Pac Media
Is It Back To The Past In Sopes 's Vanuatu
Behind The Dawn Deportation Of A Newspaperman
Is government in Vanuatu heading back to the bad old days of the past? Is it already there? Marc Neil-Jones, founder and publisher of Vanuatu's first successful independent newspaper, could be excused for thinking so. This follows the British-born newspaperman's shock dawn deportation in mid-January by the government of Prime Minister Barak Sope. Without warning two truckloads of police arrived outside Neil-Jones' Port Vila home at 5.30 one morning. The policemen demanded he come to Bauerfield Inter-national Airport with them. They refused to allow Neil-Jones to call his lawyer and bundled him on to a flight to Brisbane, Australia, departing just 30 minutes later. They would not even allow him to pack clothes or take his medication for diabetes, Neil-Jones related.
Neil-Jones had arrived in Vanuatu 11 years before from Papua New Guinea, where he was an executive with the Word Publishing newspaper group. With local investors he founded Vanuatu Trading Post and built it into the country's first successful independent news media. Its growth coincided with a time of increased openness in Vanuatu, largely through the leadership of then prime minister Donald Kalpokas. What dreadful crime was Neil-Jones guilty of? Why, after so many years of work and investment in Vanuatu, was he booted out of the country at just 30 minutes notice? Embarrassing people in or close to the Sope government by revealing some rather curious deals they were involved in, it seems. The arrival of the police at his door followed a series of investigative reports by Neil-Jones. These had been published in the twice-weekly Trading Post and were causing growing outrage in Port Vila. The reports told Vanuatu's people about various links between their leaders and foreign businessmen. For example, that one "businessman" appointed an honorary Vanuatu consul had a criminal record and was under investigation for alleged links with organized crime. Or that another businessman being eyed by the government as a financial savior had been accused of fraud.
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Sope — who has a long record of controversy — was out of the country when the police swooped on Neil-Jones. But a statement issued in the name of his office said: "Trading Post publisher has been investigating the Government of Vanuatu in almost every activity. Our information revealed that the Trading Post publisher has some sources in Government who have been providing state secrets to him.
"He seemed to be getting access to confidential reports and continues to publish these reports despite being labelled 'state secret'. His permit does not allow him to be involved in Vanuatu's internal politics. His unbalanced and negative reporting continues to instigate instability and is detrimental to investor's confidence in Vanuatu.
"He seemed not to appreciate that Vanuatu's culture must be respected even in media freedom."
If whoever ordered the dawn deportation thought removing Neil-Jones would solve their problems, they miscalculated badly. Local and international condemnation was swift. International publicity about the Sope government's friends increased. Opposition Leader Edward Natapei called the deportation illegal, undemocratic and dictatorial. He said the real reason for it was that Neil-Jones was about to break more news on a questionable deal between the government and an Asian businessman. Natapei said transparency by the government is one of the fundamental principles of Vanuatu's Comprehen-sive Reform Program. He said when the Vanuaaku Pati led the government it respected the work done by the Vanuatu media, particularly the Trading Post. This was because the people have a right to know what their government is doing, he said. Pres Klab blong Vanuatu president Stevenson Liu said it was very concerned about the government action. It called on the government to use the judicial system rather than deportation if it was concerned about media reports. It pledged to work for continuing media freedom.
The regional Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) said it was appalled by the way the Vanuatu Government acted. PINA said the deportation of Neil-Jones was a chilling threat to freedom of expression and information in Vanuatu. This attack on basic human rights would be a real worry to both investors in Vanuatu and Vanuatu's development partners, it said. PINA appealed to the Vanuatu Government not to return Vanuatu to the grim days of the past, when there were no independent media and the government-owned media came under constant government pressure.
Vanuatu's Ombudsman Hanning-ton Alatoa said it appeared the government acted illegally and may have breached Neil-Jones' constitutional rights. Acting Chief Justice Vincent Lunabek seemed to agree. In response to a request from Neil-Jones' lawyer he issued an interim order telling the government to allow Neil-Jones to enter, reside, and work in Vanuatu. He returned to Vanuatu three days after his deportation, to be greeted by a crowd of 200 cheering supporters.
Sope told reporters after Neil-Jones returned to Vanuatu that the government would not budge on its position and would seek to amend the immigration law if necessary to deport the Trading Post publisher.
—PINA Nius Online
