Media Freedom: Lae at a glance after assault of journalist

On Monday 26th February 2018, I heard the special report on Pacific Beat relayed at 3pm by FM100 on Media Freedom in the Pacific and how in recent weeks a dark shadow looms over the media industry. In serveral Pacific island nations the media have been stopped from doing their job according to the Pacific Beat report.

While the story on Pacific Beat went to air, journalists in Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, were discussing how a few hours earlier that day, the Lae District Court allowed those who were charged for Physical Assault, Drunk and Disorderly Behavior and Threats to walk free by the magistrate preciding the hearings. The victims senior Post Courier journalist - Frankiy Kapin and other media personnel.

A joke as it may seem, not a single fine was laid against those cultprits who bashed up a journalist, assaulted and threaten others including two female journalists. From what I have been reliably told, the magistrate heard only the cultprits side of the story that he was defamed in public and social media by the media team in Lae and never once heard what Frankiy who was beaten and dragged on the road had to say. It was like a Defamation case vs an Assault case which to be honest never existed or was never the reason the hearing was heard in the first place.

While the accused walked off with smiles on their faces knowing well they are from the Morobe Governor's Office, one might say it was nothing to begin with. But it is a serious issue now and also the fact that a clear line has been drawn from this ruling and that is, if you are from a high office, you can walk away smiling after you assault, get drunk in public and misbehave and after you threaten females or female journalists.

Now the questions here are very simple and are those we have been asking for ages. IS MEDIA FREEDOM PRACTICED IN PNG? IS THE MEDIA FREE FROM REPORTING ANYTHING? WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT PROMOTING A MORE FREE MEDIA IN PNG?

In Lae at present the answer is NO. The media in Lae is not free to dwell at anything really. It looked free when we saw great stories from illegal evictions to the great work the police are doing. And I must say the Lae Police have really embraced the work of the media and both have worked together very well recently. And to say Media Freedom was there until the men attached to the Governor's office assaulted the Lae Media Team, would be a very true statement in my opinion.

As Frankiy tries to come to terms with the court ruling, I am greatly angered like he is and the rest of the mainstream media personnel are on how a very plain sighted issue can be brushed away by those in high office and power. I say this with utmost respect to leaders in Lae, but what has happened has happened and the dent in the media will be felt in the coming weeks, months and years. We all need the media for information but the government needs the media more to get their stories on what they are doing out to the public. However, we now face a dilemma on how this is actually going to work.

For Media Freedom or for business, the Lae Media which is a closely nitted team will or have already ceased reporting on Morobe programs etc...from the Morobe Provincial Government. That is one way we can stand up and say we want MEDIA FREEDOM. Justice must take place and a formal apology must be sent to the victims of these stupid cowardly act by some drunk government officials. I fully agree with the Media team in Lae that, no stories from the MPG be run until some form of justice takes place.

I call on the Morobe Governor Ginson Saonu to address this issue. It's been two weeks and not a single word of concern or apology from the head of the province. Former Governors Kelly Naru and Luther Wenge have come out strong in condemning this incident. Even International Media watch dogs and the PNG Media Council have issued a statement against such practice.

I applaud Frankiy for standing his ground and allowing the courts to decide. Even though the result from the court was shocking to say the least. Frankiy had to say NO to numerous offers for an outside the court settlement thinking and believing that the court would serve justice. However, the court in a way had totally opposite ideas, and the ruling shines a dull light on the decision.

We must all play our part to let the media do their job freely. Many times we run to the media when we want coverage or just want to put our grievances out for the whole country to see. So I also make a call to our people in Lae and PNG as a whole to respect the media and let them do their job, assist them honestly and treat them without any fear or favor and expect the same from them. 

Shout out to the Lae Media Team, and those threatened to take extra care because the accussed are free and God knows what they want to do with the media. In the mighty words of O'Shen "Sanap strong na noken poret!"

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