FROM OUR ARCHIVES

From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 18, no. 1, March 2003.

The banning of the Taimi ‘o Tonga newspaper from Tonga is an unprecedented decision by government, the first time ever for government to restrain the distribution of a publication since the proclamation by Tupou I of the Tongan Constitution in 1875, granting the right for “Freedom of the Press in Tonga for ever”.

The 1875 Constitution was the by product of a 50 years of civil war that had brought suffering and exhausted the resources of the country. The concepts of Free Speech and Freedom of the Press were flickers of light at the end of a long tunnel, giving people an alternative to solving their differences other than clubbing each other to death.

Except for a short burst in the development of newspapers during the late 1800s the Tongan media failed to grow to its maturity. There was a long period where there was no media or news, other than the gossiping and whispering known as  the coconut wireless. The people, perhaps, developed a taste for malicious gossip where the story-telling became more important than whether the information was factual or true.

Puberty

Strange as it may sound, despite the fact that we have had Press Freedom for 128 years, the Tongan media today is still a teenager in the age of puberty, and unable to look after itself.

A national news organisation that was established in 1991 has been struggling to get its members to work together. Few members have attended meetings or workshops designed to improve the standard of journalism. It was only in January this year that the Tonga Media Association (TMA) finally passed its Code of Ethics.

The privilege of Press Freedom that is enshrined in the Constitution and the notion that the media should regulate itself remains a difficult task for Tonga. If the TMA is constantly gasping for air, the likelihood of establishing something like a Press Council remains a long shot. It is a situation that leaves the Tongan Media vulnerable to be swept over by a high-tech world-wide trend to establish what’s been called a “New World Disorder”, absolute freedom, where everything and anything goes.

Pest

So how do you deal with a Media Pest that hides under the banner of Press Freedom and behaves in a manner that some people consider to be destructive and totally unacceptable?

Right now, there is nothing that can be done about it until the Tongan media grows up and takes on the responsibility of regulating itself. The unpleasant alternative is what Tonga is experiencing now, that government will move in and take control for the sake of maintaining peace.