The Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) has urged its members to boycott a media conference for a visiting Chinese delegation in protest over “ridiculous” restrictions.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi leads the high-level delegation which arrives in Solomon Islands today.

Wang is expected to sign a host of new agreements, including the security pact that has sparked anger in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

• READ MORE: Deal proposed by China would dramatically expand security influence in Pacific
• Other reports on China in the Pacific

MASI president Georgina Kekea said it was disappointed that the media were only allowed limited access to the visit.

Kekea said Solomon Islands was a democratic country and when media freedom was dictated on someone else’s terms, it impeded the country’s democratic principles.

“The Chinese delegation’s visit is an important and historical one for our country and our members play an important role in making sure it provides the right information and awareness on the importance of the visit to our people,” she said.

She said only two questions could be asked, one from a local journalist directed to the Solomon Islands foreign affairs minister, and one from Chinese media, directed to their foreign affairs minister.

“How ridiculous is that? If we want to interview our foreign affairs minister, we can just do it without the event,” she said.

‘What’s the purpose?’
“What is the purpose of hosting such an event for the press when they are only allowed one question and directed to their foreign minister only?”

Kekea said even the discriminatory manner in which journalists were selected to cover the event did not bode well with the association.

“MASI thrives on professional journalism and sees no reason for journalists to be discriminated against based on who they represent. Giving credentials to selected journalists is a sign of favouritism,” she said.

“Journalists should be allowed to do their job without fear or favour.”

She said the reason given that the arrangements were done that way because of covid-19 protocols did not stack up.

“We have community transmission, people are crowded in buses, shops, markets, banks and so forth, so this is a very lame excuse,” she said.

Kekea said press freedom is enshrined as a fundamental element in the Solomons’ constitution.

‘MASI defending democracy’
“Same as the prime minister has defended democracy in Parliament after the November riots, MASI is also defending democracy in this space,” Kekea said.

She added that the boycott was not to disrespect the government or its bilateral partners in any way, but to showcase the media’s disagreement in this matter.

Solomons Islands opposition leader Mathew Wale has again raised concerns at the secrecy surrounding links with Beijing.

Wale said only a few top aides know what is in the agreements, and that there’s no justification for the secrecy.

“Solomon Islands is a democratic country, owned by the people and they are entitled to know what is being transacted in their name,” he said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Facing angry rioters threatening them with physical attacks, Solomon Islands mainstream and freelance journalists and photographers were confronted with an unsettling reality during last week’s three days of rioting in Honiara.

Local journalists in the country equipped with their cameras and limited protection were working solo on assignments for their newsrooms when the riots happened.

A freelance and multimedia woman journalist, Georgina Kekea tells of the threats to attack her and her news crew by the crowd as they marched down to Vavaya Ridge road, next to City Motel in Central Honiara.

• READ MORE:  Backgrounder: Solomon Islands riots push nation into slippery slide of self-implosion
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“They threatened to shoot us with stones and swore obscenities at us. They shouted, ‘Go away with your cameras!’

“Those that knew me personally didn’t say anything. Those that did, I assume they knew of me but do not know me personally; some might not know me at all,” says Kekea, who is president of the Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI).

“I don’t think any call for respect for journalists at this point would make a difference,” she told Sunday Isles.

“Except that I am surprised that people who spoke highly of culture do not have any respect at all for culture.

‘Women doing our job’
“We are women doing our job just like any other, and if that’s the way Solomon Islands men treat women in general, I am sorry for our country.

“We are lost. Nothing will and can change unless we the people change ourselves. We will not make a difference.”

Kekea pleads for people to simply allow the media to do their job.

“MASI condemned the recent riots that happened and called on the authorities too to respect the work of the media,” she said.

In a media statement from the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), chair Bernadette Carreon also urged the authorities to protect local journalists who are delivering crucial news to the public about the protests:

“The media should be allowed to do their job unharmed.

“PFF is urging authorities and protesters to respect the media who are working to inform the public about the unfortunate events taking place in the city.

“Journalists on location were attacked with tear gas, rubber bullets, and stones while protestors advanced towards the Solomon Islands Parliament house.

“While we understand this was done to disperse protesters, said journalists were merely in the line of fire due to the nature of their job as frontliners.

“The assault on members of the media is an assault on democracy.”

Rioters smashed reporter’s phone
Sunday Isles online newspaper multimedia journalist Alex Dadamu also faced harassment and his phone was smashed by rioters while covering the insurrection in and around the Mokolo Building near the Mataniko Bridge, Chinatown.

“I would say they used many hurtful abusive words towards me in the Malaita language and were too aggressive,” he says.

“I was standing in front of Mokolo Building near the Mataniko Bridge taking pictures secretly because the crowd does not want anyone to take pictures and videos. They announced it in the first place before and during the march down to Chinatown.

“At one point, I took a picture and then put my phone back in my pocket. Unfortunately, a member of the crowd saw me take the picture.

“He approached me aggressively, threatening to hit me. By that time, more members of the crowd were starting to join that guy to threaten me for taking the pictures.

“They demanded that I hand over the phone to them. I humbly said, ‘sorry,’ and handed over the phone because already my life was in danger of them beating me up.

“I feared for my safety and I humbly handed over the phone from my pocket and they smashed in on the tarseal road.

“There goes my phone,” says Dadamu.

He says he and a colleague journalist from Sunday Isles (environment reporter John Houanihau) who were covering the unrest on November 24 were also affected by the tear gas targeted at the rioters.

Many lessons learned
When asked if he was wearing press credentials (identification card) issued by Sunday Isles, he says: “I showed them my Sunday Isles media ID card which identified me as a politics and development reporter.”

Dadamu says he learned many lessons from the incident and hopes this will make a difference in the future.

“Lesson learned and I don’t blame them. It is our job as reporters to assess the situation and take note of the dangers which might happen,” he says.

“Additionally, more awareness needs to be than so that people may know and understand more about the role of media in a situation such as these.”

In another related incident, a woman journalist from Island Sun newspaper, Mavis Nishimura Podokolo, says that when covering the scene at the Town Ground area, west of Honiara, demonstrators verbally harassed and chased her, forcing her to get out of the area.

Mavis appealed to the public to respect the work of local media practitioners and journalists in the country — especially in times of crisis.

“The role of journalists is to inform the public and during the ongoing crisis or riot it is pivotal,” she says.

“The work of the journalist is very important in a democracy.”

Mike Tua is a journalist at Sunday Isles. Republished with permission.

The Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) plans to work closely with the University of the South Pacific journalism programme to develop journalists in the region, says president Charles Kadamana.

Kadaman, a senior journalist with the Solomon Star daily newspaper, says past collaboration with USP Journalism has been successful, including a recent week-long training on anti-corruption reporting in the Solomon Islands.

He said the training was timely as the Solomon Islands government was in the process of debating the Anti-Corruption Bill.

“In Solomon Islands, there are about 36 USP journalism alumni now holding top jobs in the media industry, the government and in the private sectors,” said Kadamana, who was a guest at last week’s 18th USP Journalism Students Awards ceremony at Laucala campus in Suva.

“Looking at the list of journalism alumni, it is evident that the USP journalism programme has produced a lot of communications professionals in different areas contributing to our countries.

“Fiji and other Pacific countries also have USP journalism alumni in top posts.

“Today, there is growing interest of journalists studying at USP. I am also happy to see the number of students from Solomon Islands is increasing.”

Dominated awards
Eleven student journalists are currently with the USP programme and they dominated the awards.

As educated young people, Kadamana encouraged student journalists to take up leadership roles, adding taking up journalism was not an easy task.

“There will be people who will stab you in the back. To avoid disaster, all you have to do is produce the results.

“Do not be the person who only wants the position for status and glory,” Kadamana said.

The USP journalism alumni said the university had been the breeding ground for nurturing future journalists to meet the needs of the region during the past 50 years.

Geraldine Panapasa is editor-in-chief of USP’s Wansolwara journalism newspaper. Wansolwara News and the Pacific Media Centre have a content sharing arrangement.

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