By Kaya Selby, RNZ Pacific journalist
The editor of Samoa’s only daily newspaper barred on Monday from accessing the Prime Minister’s press conferences says media freedom in Samoa is under attack.
Samoan Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt “temporarily” banned the Samoa Observer from engagements with him and his ministers.
In a statement, La’aulialemalietoa said the Observer had been “unfair and inaccurate” in its reporting on him, particularly during his health stay in New Zealand.
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“While I strongly support the principles of the public’s right to information and freedom of the media, it is important that reporting adheres to ethical standards and responsible journalism practices, given the significant role and influence media plays in informing our community,” he said.
“There have been cases where stories have been published without sufficient factual verification or a chance for those involved to respond, which I believe is fundamental to fair reporting.”
La’aulialemalietoa pointed to several examples, such as an article regarding the chair he used during a meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, several articles based on leaks from inside the government, and an article “aimed at creating discord during my absence”.
“In the light of these experiences, I have decided to temporarily suspend this newspaper from my press engagements starting today [Monday].”
‘We just want answers’
However, Samoa Observer editor Shalveen Chand told RNZ Pacific the newspaper was just doing its job.
“We don’t really have any sides. We just want answers for questions which we believe the people of the nation need to know,” Chand said.
“If he has taken the step to ban us, he has just taken a step to stifle media freedom.”
Chand said that the government had a history of refusing to answer or ignoring questions posed by their reporters.
“It doesn’t change the fact that the job that we have to do we will continue doing. We will keep on holding the government accountable. We will keep on highlighting issues.”
“We’re not against the government, we’re not fighting the government. We just want answers.”
The Samoa Observer said it could still access MPs and other officials, and it could still enter Parliament and cover sittings.
But La’aulialemalietoa has reportedly asked his ministers not to engage with the Observer or any of its reporters.
Chand said, so far, there had not been any engagement from the government, and they did not know what they needed to do to have the ban lifted.
Ban ‘disproportionate’ says PINA
The Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) called the ban “disproportionate and unnecessary”, stating it represented a grave threat to media freedom in the country.
“PINA urges the government of Samoa to immediately reverse the ban and uphold its commitment to open dialogue and transparent governance,” the association said in a statement.
PINA noted that Samoa already had a legally mandated and independent mechanism (the Samoa Media Council) to address concerns about media accuracy, fairness, or ethical conduct.”
The Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) said La’aulialemalietoa’s decision “undermines constitutional rights on media freedom and people’s right to seek and share information”.
“Banning an entire news organisation from press conferences hurts the public interest as people will lose access to independent reporting on matters of national importance,” PFF Polynesia co-chair Katalina Tohi said.
The PFF is urging the Prime Minister “to rethink his actions”.
Confrontation outside PM’s home
On November 16, La’aulialemalietoa said three newspaper reporters and photographers trespassed his home, despite being stopped by police at the gate. Those reporters were from the Samoa Observer and the BBC.
“Their approach was rude, arrogant, invasive and lacked respect for personal privacy.”
But Chand denies that anybody had entered the compound at all, rather accessing the outside of the fence by the road.
“He’s the Prime Minister of Samoa, he’s a key public figure, and we as the press wanted to know how he was.”
As far as what played out afterward, Chand recalled things differently.
“One of my journalists had gone to ask, basically, how his trip had been and if he was doing okay . . . there was no regular communication with the Prime Minister during his eight-week stay in New Zealand.
“He told the journalist at the gate to come back on Monday, and the journalist was leaving. I had just come to drop off a camera lens for the journalist. I was getting into my car when two men unexpectedly walked out and started to assault me.”
Chand said he had received no explanation for why this had happened.
PMN News reported last night that BBC journalist Dr Mandeep Rai, who witnessed the incident, said the Samoa Observer team acted “carefully and respectfully”, and that the hostile response was surprising.
Ever since, Samoa Observer journalists have been bombarded with online abuse, Chand said.
“Attacks against me have actually doubled and tripled on social media . . . fake pages, or even people with real pages . . . it has somewhat impacted my family members a bit,” Chand said.
“But hey, we’re trying to do a job.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.