TONGA: Commissioner upholds publisher's complaint

Tonga's Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet has ignored a request by Tonga's Complaints Commissioner to apologise to a Tongan magazine publisher for failing to respond to the publisher's complaints about her office

Pacific Media Watch
Tuesday, June 22, 2004

NUKU'ALOFA (Matangi Tonga/PIR/Pacific Media Watch): Tonga's Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet has ignored a request by Tonga's Complaints Commissioner to apologise to a Tongan magazine publisher for failing to respond to the publisher's complaints about her office.

Tonga's Commissioner for Public Relations, Siaosi 'Aho, decided to release to the press full details of his inquiry into the case because the Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet, 'Eseta Fusitu'a, had not followed his recommendations and had not apologised.

Pesi Fonua, publisher of the Matangi Tonga Online magazine, lodged a complaint to the Commissioner for Public Relations that the media laws gazetted on 27 November 2003 had not been made public until after 24 December 2004.

The Commissioner said that in December 2003 Fonua went to great pains to unsuccessfully acquire his copies of the media laws gazetted on 27 November 2003 from both the printing department and the Information Unit of the Prime Minister's Office.

"He did not receive his copies of the Acts until 29 December 2003. His online release of 4 February 2004 was attacked by [the government] press release of 12 February 2004 as incorrect and when his supporting evidence was submitted to the Information Unit it was ignored," said the Commissioner, who noted that senior government officers had not been given authority to release the Acts.

The Commissioner for Public Relations, confirmed his preliminary finding of 21 April that "Mr Fonua's complaint is very genuine and can be sustained".

'Aho said Fonua's complaint could be sustained because the Information Unit's action taken was based wholly or partly on a mistake of law or fact, and it was unreasonable and improperly discriminatory.

Although the Commissioner recommended to the Chief Secretary on 21 April 2004 that "a letter of apology was in order for the failure of your office staff in their duty as public servants to be responsive and accountable for their action in performing their service delivery to the public," Fusitu'a had made no attempt to apologise to Mr Fonua.

Pesi Fonua confirmed on June 18 he had never received a letter of apology from the Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet.

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Date Posted: 6/22/2004