The office of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had already issued a statement targeting the ABC’s Four Corners program which covered Chinese influence growing in the country. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
The Solomon Islands government said foreign journalists who are “demeaning” or engage in “racial profiling” will be banned entry.
This comes after the government criticised and claimed the reporting in ABC’s Four Corners report “Pacific Capture” was misinformation.
The report covered China’s growing presence in Solomon Islands.
“ABC or other foreign media must understand that the manner in which journalists are allowed conduct themselves in other [countries] does not give them the right to operate in the same manner in the Pacific,” their statement reads.
“The Pacific is not the same as Australia or United States. When you chose to come to our Pacific Islands, be respectful, be courteous and accord the appropriate protocols.”
“Such organisations or journalists who possess such qualities will not be allowed to enter Solomon Islands and other Pacific Islands nations.”
The office of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had already issued a statement targeting the ABC’s Four Corners program.
The program investigated the extent of Chinese influence in the Pacific nation and the impact of Chinese state-owned companies in key industries was also examined.
It was reported one company was negotiating to buy a forestry plantation on the island of Kolombangara with a deep-water port and airstrip.
The program was accused of racial profiling and intentionally using “misinformation and distribution of pre-conceived prejudicial information”.
The ABC rejected the accusations and stood by the reporting, also mentioning that the main interview subjects were Solomon Islanders raising their concern over China’s growing presence.
The response stated the ABC was “determined to tell the story from the perspective of Solomon Islanders and the program reflected their concerns”.
“Its main interviews were with two eminent Solomon Islanders, rather than relying on “foreign experts” as is often the case.
“The ABC rejects the idea that we were “putting words into the mouths of the interviewees” and sees this as insulting to the Solomon Islanders who appeared in the program.”
No details have been provided on how this ban on foreign journalists would be put in place or when.
Some Solomon Island reporters are already concerned about press freedoms, with the government recently moving to replace the board of the publicly funded broadcaster SIBC.
The government has also been considering setting up a state-owned newspaper which would seriously impact private media outlets.
