Over the past couple of years, I have been one of the strongest supporters of the Forum Solomon Islands International (FSII), especially its CEO, Benjamin Afuga. But in recent days, I've decided to block Forum Solomon Islands International (FSII) from my social media network.
For this reason, I took time-off on regular basis over the past two years to contribute articles that provide context and background on issues that many of our young readers and members are ignorant about their existence and in other cases too sensitive and scared of talking about them publicly. I guess, this is the new politics in Solomon Islands.
But I have been always hopeful that our educated elites will foster a new pathway of transparency and accountability through open dialogue, naming, framing and deliberating on issues without fear or favour via the social media. Unfortunately, I am still waiting for this to happen. My commitment to the course of media freedom is unconditional. I believe that unless our people are open for dialogue or Talanao the Pasifiaka way, Solomon Islands will never realize its full potentials.
And the task of achieving it is through creating awareness and building relationships through the social media and allowing people to express their views. This has led me to my next point. My association with FSII was purely based on an ideological hope that maybe the FSII will be a catalyst to this task of becoming the vehicle and avenue for promoting open political dialogue and Talanoa, the Pasifika way. It led to my decision to pay my annual subscription-fee of SID$70 per-year for the next over ten years. In the process, I paid SID$1,100.00 last year (2013).
But sadly, FSII and its management had demonstrated consistently an attitude of contempt in a number of blunders and cases after cases of clear biases toward the main ethnic group in the country. Such an attitude had clearly killed my hopes of a new robust and sensible debate about issues that are preventing the country from moving ahead. I'm not really sure whether it is a deliberate tactic or a case of professional incompetence. But either way, we are worse for it. As has been the case, FSII and the mainstream media in the country are often hesitant and cautious about talking openly about corrupt cases of ethnic Malaitan leaders at community, provincial and national levels, especially against ex-MEF commanders. They are too fearful of asking even the most obvious questions.
Contrary, FSII has consistently allowing debates, naming, shaming and open accusations of other ethnic political leaders and criminals in the forum. And a classic example of such double standards is the case of Alex Bartlett, a former politician and ex-MEF Commander of South Malaita origin, who had recently ordered the burning down of three houses in a piece of land, allegedly belonging to him and his company, Hatanga Group.
This case has many dimensions to it because of the police failure to arrest Bartlett, his son and the Hatanga crew using of guns to threaten the victims. As always the case, when the debate was raging in the FSII about the criminal and inhumane actions by the former MEF Commander, whose eldest son was also involving in the arson attack, the CEO of FSII posted a High Court case judgment of the ex-MEF militant on a similar arson case, which he had won in the Solomon Islands High Court in 2008.
That post was allowed to remain in the discussion board, while the one about the burning down of the houses was taken down on the basis that it is enough. I just wish that the CEO of FSII has also acted in a similar manner on debates, where ethnic Malaitans in the forum have been castigating the Prime Minister from Western Province and the Member of Parliament and Premier of Rennell and Bellona Province over allegations of corruption, nepotism, misappropriations of public funds and abused of powers and positions. Obviously PM Lilo, MP for Renbel, Gukuna and Premier for Renbel, Tango, are not of his cultural stock and enforcing any security threat to him.
This and other issues have left a lot to be desired about FSII professional competence to provide a neutral venue for unbiased and honest debates about issues that are impacting Solomon Islands since the MEF coup of June 2000 and the subsequent intervention of the Australian-backed RAMSI in 2003. One cannot underestimate the important role that the social media has played in the global arena of politics and unrestricted sharing of information, and also where the ownership of politics has been given to citizens through the interconnection of people via the social media.
Unfortunately, FSII has failed to exploit this channel of communication to progress public debates about issues of leadership corruption, criminal injustices, instability, socioeconomic hardships, cultural and ethnic divisions that continue to struggle Solomon Islands out of its last breath. The challenge now for FSII’s CEO is whether to take the fight or turn the forum into a propaganda tool for ethnic Malaitan opponents of this government.
For FSII and CEO information, the role of upholding media freedom is not an opportunistic act, but a life-time commitment by professional trained journalists to the democratic ideals of equality, human rights and human dignity. It is also fundamental to maintaining one's professional credibility. In a nutshell, journalism is not for the faint-hearted. It is for the brave-hearted, who have sacrificed their lives, time, space, comfort, energy, security, family, fame and future aspirations, to uphold one of the fundamental principles of building a stable and secure democracy – that people of all races, creeds, religions, beliefs, ethnic, cultural, linguistic groups are treated equally.
It took 24 years of hard labor and imprisonment for the late Nelson Mandela to fight for the freedom of his people in South Africa. I guess this is the yard-stick that everyone of us who are dreaming and hoping that Solomon Islands will one-day becoming an economically prosperous and politically stable nation that we all want it to be.
One of the comforts that the CEO of FSII should have is this – there has never been a case of a news organization or journalist taking over a government by the barrel of a gun, but history is littered with crooks and corrupt politicians taking over governments through disguised civilians and military coups under the barrel of a gun.
For this reason, I took time-off on regular basis over the past two years to contribute articles that provide context and background on issues that many of our young readers and members are ignorant about their existence and in other cases too sensitive and scared of talking about them publicly. I guess, this is the new politics in Solomon Islands.
But I have been always hopeful that our educated elites will foster a new pathway of transparency and accountability through open dialogue, naming, framing and deliberating on issues without fear or favour via the social media. Unfortunately, I am still waiting for this to happen. My commitment to the course of media freedom is unconditional. I believe that unless our people are open for dialogue or Talanao the Pasifiaka way, Solomon Islands will never realize its full potentials.
And the task of achieving it is through creating awareness and building relationships through the social media and allowing people to express their views. This has led me to my next point. My association with FSII was purely based on an ideological hope that maybe the FSII will be a catalyst to this task of becoming the vehicle and avenue for promoting open political dialogue and Talanoa, the Pasifika way. It led to my decision to pay my annual subscription-fee of SID$70 per-year for the next over ten years. In the process, I paid SID$1,100.00 last year (2013).
But sadly, FSII and its management had demonstrated consistently an attitude of contempt in a number of blunders and cases after cases of clear biases toward the main ethnic group in the country. Such an attitude had clearly killed my hopes of a new robust and sensible debate about issues that are preventing the country from moving ahead. I'm not really sure whether it is a deliberate tactic or a case of professional incompetence. But either way, we are worse for it. As has been the case, FSII and the mainstream media in the country are often hesitant and cautious about talking openly about corrupt cases of ethnic Malaitan leaders at community, provincial and national levels, especially against ex-MEF commanders. They are too fearful of asking even the most obvious questions.
Contrary, FSII has consistently allowing debates, naming, shaming and open accusations of other ethnic political leaders and criminals in the forum. And a classic example of such double standards is the case of Alex Bartlett, a former politician and ex-MEF Commander of South Malaita origin, who had recently ordered the burning down of three houses in a piece of land, allegedly belonging to him and his company, Hatanga Group.
This case has many dimensions to it because of the police failure to arrest Bartlett, his son and the Hatanga crew using of guns to threaten the victims. As always the case, when the debate was raging in the FSII about the criminal and inhumane actions by the former MEF Commander, whose eldest son was also involving in the arson attack, the CEO of FSII posted a High Court case judgment of the ex-MEF militant on a similar arson case, which he had won in the Solomon Islands High Court in 2008.
That post was allowed to remain in the discussion board, while the one about the burning down of the houses was taken down on the basis that it is enough. I just wish that the CEO of FSII has also acted in a similar manner on debates, where ethnic Malaitans in the forum have been castigating the Prime Minister from Western Province and the Member of Parliament and Premier of Rennell and Bellona Province over allegations of corruption, nepotism, misappropriations of public funds and abused of powers and positions. Obviously PM Lilo, MP for Renbel, Gukuna and Premier for Renbel, Tango, are not of his cultural stock and enforcing any security threat to him.
This and other issues have left a lot to be desired about FSII professional competence to provide a neutral venue for unbiased and honest debates about issues that are impacting Solomon Islands since the MEF coup of June 2000 and the subsequent intervention of the Australian-backed RAMSI in 2003. One cannot underestimate the important role that the social media has played in the global arena of politics and unrestricted sharing of information, and also where the ownership of politics has been given to citizens through the interconnection of people via the social media.
Unfortunately, FSII has failed to exploit this channel of communication to progress public debates about issues of leadership corruption, criminal injustices, instability, socioeconomic hardships, cultural and ethnic divisions that continue to struggle Solomon Islands out of its last breath. The challenge now for FSII’s CEO is whether to take the fight or turn the forum into a propaganda tool for ethnic Malaitan opponents of this government.
For FSII and CEO information, the role of upholding media freedom is not an opportunistic act, but a life-time commitment by professional trained journalists to the democratic ideals of equality, human rights and human dignity. It is also fundamental to maintaining one's professional credibility. In a nutshell, journalism is not for the faint-hearted. It is for the brave-hearted, who have sacrificed their lives, time, space, comfort, energy, security, family, fame and future aspirations, to uphold one of the fundamental principles of building a stable and secure democracy – that people of all races, creeds, religions, beliefs, ethnic, cultural, linguistic groups are treated equally.
It took 24 years of hard labor and imprisonment for the late Nelson Mandela to fight for the freedom of his people in South Africa. I guess this is the yard-stick that everyone of us who are dreaming and hoping that Solomon Islands will one-day becoming an economically prosperous and politically stable nation that we all want it to be.
One of the comforts that the CEO of FSII should have is this – there has never been a case of a news organization or journalist taking over a government by the barrel of a gun, but history is littered with crooks and corrupt politicians taking over governments through disguised civilians and military coups under the barrel of a gun.
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