Fumbling At The Forum

Opinion

Nukualofa pleases delights but offends observers.

MUCH of value has emerged from last month’s South Pacific Forum in Nukualofa. Representatives and observers alike have welcomed a change in emphasis away from politics to economic, educational and development priorities. The South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation has been boosted in importance; regional health, development and education have been recognised as more important than flag airlines.

All these developments are welcome. Less so is Nukualofa’s woeful mis handling of the press contingent: as one New Zealand journalist commented sourly, “Tonga invited more than 70 journalists from around the world to cover the Forum . . . then treated them like cattle.” Too often, journalists regard the slightest restriction on their privileges as evidence of oppression or brutality, but in this case their complaints and outrage are fully merited.

To cite some examples of the bumbling, alienating behavior that had press personnel determined never to attend another Forum meeting: • A photographer with an outstanding reputation throughout the region at tempted to arrange portrait sessions (as he had been told would be possible) with delegates at the International Dateline Hotel. He duly presented his cre dentials and letters of accreditation: but to his horror, the ‘hotel staff pro ceeded to inspect his documents, and when he protested he was questioned by security police who would not deny that the ‘receptionists’ were also members of Tonga’s police force. • All members of the press contingent were supplied with information on del egates their accommodation, staff names, draft programs and so on al beit with the names of their Tongan liaison officers carefully deleted. Journalists and photographers were then told all approaches to delegates would have to be cleared with the very liaison officers whose names had been removed. • At a press briefing on the eve of the Forum, chaired by the director of the Pacific Islands News Association and Police Inspector Taniela Faletau, jour nalists learned the gentlemen supplying them with their briefing had no pro gram information, there was no list available either to journalists or to their briefers concerning accredited media representatives; and that “we don’t know what’s going on either.” • Photographers were given only moments to record the King’s Forum open ing address, from a considerable distance, and were flatly denied entry to working sessions; allegedly for ‘security reasons’, though no effort was made either to check their credentials or to inspect their equipment cases.

Petty matters, taken individually: and susceptible of rebuttal or at least ex planation, taken individually. But they are examples of a style of organisation that is simply not good enough not only for the hosts of this year’s Forum, but for representatives of an important regional entity.

Defenders may cry that “things are done differently in the Pacific” to ex plain the ability of manifestly corrupt politicians to evade prosecution or the misuse of official funds for personal gain: but that is no more than patronising and vicious nonsense.

There may, as in Tonga, simply be no traditional of public accountability and the sort of public sensitivity and political subtlety that go with account ability; and there may, as in Papua New Guinea, be a web of traditional tribal and regional obligations that resists the imposition of a Western style of ad ministration. But that does not excuse arrogance, or stupidity.

The Forum, and the Pacific in general, has to admit that if it wants to play in the big league if it wants, as it says it does, to be treated with the respect due to an equal it will have to play by the same rules. And as other players know, a basic part of the game is: don’t alienate the men and women whose reports influence the investors, the aid administrators, the voters and politi cians who provide the financial and technical assistance you are seeking. □