July 16
Mike Field, Agence France Presse (AFP), CENSORED
Police Minister Clive Edwards, who is in charge of immigration matters, denied Field's written request to enter Tonga, claiming that Field, a New Zealand-based correspondent for AFP, had referred to the king of Tonga as a baboon. Edwards failed to substantiate his claim but warned Field that if he entered Tonga he would be charged with defamation, a criminal offense. Field had applied for permission to attend the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) convention from Aug. 6-9. Tonga normally permits journalists to enter freely without obtaining visas in advance. But after Field did a series of reports in 1993 on Tonga's pro-democracy movement and the sale of Tongan passports in Asia, then-police minister Noble 'Akau 'Ola informed him that he would have to apply in advance whenever he wished to visit Tonga.

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