REGION (Radio New Zealand International/Pacific Media Centre): The chairperson of a Pacific regional organisation advocating freedom of speech and independent media says she is shocked a media summit will now be held in Fiji in March.
The Pacific Islands News Association has rescheduled the summit after New Guinea had told PINA it would not be able to host the biennial event in November.
With strict media censorship employed by Fiji’s interim regime, the chair of Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), Titi Gabi, says it is a concern PINA will take the summit to Fiji.
“What’s to say that everyone that gets there won’t be monitored. Journalists that attend won’t be looking over our backs all the time. It’s just not a great place to go and talk about media freedom.....not now...not yet.”
The PINA president, Moses Stevens, says taking the summit to Fiji will help foster better relations between the media and the interim regime.
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Pacific Media Watch
