BUREBASAGA MOURNS DEATH OF JESE SIKIVOU

Leader of Opposition and head of the Burebasaga Confederacy Ro Teimumu Kepa yesterday expressed the vanua’s sadness and loss at the passing of media freedom advocate Jese Sikivou. “The Parliamentary Opposition and the Vanua o Burebasaga mourn the passing of Jese Sikivou, a staunch defender of media freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance,” Ro Teimumu said.

“Jese was a scion of the Sikivou family of Rewa. His father Semesa Sikivou was a distinguished Alliance Parliamentarian, Cabinet Minister and diplomat.

“With Jese’s death, Fiji and the Pacific have lost a well-qualified and eloquent supporter of media rights. Jese closely followed and influenced the development of the media industry in Fiji and the Asia/Pacific region. He saw journalism’s foundation as accuracy and truth.”

Ro Teimumu said Mr Sikivou was a champion for media freedoms and encouraged regional reporters to work in unison together. “He acknowledged that while journalists cannot always guarantee the ‘truth’, getting facts right was the fundamental principle of their craft,” Ro Teimumu said. “Jese was always ready to share his experiences as a Fulbright Scholar, and of his stint at the White House in Washington. He also worked with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Fiji Development Bank.” Media associations joined Ro Teimumu in lamenting the loss of the former news anchor for the Fiji Broadcasting Commission and chief executive officer of Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association.

The Fijian Media Association (FMA) and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) are lamenting the death of former media professional and political commentator, Mr Sikivou.

Mr Sikivou rose to media prominence in the mid-1990s when he joined the then Fiji Broadcasting Commission (FBC) as an alternate news anchor for the 7pm news, second only to prominent news reader, Keith Broadbridge who has continued in that role until today.

Fiji Media Association general secretary Stanley Simpson said Mr Sikivou mentored a lot of regional journalists. “During that time he represented the Pacific media and regional CSOs on the Commonwealth Foundation, AIBD, Asia and Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), he secured opportunities in media training for broadcasters from the Commonwealth, ABU, AIBD and the then AusAID.

“He also mentored many Pacific journalists who came through PIBA media training programmes,” Mr Simpson said. “FMA is saddened to lose a strong voice for media development and media rights in Fiji and the Pacific.”