LAVULAVU SAYS SECURITY TRIED TO BLOCK HIM FROM PRESS CONFERENCE ON PM’S ORDERS
Mr Etuate Lavulavu of 88.1FM has told Tonga Independent News that he was stopped by security when he arrived at the St George Government Building to attend the Prime Minister’s weekly press conference.
According to Mr Lavulavu, a security guard told him he was not permitted to enter and that the instruction had come from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr Lavulavu said he challenged the decision and asked the security guard what law or regulation prevented him, as a member of the media, from attending the press conference.
He said the security guard was unable to provide an answer.
Mr Lavulavu then asked the guard to telephone the Prime Minister’s Office so he could speak directly with officials about the decision.
While the guard was making the call, Mr Lavulavu entered the lift, went upstairs and attended the press conference.
However, the issue did not end there.
Mr Lavulavu said that after the press conference, the person chairing the briefing called him aside and confirmed that the Prime Minister’s Office had advised that he was not permitted to attend.
Mr Lavulavu again asked what law or authority was being relied upon to prevent him from attending.
According to Mr Lavulavu, the chair told him that was all he could say on the matter and that Mr Lavulavu would have to take the issue up directly with the Prime Minister’s Office.
The incident raises serious questions about media access to government press conferences and the basis on which an individual journalist or media organisation can be excluded.
It also comes amid an escalating dispute between the Prime Minister’s Office and 88.1FM over allegations broadcast by the station concerning the Government.
Tonga Independent News will seek clarification from the Prime Minister’s Office on whether it issued the instruction to prevent Mr Lavulavu from attending, the reasons for the decision, and the legal or administrative authority under which the restriction was imposed.
Mr Lavulavu said he intends to raise the incident with Tonga Media Association president Mrs Katalina Tohi and seek the association’s position on the decision by the Prime Minister’s Office to exclude him from the weekly press conference.
Mr Lavulavu, who is a member of the association, said he wants to know what action, if any, the organisation will take in response to what he considers an unprecedented restriction on a journalist seeking access to a government press briefing.
The incident raises broader questions for Tonga’s media about whether individual journalists or media organisations can be excluded from government press conferences, what grounds can be used to justify such a decision, and whether there is an established policy governing media access.
Tonga Independent News will seek comment from Mrs Tohi and the Tonga Media Association on the incident and whether the association considers the decision a matter of media freedom.
The Prime Minister’s Office will also be asked to confirm whether it issued the instruction preventing Mr Lavulavu from attending and, if so, the reasons and authority for that decision.
