The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its partner the Pacific
Freedom Forum (PFF) in condemning the actions of Papua New Guinean police
officers and soldiers, who ordered local journalists out of the Supreme Court and
forced others to delete their images and recordings, on Thursday May 24, 2012.
According to a
PFF report,
the intervention of the police and soldiers into the court room of Chief
Justice Sir Salamo Injia was directed by Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah.
A court
reporter for radio station PNG FM was among those ordered out of the court
house, and at least one photographer reported being forced to delete images he
was taking.
“The IFJ joins
the PFF in condemning this clear denial of press freedom”, IFJ Asia-Pacific
said.
“In this
sensitive time for PNG, the role of journalists in keeping citizens informed
has never been more important.
"The IFJ
joins the PFF in urging PNG’s police, soldiers and political leaders to uphold
the rule of law, and hold to account those responsible for intimidating and
censoring the country’s journalists.”
For
further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on
+612 9333 0950
The IFJ
represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
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the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific
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