The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2024 (CHOGM) will take place in Apia, Samoa from October 21–26, 2024. Screenshot from video posted on the website of The Commonwealth. Fair use.

Samoan journalists are criticizing the media guidelines for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) as “dictatorial.”

The Commonwealth is composed of 56 member countries, the majority of which were previously colonized under the British empire. Held every two years, CHOGM will be hosted by Samoa in October, which marks the first time that a small Pacific island state is in charge of the meeting.

Themed “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth,” this year’s CHOGM seeks to foster cooperation in transforming economies while addressing the challenges posed by climate change. This is especially relevant for small island states like Samoa that are highly vulnerable to rising sea water levels. The Commonwealth has 11 Pacific island countries.

During a briefing about the preparations for CHOGM, the government announced that two state-owned outlets and a New Zealand-based company have exclusive rights to cover the event. Authorities also laid down the policies for reporters and photographers who will cover CHOGM. Because of venue limitations and security protocols, restrictions have been imposed for local and foreign media.

Lagi Keresoma, president of the Journalist Association of Samoa, expressed dismay over the limited access given to journalists.

It is very disappointing for a government who claims strong belief in democracy, transparency and accountability to be in the forefront of such restrictions.

Responding to the criticism, the CHOGM Samoa Media and Communications Sub-Committee reiterated “the various security and logistical considerations” in enforcing media regulations. It added that assigning “media pools” is a common practice in international conferences.

The expectation on pool journalists to share a reasonable selection of material is not a new idea and is a regular feature of the media environment around the world.

The Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet insisted that the government is only applying the guidelines based on the standards set by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Commonwealth provided the terms and conditions that guide Samoa’s preparations…those are the terms and conditions and we are no different in our preparations just to be clear on this area.

But in an editorial, The Samoa Observer lashed out against the “dictatorial policies” of the sub-committee.

It is a slap across the face of press freedom, democracy and freedom of speech. It is a farce and an attempt by a dysfunctional government unit to gag local and overseas media.

Stifling the media is never a good thing and trying to control them is even worse.

To justify this action by saying it is being done for security reasons either shows that you expect journalists to kill delegates with their questions or the lack of security arrangements surrounding the event. Is this an attempt to hide the inadequacies of the preparation from the eyes of the world?

It reminded authorities that other countries do not implement the kind of restrictions being readied by the government.

There is never a restriction on media to cover side events, there is never a restriction for photographers and cameramen to take pictures, and there are never restrictions for media to approach delegates for interviews or what content they can get their hands on.

It noted that the improvement in Samoa's ranking in the 2024 Global Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders does not reflect the media policies of the government with regard to the country’s hosting of CHOGM.

Writer Seuseu Faalogo emphasized the role of media in holding leaders accountable.

The media's job is to inform the people about the actions of the leaders they vote into office. That's why as the Fourth Estate of a democracy, they're accorded Freedom of the Press. To hold leaders to account; to speak truth to power; and to fact-check, the information going to the public.

Restricting the media as planned runs counter to the stated theme of the Samoa CHOGM.