Samoan publisher

wins top press freedom award

FOR years of fighting the govern ment over controls on press free dom, Samoan Savea Sano Malifa, editor-publisher of the Samoa Observer, has won the 1998 Astor Award.

The award is the highest given for press freedom in the Commonwealth. It was presented to Savea at the Astor Award dinner during the Commonwealth Press Union conference in Kuala Lumpur in late October. It is the first time anyone from the Pacific Islands has won a top interna tional media freedom award, and followed his strong and constant defence of the public’s right to know despite all sorts of pressures.

According to the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) “Savea and his wife Jean have kept on fighting for freedom of information and expression despite the Samoa Observer’s printing plant being burnt down, death threats and an assault on Savea, the Samoan Government pulling out all Government advertising, and the heavy legal cost for them of fight ing criminal and civil libel actions”.

Savea and the Observer have fought legal battles with Samoan prime minister Tofilau Eti Alesana and his ministers who now get their legal costs paid by the Samoan Government.

Savea has also been invited to France this month to be a speaker in the “Human Rights Defenders Summit” to be held in Paris. According the the PINA secretariat, one of the things that helped publicise Savea's story and get him international support was membership of IFEX, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange. IFEX was created in 1992 when many of the world’s leading media freedom and freedom of expression

organisations came together in Montreal to discuss how best to work together.

Today IFEX is comprised of more than 30 different media freedom and freedom of expression groups who work together to promote freedom of information and expression, and media freedom, and help those under threat.

The IFEX Clearing House, in Toronto, Canada, is managed by the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists. One of CCPJ’s main activities is to look after the IFEX Action Alert Network.

Member organisations report abuses to the IFEX Clearing House which then cir culates this information to other members and interested organisations all over the world.

PINa says this process '‘allows for a rapid, world-wide and coordinated response to media freedom and freedom of expression violations”.

PINA was accepted into IFEX as a full member last year. Through the PINA Pacific Freedom of Information Network, almost 20 alerts and updates about the Samoa Observer had been put out.

This led to some financial help for Savea in his court battles. Through protests from around the world, PINA says the Samoan Government now knows it is ‘‘under the international spotlight whenever it tries to do anything to Savea and the Observer”.

"We mounted a very big campaign when Prime Minister Tofilau threatened to introduce compulsory newspaper licensing so newspapers he said stirred up trouble could be closed.” "Our PINA alerts have publicised Savea and Jean's brave struggle. The Samoa Observer has not been alone”. ■