PINA controversy: the honiara award

The Honiara Award

15 Jun 2007, 12:15


Honiara, Solomon Islands:

Editor,

Your response to Ngalu Fusimalohi's letter about his father Tavake Fusimalohi getting the 2007 PINA Pacific Media Freedom Award tells only part of the story. This is probably because, unfortunately, you were not able to be in Honiara for the biennial Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) convention.

The reality is:
Five of the six members of the 2005-2007 PINA board did not attend the convention and biennial general meeting. Members were not happy about this. An almost entirely new board was then elected for 2007-2009. The decision to award the 2007 PINA Pacific Media Freedom Award was made after discussions at the Honiara convention.

This was then unanimously awarded to Tavake after consultation between:
a. the new PINA president, Joseph Ealedona, managing director of Papua New Guinea's National Broadcasting Corporation.
b. the only member of the 2005-2007 PINA board reelected, Matai Akauola, editor of the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation;
c. the president of the convention hosts and organisers, Media Association of Solomon (MASI), John Lamani. John, as you know, is publisher of the Solomon Star, and like you a previous winner of the PINA Pacific Media Freedom Award. He is also a former PINA vice president and one of those who built PINA.

There was also disappointment in Honiara during the planned special convention session on the media freedom situation in Tonga. The Tongan news media were conspicuous by their absence. Steven Vete was the only Tongan to be found in the convention hall when this session took place.
Those from Tonga who stayed away from the Solomons missed an outstanding convention, and warm non-stop MASI hospitality. MASI, in organising the convention, set a new high standard for future hosts to aim for.

The next PINA convention is in Port Vila, Vanuatu, in July 2009. Hopefully, you and others from the Tongan news media will be able to rejoin your colleagues from around the region at this.

It would be good to see you all there.

With best regards,

Peter Lomas
peteralomas@hotmail.com

Editor's note:
The presentation was out of order, and the new Board should wait for their turn at the 2009 Vanuatu PINA Convention, when they can present awards.

PINA controversy: editor response

My father:

Editor's note: I sympathize with your sentiment about your father's Media Freedom Award, but Tavake is an innocent bystander who has been caught in a cross fire between the PINA Board and the organising committee of the 2007 PINA convention in Honiara.

I was a member of the PINA Board, representing the national media organisations in the board when we finalised the program and all the media awards for this year at the end of April. It was agreed upon by the PINA Board that there would be no Media Freedom Award this year. Unfortunately, the decision of the board was changed by some people in Honiara who decided to award a Media Freedom Award to Tavake. Following the awards night, which was the last night of the convention, our Board expressed our disappointment over the presentation of the award without the consent of the Board, and its implications for Tavake who is currently awaiting trial charged with defamation and sedition.

So there is nothing personal between me, you and your father and his award. Our position is that it is unfortunate that Tavake was caught in a cross fire between our Board and the people in Honiara who decided to give Tavake a Media Freedom Award."