Kiribati is demanding larger nations to show it more “respect” and “courtesy”, after an Australian media team was deported for allegedly entering the country without proper permits and giving immigration officials “false information”.
A five-person crew from the Nine Network’s 60 Minutes program was detained in the Pacific island archipelago on Wednesday, accused of arriving in the country without appropriate media permits.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Office of Te Beretitenti (the President of Kiribati) said the crew was deported on Thursday.
The crew was advised prior to their arrival to apply for the proper permit, but no forms were submitted, the statement said.
Despite being equipped with that knowledge, the team made plans to enter Kiribati without an application and “deliberately provide false information to immigration upon arrival at the border and on their arrival cards”, it added.
“We shall not tolerate and put up with this type of disrespect,” an official from the Office of Te Beretitenti said.
“Just because we are a small nation does not mean that foreign nationals have the right to disregard and disrespect us and our laws.
“We want them to accord us the same courtesy and respect we accord them when we visit their country, and to abide by the laws of our country.
“If they do not, then we have no choice but to deal with them according to our laws.”
The 60 Minutes incident comes a year after a crew from the New Zealand outlet Newshub was detained for failing to comply with immigration requirements.
It is understood the 60 Minutes team was in Kiribati for a story about the recent decision of the government to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan and establish diplomatic relations with China.
“Normally, we encourage and strongly recommend international media to visit Kiribati and to cover events and issues going on in our small nation,” the Office of Te Beretitenti official said.
“However, in this case, the 60 Minutes crew had deliberately intended to disregard and bypass our laws.
“Their actions showed their disrespect for our people, our laws and for our nation as a whole.
“To date, we are still awaiting their permit application forms.”
