Suggestions have been made that journalist should be held equally responsible for any breaches of the Media Industry Development Decree and not just the editors and publishers of the media organisation.
The consultations on the decree concluded yesterday in Lautoka and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum who chaired the consultations said there is support for journalist to be penalized for any breaches under the decree.
Sayed-Khaiyum said the role of the Media Tribunal was also discussed and there is support that its decision should not be challenged as members of the public usually do not have the means to fight long court battles with media outlets.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General has raised concerns on reports on the consultations on the draft decree in the overseas media.
Sayed Khaiyum said these overseas media outlets are not following their own Code of ethics and are politicizing the issue.
The Attorney General said while they do not want to preempt anything at this stage, those who attended the consultations will be contacted and provided with details on the consultations.
He could not confirm if another round of consultations will take place once the draft decree is finalized but he stressed that the government wants the decree in place as soon as possible.
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Support shown for journalist to be penalised equally
