PM Rejects 88.1FM Allegations as Station Faces Threat to Broadcasting Licence
Government brands claims “false and baseless” as 88.1FM reveals the Communications Commission is considering suspending or revoking its licences. Both actions were issued on the same day.
For weeks, former Cabinet Minister ‘Etuate Lavulavu has used his radio station, 88.1FM Letio ‘a e Kakai, to raise questions about the Government and the Fanga’uta Lagoon bridge project. On August 10, the Prime Minister’s Office hit back. That same day, 88.1FM learned its broadcasting licences could be suspended or revoked.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement headed “The Office of the Prime Minister Categorically and Unequivocally Rejects False and Misleading Claims Circulated by 88.1FM,” dated August 10.
“The allegations are false, baseless and without foundation, and are completely denied,” the statement said.
But the Government did not say which specific claims it disputes, or give its own account of what happened. It said it would not let false claims become accepted as fact just because they were repeated. At the same time, it said it did not want to give the specific allegations further publicity, though it wanted the public to know it was “fully cognisant” of the broadcasts and taking the matter seriously. It said no further comment would be made while the regulatory and legal processes are ongoing, and urged the public to be cautious about sharing claims on broadcast and social media, “particularly where serious allegations are presented as established fact without supporting evidence or an opportunity for response.”
Land Changes Questioned
Among Lavulavu’s claims: delays to the bridge project may have exposed the Government to extra costs under its contract with the builder. He put that figure as high as TOP$8 million.
Another claim involves land at ‘Umuisi, where part of the bridge route was redesigned. The land is tied to the Fakafanua estate. Lavulavu has broadcast claims from a widow who says she has a claim to the property. She disputes changes made to the land survey earlier this year, alleging the new boundaries favoured the estate holder at her expense.
Lavulavu has also reported the woman’s claim that Lands Ministry officers gave her a revised survey map and told her the instruction came from the Prime Minister.
Tonga Independent News has not independently confirmed that any such instruction came from the Prime Minister.
The claim carries extra weight because Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua is currently handling the Lands portfolio himself, while the Minister for Lands is overseas. In an interview with Tonga Broadcasting Commission, the Prime Minister said he had taken a direct interest in the land issues so he could understand the problems and help clear the way for the bridge project.
The Government also raised concern about what it called the “unauthorised use” of King Tupou VI’s name and authority, and that of the Royal Family, in political statements aimed at the Prime Minister and Cabinet. It said any suggestion that such statements carried the King’s authority, knowledge or endorsement “should not be inferred or assumed.” The broadcasts and recordings had been documented and were being reviewed through “appropriate regulatory and legal channels.”
88.1FM Licence Under Threat
Takiama Companies Limited, which operates 88.1FM, says it received a notice from the Communications Commission dated August 10. The Commission is considering suspending or revoking the station’s Network Operator Licence and FM Radio Transmitter Licence under the Communications Act 2015.
88.1FM says it will respond to the Commission fully and in writing, within the time allowed, through the process provided by law rather than over the airwaves. But the station says the Commission has not told it which words it considers defamatory, or who was allegedly defamed.
“No broadcaster can answer an allegation of this kind until it knows what is alleged,” the station said.
88.1FM says it has kept the full recording of its August 5 broadcast and is willing to correct any factual error that can be shown to it. It has invited the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, or any Minister who feels affected to appear on air, or have a statement read in full and unedited.
Same Date Raises Questions
88.1FM has pointed out that the Commission’s notice and the Prime Minister’s Office statement both carry the same date. The station has written to the Commission asking it to confirm its process is independent, as it says section 22 of the Communications Act 2015 requires.
The shared date does not prove the two actions are connected. But it raises an obvious question: was the regulatory process started independently of the Government’s dispute with the station, or not?
The Prime Minister’s Office says it respects media freedom and the role of independent journalism, while stressing that broadcasters must follow the law and broadcasting standards. 88.1FM says press freedom is protected under Clause 7 of Tonga’s Constitution, and says it will keep broadcasting.
Lavulavu and 88.1FM still need to back up the serious allegations they have put out publicly. The Government, having called those allegations false, has yet to say which claims it means or explain its version of events. And with 88.1FM’s licences now on the line, the Communications Commission will face its own questions about what triggered the action, and whether the process is truly independent.
Tonga Independent News will continue to pursue these questions
