Media Freedom

In Parliament yesterday, Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi called on the Minister of Communications to start a nationwide manhunt for those who use the internet to launch attacks on the government and spread untruths.

"We must stop this rude and inappropriate behavior," he told Parliament.

The ruling HRPP recently reintroduced the Criminal Libel Act because of abuse on social media.

Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi told the Samoa Observer that people hiding behind pseudonyms on blogs and social media pages should know they cannot hide forever.

Last week parliament approved the criminal libel act, which it had removed in 2013.

When asked how government plans to deal with overseas bloggers who criticize the government, Tuilaepa said there are lawyers who will deal with them.

He also deflected claims the aim of the criminal libel law was to cripple media who criticize the government.

Rudy Bartley said he's concerned the legislation will be used to force journalists to expose sources.

The government said the Criminal Libel Act targets unidentified bloggers who write defamatory remarks about others.

One such blogger, O Le Palemia, regularly attacks the government of Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi with accusations of corruption and nepotism.

But according to Mr Bartley, the criminal libel law will be ineffective in identifying such individuals.

"In sickening statements, draconian laws, conflicts of interest, and even the use of physical violence, democratic governments are trampling on a freedom that should, in principle, be one of their leading performance indicators," said the group, also known by its French acronym, RSF (Reporters Sans Frontières).

Reporters Without Borders places Samoa on 21st place, followed by Tonga on 49th place and Papua New Guinea on 51st.

The lowest ranked Pacific country is Fiji on 67th place.

They are all ranked higher than India, China, Indonesia or Russia.

Samoa is also ranked higher than the US, Britain or France.

New Zealand and Australia make the top 20, with places 13 and 19 respectively.

The top four countries are all in Scandinavia, with Norway being first.

Photo file: Pacific journalists in action 

The police action followed the paper publishing a letter about a girl who showed signs on her body of the stigmata, or marks similar to those Jesus suffered in the crucifixion.

RNZI reports the girl's family complained to police claiming the blogger's comment was defamatory and untrue.

But the editor, Mata'afa Keni Lesa, denied this.

Tabloid Jubi reported this call came after the expulsion of French journalists Franck Escudie and Basile Longchamp on visa violations last month.

RSF's Benjamin Ismail said the Indonesian president had undertaken to scrap the restrictions that obstruct the work of foreign journalists in West Papua.

But he said Jakarta's repeated refusals to issue press visas and the growing number of journalists on its blacklist, shows it falls far short of qualifying as a country that supports freedom of expression and media freedom.

Indonesia opened access to West Papua for foreign journalists in 2015, more than 50 years after annexing the territory from the Netherlands.

The Forum's co-chair, the Papua New Guinean journalist, Alex Rheeney, said a visit by journalists to West Papua in January encountered violence, sexual harassment and interference from Indonesian minders.

The World Press Freedom Day (W.P.F.D) is commemorated on May 3 every year.  U.N.E.S.C.O leads worldwide celebration by identifying the global themes and organising the main event.

Freedom of Information and Sustainable Development is one of the global themes for this year’s W.P.F.D celebrations.