Dear Editor

Re: Alleged Fraud and Media Samoa

The gov’t should never have been involved in the Media Council, how it’s run and its decisions.

Let’s be honest here and get straight to the point - for many years this H.R.P.P. gov’t has been trying to apply laws to regulate and suppress our media here in Samoa especially Samoa Observer, for publishing articles with evidence of gov’t corruption. In the past, Samoa Observer was charged by the same gov’t for defamation and time and time again, the gov’t lost their court cases.

One of the H.R.P.P court cases against Samoa Observer, ended up costing the tax payers $786,000 Tala yet that cost should’ve come out of H.R.P.P members’ pockets – not the tax payers’. That same case led to the arson attack on Samoa Observer and I strongly believe the gov’t had something to do with it.

There’s a difference between publishing stories on gov’t corruption with facts/evidence and statistics to back it up than publishing stories to deliberately defame someone. That’s why P.M. Tuilaepa and his gov’t will never win a case against Samoa Observer unless corrupt P.M. Tuilaepa influences the Media Council to pass lass to make it illegal to publish facts. Lol

Incidents like these are the real reason why the gov’t should not have anything to do with the Media Council. 

You don’t call a newspaper that publishes evidence of corruption, defamation. If gov’t doesn’t want the media to report gov’t corruption, then they’ve got to stop committing corruption. It’s the media’s job to publish the Truth to inform the people about what’s happening in our society and what our gov’t is doing. It’s also an avenue that allows the people to voice their opinions.

mehabel raguel