View of Scott affair

Press, 6 September 1980, Page 12

View of Scott affair

NZPA ■.: .New. Delhi 7 The Commonwealth Secre-tary-General, Sir . Shridath Ramphal, referred to dangers involving the .freedom of the press, when he wrote, to .the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon! about.lhe Tom Scott affair. . ; Mr ■ Muldoon ’ had '. earlier written to Sir Shirdath-,say-ing ' it ;wbuld ; ;be ? inappropriate in his IMr Scott, the political correspondent of “The Listener”, to be accredited as a journalist to the meeting of Commonwealth regional heads of government in New Delhi. . '

Sir -Shridath replied that the convention of the Commonwealth Secretariat ■ for such meetings was that all bona ■ fide -journalists who could prove their identity and that they had been properly assigned by a news organisation to cover the meeting should not be denied accreditation. “Many Commonwealth governments are insistent that we do not breach this convention as they believe that an important principle involving the freedom of the press would be endangered,” he said. However the secretariat was not involved in the accreditation of journalists to the New Delhi meeting. Accreditation was in the hands of the Indian Government and Mr Muldoon might consider writing to it direct. In his earlier letter to Sir Shridath, Mr Muldoon said

that Mr Scott was a satirical (writer whose work in -his !(Mr Muldoon's) experience ipaid: insufficient regard, to I the complexities .and sensiItivities?- of . 1 international issues.:; -L .;?•■... ?-j “I am concerned, that .his coverage of- our meeting in New Delhi could be sim-ilarly:-marred, with undesirable . consequences - for the image of the Commonwealth in New Zealand' and beyond,”'he said.'/ 7 .. Mr Scott attended as an accredited journalist a news briefing by Sir Shridath in I INew Delhi on Wednesday! land received invitations to al Commonwealth Secretariat! function and the opening:

ceremony of the four-day ■ meeting,-.But he,was;-not invited- along with other journalists -travelling with Mr Muldoon to a party -held' in Mr -Muldoon’s honour by the jNew- Zealand High Commissioner kp India. In Wellington, the Minister of Broadcasting (Mr Templetori) told Parliament it had riot- been’ .possible ro estimate- the cost to “The Listener” of sending Mr Scott-to: the meeting. Mr'Scott was also visiting Australia,’ so The cost of the India \ trip alone was inestimable, he said--in reply tn a question by Mr A. P. D. Friedlander (Nah,’New Plymouth).