14 Apr 2014

Media NGO in Fiji says public needs reasons to trust process

3:06 pm on 14 April 2014

A media NGO in Fiji says the public needs more reasons to be able to trust the processes in place with regime decrees.

The Media Industry Development Authority issued a public warning against Fiji TV for airing a speech by Tailevu chief Ratu Timoci Vesikula, saying it was 'hate speech'.

The Chairman of the Authority, Ashwin Raj, has been criticised for judging the actions of the media organisation before the tribunal considers the matter.

The Executive Director of Fiji Media Watch, Agatha Ferei, says there needs to be more clarity on the role of the authority, as opposed to the media tribunal, and the public need to be able to trust a robust process.

"If there's a clause out there that we are not sure of we need to call on those that are putting those clauses out to clarify what they mean, so that people are able to trust the processes that are used. And I think this is an important time to have all of this, in Fiji."

Agatha Ferei.