PACMAS unlikely to meet conditions imposed by Fiji Media body

Transcript

A media project planned to take place in Fiji is unlikely to go ahead following a dispute between Fiji's Media Industry Development Authority and an Australian journalist.

MIDA called for a public retraction from the ABC and its journalist Sean Dorney for claiming the situation for the media in Fiji was not as free and open as it should be.

The Pacific Media Assistance Scheme, the organisation running the media project, says it's unlikely they will meet MIDA's demands.

The PACMAS director, Domenic Friguglietti, says projects in Fiji have been suspended while MIDA is being asked to clarity its conditions. He spoke to Indira Moala

DOMENIC FRIGUGLIETTI: At this stage we have postponed the workshop for Fiji and we're hoping at some point in time in the future, I'm not sure when, we may be able to run that workshop. There are other PACMAS activities that were being scheduled for Fiji that we're now needing to consider aswell.

INDIRA MOALA: So will they be relocated now?

DF: Look, we'll need to look at that, because a number of the initiatives - although working with Fiji institutions, were regional in nature. So there's a PACMAS project management meeting this Thursday which discusses what we do there. But I must stress that at this point in time, our understanding is that we remain suspended in Fiji and we'll also be writing to MIDA to seek clarity on comments made by Ashwin Raj about the conditions under which an initiative like PACMAS could function in Fiji in the future. But I would have to say that, given his comments in public, it's unlikely that we would be able to meet the conditions being imposed.

IM: As Director of PACMAS there must be some kind of disappointment about the delaying of the projects now because of the tensions between MIDA and the ABC.

DF: Absolutely, and in particular with disappointed for the recipients of the documentary training programme and also what that means for the future. Because we were very optimistic about working in Fiji. But unfortunately, Ashwin and Matai seem to have views that would make it very difficult for PACMAS to function there. So it is very disappointing and really for the Fiji Media practitioners that we were hoping to work with. So, in some ways we see them as the ones who are probably going to suffer from all this.

IM: If MIDA's tensions with the ABC don't get resolved, does that mean there will probably be no PACMAS projects in Fiji?

DF: Look I can't answer that at this point in time because we're trying to clarify what Ashwin's comments actually mean. Now the reporting undertaken by Sean Dorney went through an editorial assessment I guess. The ABC concluded that his reports about Fiji were appropriate. The conditions under which MIDA has imposed that could open the door for us to engage make it probably difficult for us at this point in time. But we remain open to talk with them to see if we can find a clear path.