It angered journalists. As they stood around and discussed it afterwards, one said to Pijin, “But no cathedral,” meaning “like a cathedral” – a sacred place where shooting is inappropriate. Everyone burst out laughing. This was the parliament of a democratic country, which journalists have a duty to cover. The incident was a sign of how secretive the government has been since the draft security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands leaked to the Internet. In my almost 35 years in journalism, I have never experienced such a blackout. The government refused to make the text of the agreement public. They also refused to give interviews, while messages to long-term contacts in the government remain unanswered and calls are irreversible. Sogavare seems to believe that the local media have joined forces with foreign entities to attack him personally or his government’s decision to change allegiance to China. He refuses to be interviewed by local media and often attacks the media on the floor of parliament. Sources outside the Solomon Islands are afraid to say anything too strong if it affects their ability to visit the Solomon Islands again, as Covid restrictions mean the government must grant personal exemptions to travel to the country. There is also a fear of ridicule and cyberbullying on Facebook if one takes a specific position in the China debate. Dorothy Wickham at a press conference. Photo: Provided The Solomon Islands are experiencing the closing of doors and the controlled dissemination of information by the Prime Minister’s Office. This has been observed for years in nearby Fiji, but is new to the Solomon Islands media. Since independence, the media in the Solomon Islands have enjoyed free access to our leaders. The language of parliament is also changing, with politicians accusing the media of inciting the youth uprising. At one point, they even wanted to ban Facebook. Ironically, it came as the Solomon Islands remain the focus of international news day by day. Local reporters have been flooded with overseas media outlets targeting them for content. . This gave the local media a voice and more involvement in telling their story, with Australian and other foreign media unable to fly in due to the closure of the border. But it has come at a difficult time for journalism in the Solomon Islands. In the last six months, the industry has lost almost 10 journalists from public relations jobs. The two main dailies have also shrunk from A3 to A4 since the Covid-19 strike. And many of their staff were fired or fired for financial reasons. It is a sad state of affairs. Most of our journalists are trained in Fiji and some in Australia. And there are some who go straight out of high school or college to work in newspapers. As we deal with the attention our country is receiving from the signing of the security agreement with China, it is now more important than ever to have a free press and a government that wants to communicate its actions to its people. Georgina Kekea, president of the Solomon Islands Media Association, is constantly writing to the prime minister about the need to give journalists access, which is enshrined in our constitution. Ever since the draft agreement was leaked, we have seen the arrival of diplomatic envoys from abroad – Australians, New Zealanders, Japanese and the big boys, the United States. The funny thing about us is that it took an agreement with China for the US to realize that we exist. The first reaction of many Solomon Islands residents when the US delegation arrived was: please remind them to clear the World War II bombs that are killing people. China’s security treaty changed the political landscape and tested the Solomon Islands government’s commitment to a free press. We are now watching to see if it affects other important institutions here.
