A meeting was held at the Office of the Prime Minister at Government Buildings yesterday. Present at the meeting were managers, editors and news directors of mainstream media and Interim Prime Minster Commodore Frank Bainimarama who restated the Interim Government's unwavering commitment of it's constitutional obligation of Freedom of the Press and other Media as enshrined in the Constitution.
Commodore Bainimarama said the purpose of the meeting was to allay fears that the Interim Government is proceeding to exercise some control of the media.
Bainimarama said media freedom is a constitutional obligation of the State.
But he said with any freedom also comes responsibility.
The Interim Prime Minister said partisan agendas, cultural insensitivity and deliberate distortions in media reporting can do untold damage to the fabric of a nation and indeed have unfortunate repercussions.
Commodore Bainimarama highlighted a few media reports which the Interim Government saw as inciteful or unbalanced and unfair. He also questioned some media managers about how they verify information as some stories were just fabricated.
The meeting ended with an agreement that monthly discussions should be held between the Interim Prime Minister and media executives to ensure that any misunderstandings are addressed. It has also been agreed that the interim government will try to provide access to information as needed by the media.
Invitations to the meeting were sent to mainstream media organisations by the Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office Parmesh Chand.
The meeting comes three days after the deportation of Fiji Times Publisher Evan Hannah for alleged breaches to the conditions of his work permit.