28 May 2003

Alert

"Taimi 'o Tonga" newspaper still banned despite Supreme Court ruling


Incident details

Kalafi Moala

newspaper(s)

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(RSF/IFEX) - On 28 May 2003, RSF protested what it called the "illegal" refusal of the Tongan government to allow copies of the newspaper "Taimi 'o Tonga" into the country, despite a 26 May Supreme Court order lifting a three-month-old ban.

RSF called on the prime minister, Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, to respect the court's verdict that the ban was unconstitutional and to allow the paper, which is printed in New Zealand, to go on sale again. The organisation also deplored the extensive harassment of the newspaper in the past. "Taimi 'o Tonga" is Tonga's only independent media outlet and supports the local pro-democracy movement.

The day after the court ruling, some 2,000 copies of the newspaper were flown to the island state. However, customs officials at the airport in the capital, Nuku'Alofa, confiscated them, saying they had not received government orders to allow them in.

The newspaper's publisher, Kalafi Moala, who is in exile in New Zealand, said he feared the government was planning a new legal move to get around the court order and keep "Taimi 'o Tonga" out of the country. The court also suspended the government's cancellation of the newspaper's publishing licence. The newspaper's lawyer has filed a complaint for contempt of court following the airport seizure.

Moala, a Tonga-born U.S. citizen, was banned from the country in 1996 after fiercely criticising the government. He moved the newspaper's offices to Auckland, New Zealand, but continued to distribute the newspaper in the neighbouring archipelago of Tonga.



Source:

Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
 

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More on this case

CPJ condemns government's use of restrictive media laws to silence independent media 18 February 2004 King signs constitutional amendment banning independent newspaper, press laws reintroduced 12 December 2003 Government brings in tough new media law after losing in court 7 April 2003 Five persons charged with contempt over television debate on newspaper ban 2 April 2003 PINA condemns government ban on import of newspaper 27 February 2003 Daily "Times of Tonga" banned for criticising government 27 February 2003

Tonga

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