to prosecute a minister despite overwhelming evidence and despite an admission in the Independent newspaper last week that he was present when the assault took place and in full control.
We hope that the Ombudsman takes action over clear breaches of the Leadership Code to send a clear message to leaders that this is unacceptable.
Getting justice against leaders who break the law unfortunately simply does not happen in Vanuatu.
The Daily Post intends taking it all the way in order that justice prevails. You can’t have one rule for politicians and another for everyone else. All are equal under the law and Constitution.
'Bias' claim dismissed
Iauko and his supporters have claimed we are biased in our news coverage and have breached Media Codes of Ethics. That is simply rubbish. I wrote a story on Iauko and the Marina Motel sale to Kalsakau based on the official government report on corruption in Lands by the then most senior person in Lands, the Acting Director-General Joe Ligo. The news story was what was in the report and the Director General had access to any file he needed. We had no need to contact Iauko as we had the documentary evidence and the news story was what was in the official report.
Similarly the news story I wrote on the suspension of the Airports Vanuatu Limited board was based on the minister’s letter which we had a copy of and we checked with the Finance Minister the legality of the suspension. The story was based on the minister’s letter and didn’t need his comment as we had documentary evidence.
On the day of the assault there was a weekly opinion piece from Transparency International based on their own investigations supplied to the Daily Post and vetted by their lawyers before printing and was not written by our journalists, as well as two letters critical of Iauko written by members of the public over the suspension of the AVL board. How on earth are we breaching media ethics carrying opinion pieces? All Iauko has to do is supply a press statement if he has any concerns, and not rely on violence. If he has a problem with Transparency International, and the Daily Post, sue us in court.
An announcement will be made next week on fundraising for the Daily Post to finance a Private Prosecution to ensure this goes to court. We also intend going public all around the region with our concerns and to obtain much needed support. - Vanuatu Daily Post/Pacific Media Watch
Pacific Media Watch
