Govt denies media move a bid to censor news

The government of the Solomon Islands has taken tighter control over the nation’s state-owned broadcaster – a move that opponents say is squarely aimed at controlling and censoring the news.

The government said yesterday that the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation, known as SIBC, would retain editorial control and that government officials would not censor or restrain the outlet.

But earlier this week, the government had lashed out at the broadcaster, accusing it of a ‘‘lack of ethics and professionalism’’ and saying the government has a duty to ‘‘protect our people from lies and misinformation’’ it said was propagated by the SIBC.

Johnson Honimae, the SIBC chief executive, said he was proud of the broadcaster’s award-winning journalism.

He said it was business as usual for the broadcaster and there were no government censors vetting stories before they were broadcast, contrary to what was reported by some news outlets.

The government’s move came at a politically tumultuous time in the Solomon Islands.

There were riots in the capital of Honiara last November, followed by a no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in December, which he survived. Then in April, Sogavare signed a security pact with China that has caused deep alarm in the Pacific and around the world.

The SIBC has reported those developments and has included the views of Sogavare’s opponents.

The broadcaster, which began as the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service, has been a fixture for 70 years in the Solomon Islands.

Employing about 50 people and operating under the slogan ‘‘Voice of the nation,’’ the broadcaster is the main source of radio and television news for the nation’s 700,000 people and is listened to and watched from the capital to the smallest village.