The Samoan Prime Minister has branded the Samoa Observer's front page printing of a photo taken of a young transwoman just after she apparently committed suicide as insensitive, unethical, gruesome and callous in a statement carried today by that newspaper. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi The paper has been under attack for displaying Jeanine Tuivaiki's body and referring repeatedly to her as a man. In an explanation and apology the editor in Chief has said the photo was used as it seemed to the editor Tuivaiki was saying to the Samoan churches to heal their division over whether Islamic religions should be allowed in the country. “Like many others I was appalled at the front page of the Sunday Observer, showing the lifeless body of a young person with such callousness and disrespect," says PM Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi who is honorary patron of the Samoa Fa'afafine Association. "As a parent, it was devastating to see someone’s child portrayed in such a heartless manner," he added. “The decision by the newspaper’s editor to share this image is one that raises many red flags and questions about the ethics and responsibility of the press. Like other democracies, our Government acknowledges and encourages freedom of the press." In a nation with a weak parliamentary opposition the Samoa Observer has historically been one of the few voices to go up against the government and hold it to account. “I have tried, on many occasions, to correct misinformation that has been deliberately twisted out of context by the Observer," the Prime Minister said in his statement, "so I am glad to see that some responsible people have come out and are strongly calling for more professional reporting on issues of importance to the readers of this country... Samoa deserves better.”