800 concerned Fijians complain to MIDA against the Fiji Sun

Concerned Fijians continued to sign the Petition to the Media Authority, despite the Fiji Sun's continued refusal to issue an apology to the family of the late Mere Ailevu, the 14 year old Deuba schoolgirl allegedly raped and murdered on March 13 2016. The Petition relates to Fiji Sun coverage of the death of the late Mere Ailevu, the last straw being the Fiji Sun's leaderboard of Sunday 20 March 2016 which read "RAPED MERE BURIED". Leaderboards are advertisement banners intended to summarise a headline, in bold capital letters to induce consumers to purchase a newspaper, they promote the lead story of the newspaper for that day. The Petition formally calls on Fiji Media Authority Chairman, Ashwin Raj to investigate the Fiji Sun for alleged breaches of the Media Code of Ethics and the Media Decree. By Thursday March 24, over 800 concerned Fijians had signed the petition to MIDA. The Fiji Sun has added insult to injury by refusing to apologise to the family and to the public, seeing nothing wrong in its salacious coverage of the late Mere Ailevu's tragic death. Fiji Sun Associate Editor Jyoti Pratibha criticised the complainants as "Chatterati" rather than respond to the substance of the complaint which allege that Fiji Sun has offended community standards and the media's own code of ethics. The Petition further alleges that the Fiji Sun has been salacious and careless in its reporting on the late Mere Ailevu, in breach of the Media Code of Ethics. The Petition calls on the Media Authority to investigate and sanction the Fiji Sun and prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law before the Media Tribunal. Former High Court Judge, Paul Madigan was earlier appointed Media Tribunal under the Media Decree but Madigan has returned to Hong Kong, having resigned as a Judge of the Fiji Courts in 2015. The post remains vacant. However under the Media Decree, the vacancy does not stop the Media Authority from investigating the complaint. The Media Authority itself can issue a ruling, as it has done in recent years. Ashwin Raj was appointed Chair of the Media Authority in 2012 and was recently appointed Director of the Fiji Human Rights and Anti Discrimination Commission. On his appointment, Raj said that he intends to retain both positions on the FHRADC and MIDA. Raj has not yet responded to the complaint and petition against the Fiji Sun.