MV Princess Ashika trial, journalism and human rights in Tonga

Four defendants are being tried in the Tonga supreme court over the MV Princess Ashika tragedy. Almost all of those who died were unaware that the ferry was severely corroded. The question is why wasn't the public alerted to this? The media in Tonga, in particular the Tonga Media Council, did not issue a single sentence doubting the seaworthiness of the vessel before it sank. 'Akilisi Pohiva, former newspaper editor, populist politician and secretary of the Friendly Islands Human Rights and Democracy Movement, told the commission of inquiry that he had informed the minister of finance of his concern over the condition of the vessel. Yet it sailed Tongan waters for a whole month before it sank. According to 'Akilisi he was too busy to go and see the Ashika. But his son Po'oi, who is director of the FIHRDM, should have looked at the Ashika instead. The tabloid-style newspaper Kele'a, which is owned by Po'oi, prospered following the sinking. Its coverage of the tragedy and the sickening photos of the very corroded Ashika, plus all the allegations and finger-pointing made the Kele'a very popular indeed. To be fair the other media companies all profited from the Ashika. But then how can the media here in Tonga discover the un-seaworthiness of the Ashika after just one month of sailing when the FIHRDM has been in existence for over ten years, writing human rights reports while advocating at times outright racism flavoured with traces of human rights jargon. Only the Taimi 'o Tonga newspaper has stated categorically that the FIHRDM is not a human rights organization. The Matangitonga Online should tell its readers what exactly the FIHRDM does, unless of course it too is convinced that the organization genuinely, despite all the evidences, promotes human rights. I wrote last year to the editor of the Talaki newspaper, one of the four major newspaper that is sold in Tonga, expressing my dismay that the FIHRDM continues to portray itself as a human rights organization. No response. That was surprising since the editor is a brother of Fr. Seluini 'Akau'ola, a Roman Catholic priest and intellectual who is conversant with the principles of human rights. Here in Tonga we have several with degrees in jounalism; there is even one with a doctorate but the FIHRDM has no problem with these. In celebrating press freedom day in 2010 the Tonga Media Council not only hosted an invitation-only dinner contrary to previous years, but also decided to honour the 12 journalists  who died the world over while plying their trade. But how about the 74 lives who perished on the Ashika?