Nineteen journalists from Papua New Guinea’s leading television media company, EMTV, have been suspended following a walk-off protest by staff.
The staff left in protest last week in support of their head of news and current affairs, Sincha Dimara, who was suspended earlier this month for “insubordination,” which reportedly consisted of running stories about the arrest of Australian businessman Jamie Pang, including criticism of police and criminal procedures in the case.
The walk-off meant that on Thursday no news was produced by the station, which aired a rerun of Wednesday’s 6pm news bulletin.
The staffing drama centers around the station’s coverage of Pang, who was arrested last year after illegal firearms and an alleged meth lab were found in the Sanctuary Hotel Resort and Spa in Port Moresby, where Pang was group operations manager.
Pang pleaded guilty to and was convicted of the firearms charges, but was not charged with any drug offenses, with police saying that outdated drug laws in the country left them unable to pursue further prosecution.
Papua New Guinea has no laws prohibiting the production, sale or use of methamphetamine. Pang is being held in detention in Bomana.
On Feb. 5, a memo from EMTV interim CEO Lesieli Vete was sent to the station’s newsroom regarding the Pang stories.
“You are hereby directed to drop all stories from EMTV on air and online on Jamie Pang, and any other related stories concerning Jamie Pang’s gym and sporting events,” the memo said. “I will be working with you closely today until further notice to review EMTV’s news stories so as to ensure that we are broadcasting stories in the best interest of the public.”
Dimara, who was head of news and current affairs at the time, told the Guardian she had been asked by Vete by e-mail to explain why EMTV was reporting on Pang and his supporters.
Dimara said she stood by the decision to cover the story, particularly in light of parliamentary debates of drug laws.
“Jamie Pang is an Australian citizen, a businessman and a sports personality,” she said, adding that his whether or not he is deported is relevant news.
Two days after the memo regarding coverage of Pang was sent to EMTV, Dimara was suspended.
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