OPMC LASHED OUT AT MICHEAL FIELD’s ARTICLE

Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Photo credit: SICR

Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Photo credit: SICR

The Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC) has strongly deplored allegations by a New Zealand Journalist Michael Field who alleges that Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had staged the ethnic crisis in 2000.

The claim is carried in Mr Field’s article ‘War in Solomon Islands circles’, published in the Island Sun Newspaper today.

A government statement today says the claim by Mr Field is false and malicious.

It says legal advice is being sought on what action to take in response to this false and malicious publication.

Meanwhile, the statement said the truth is the tension was staged by some Solomon Islanders who in their own judgement, think the political government at that time failed to protect their ethnic grouping from harm by other Solomon Islanders.

It says the article is a classic example of fictitious journalism because ethical journalism seeks to impart the truth and such serious allegations must be supported with strong and tested evidence.

The statement warns local journalists to be cautious of republishing or broadcasting articles without checking or verifying them carefully.

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