The Vanuatu Daily Post's editorial director, Dan McGarry, has penned an editorial published today challenging dangerous "incidents" that may have been a threat to his media role.
In the editorial entitled "Intimidation", he says journalism in Vanuatu has always been a "rough and tumble affair".
The Vanuatu Daily Post has a long history of campaigning for media freedom in Vanuatu.
McGarry's newspaper editorial about the apparent sabotage says:
A few weeks ago, I took my car in for unscheduled service. When I came to pick it up, the mechanic informed me that the wheel nuts had been loosened so much that he was able to remove them with his fingers.
If I had not taken the car in for service, I might have lost a wheel while driving.
A second incident occurred this week. It concerns a car owned by me and driven by my missus. She discovered the problem when she took the children to a church activity on Wednesday.
A mechanic confirmed yesterday that the brake-line had been opened, resulting in the loss of all of the vehicle’s brake fluid.
This is an extreme safety hazard.
I asked the mechanics at the shop whether such an occurrence could have been accidental, and they replied that it was unlikely. Today, I spoke again with the person who serviced the vehicle, in order to be absolutely clear on the details of the situation. He again stated that he felt that the fluid most likely could not have run out accidentally or due to normal wear and tear.
I have no idea who, if anyone, is responsible for these occurrences, or what their motivation might be. But nothing similar has ever happened to me or my loved ones prior to my taking the post of Media Director.
I am left with no choice except to ask whether these events are related to my work.
I have to stress that it is possible that there’s a perfectly reasonable—if unlikely—explanation for all this. Aside from these events, I have not received any threats or warnings concerning my personal or professional conduct.
But if—IF—these events represent an attempt to warn me off, they are having the opposite effect.
Journalism in Vanuatu has always been a rough and tumble affair. I knew that long before I took this job. I imagined that it was entirely possible that people might show up in my office waving their fists about, or even landing one or two on my nose.
I did not imagine that even the most desperate character would stoop to endangering innocent women and children. Were such a thing to happen, it would be beneath contempt, a truly despicable act.
God help anyone who could even consider such a thing.
Nonetheless, I find myself in the position of pursuing additional security measures for myself and my family. Once I finish writing this column, I will enter a complaint with police.
I had the regrettable duty of alerting my staff to these events this morning. To their considerable credit, the only change in their stance was to express concern for me and my family.
Once again, this could be a tempest in a teapot. It could be a sequence of freak accidents.
But if it’s not, I have to suggest to whomever might consider this course of action that it’s probably the stupidest one available. If escaping the attention of the media is the goal, doing something that only shines the light more brightly is hardly a winning gambit.
And anyone who considers the media their enemy should look to their own conscience first.