A former Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea has decried the undue influence and patronization of sections of the country’s media and public institutions by people in positions of power in the public and private sectors.
Sir Arnold Amet noted that “the independence and integrity of some of these institutions were subject to patronization and favouritism”.
The former Attorney General and Minister for Justice made the observations when addressing the 2018 World Press Freedom Day celebrations in Divine Word University in his hometown of Madang on May 4.
Sir Arnold said the abuses of power were taking place in a country when so many of its citizens in the rural areas and urban fringes were affected by illiteracy and lack of education and do not know their rights well and cannot speak up.
Sir Arnold noted that “self-censorship” by journalists and editors fearful of litigation and threats was on the rise in PNG.
He said the banning of journalists to travel to the Australian Government sponsored refugee processing centre on Manus Island was an attack on freedom of the press and democracy by those in positions of power.
Sir Arnold called on journalists and editors in PNG to reject the new trend of powerful people influencing and patronizing editorial decisions or threatening members of the media with litigation and physical abuse.
He challenged journalists and editors to push the boundaries and demand answers for many of the abuses of power taking place through government decision-making and actions.
Sir Arnold said there were serious claims of corruption and abuse of office such as the infamous Manumanu land deal in Central Province and violation of rights of citizens “being swept under the carpet” that the PNG media should vigorously investigate and highlight.
He also lamented the under-reporting of human rights violations such as the limited coverage of the recent killings in Madang Province that sparked ethnic unrest several weeks ago.
Sir Arnold said in other mature democracies in the world, the media would be pounding on the doors of police and the government institutions every day demanding answers and there would be public outcry against the kind of wanton killings that took place in Madang.
Sir Arnold said ordinary people, including journalists whose rights are being abused and threatened but cannot afford to see legal redress due to the high costs, can use provisions in Section 57 of the Constitution which allows for such people to go straight to a court and ask for help.
He said Section 57 is little known by the public but it is specifically there to assist vulnerable people in instances of abuses of their rights who cannot seek legal redress due to their socio-economic circumstances. Speaking from his experience on the bench for 20 years, Sir Arnold said there were judges and magistrate who can act on behalf of vulnerable people under Section 57.
World Press Freedom Day is a calendar event at DWU and is hosted annually by the Communication Arts Department and fellow departments in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
The annual celebration at the Madang campus is also in line with the aspirations of the two founding Catholic missionary congregations of DWU, namely the Society of the Divine Word Missionaries and Holy Spirit Sisters.
Vice President (Research) of DWU, Professor Father Philip Gibbs, who is also a Divine Word Missionary, said the founding missionaries of the institution saw the importance of nurturing and safeguarding press freedom in PNG. This is reflected in their introduction of Communication Arts (journalism) as one of the first two programs in the university.
Professor Gibbs said this happened when the missionaries converted the former Divine Word High School to Divine Word Institute (the predecessor of the University) in 1979. He said the other pioneer program introduced in 1979 is Business Studies.
(Retired Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea Sir Arnold Amet addressing the 2018 World Press Freedom Day celebrations in Divine Word University, Madang – Photo by DWU Journalism student Elijah Chapok)
