FIJI TO BE SUSPENDED FROM COMMONWEALTH
The 53-nation Commonwealth says it is ready to suspend Fiji if it does not respond to a demand to begin restoring democracy to the island nation.
Source: mStar
- Spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Tuesday the group is waiting for a response from Fiji's interim government. The government in Suva has until midnight local time to respond.
- In July, the Commonwealth said the Fijian government must promise to resume dialogue with the country's opposition or face being cut off from all aid from the group and banned from the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
- Fiji has been under military rule since self-appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, the country's armed forces chief, seized power in a 2006 coup. His government had promised elections earlier this year.
- The Commonwealth includes former British colonies and territories.
INTIMIDATION IN FIJI'S MILITARY GOVERNMENT
Fiji's military commander Frank Bainimarama and, inset, ABC correspondent Sean Dorney.
Fiji is a country ruled by military government intimidation, says an Australian journalist deported from the Pacific nation.
In the past five days the military regime has gained more power after the country's constitution was dissolved, its judiciary sacked and the Reserve Bank taken over, and local media has been heavily censored.
The Fiji government, under the leadership of Commodore Frank Bainimarama, had veteran ABC correspondent Sean Dorney deported from Nadi on the first Australia-bound flight on Tuesday. He touched down in Sydney just after midday (AEST).
"There is an incredible amount of intimidation going on there at the moment," Mr Dorney told reporters in Sydney. "There's no disturbances in the street, there's no carry on,the military really has the country under the thumb.
"Under these regulations there's no judges so you can't contest anything, you can't take anything to court. "It's total military control at the moment."
Mr Dorney was one of a number of journalists caught up in the latest military government crackdown.
New Zealand television journalist Sia Aston and cameraman Matt Smith were also deported, and a Fijian journalist was arrested for giving footage to another New Zealand television network.
Mr Dorney was approached by Fijian immigration officials after one of his stories went to air in Fiji on the Australia Network.
"I got a phone call from a senior immigration official saying: 'Sean, we want to discuss your reporting with you, could you come into the office?'," Mr Dorney said.
After refusing to leave the country voluntarily, Mr Dorney had his mobile phone confiscated and was held for several hours.
Fiji is a country ruled by military government intimidation, says an Australian journalist deported from the Pacific nation.In the past five days the military regime has gained more power after the country's constitution was dissolved, its judiciary sacked and the Reserve Bank taken over, and local media has been heavily censored.
The Fiji government, under the leadership of Commodore Frank Bainimarama, had veteran ABC correspondent Sean Dorney deported from Nadi on the first Australia-bound flight on Tuesday. He touched down in Sydney just after midday (AEST).
"There is an incredible amount of intimidation going on there at the moment," Mr Dorney told reporters in Sydney. "There's no disturbances in the street, there's no carry on,the military really has the country under the thumb."Under these regulations there's no judges so you can't contest anything, you can't take anything to court. "It's total military control at the moment."
Mr Dorney was one of a number of journalists caught up in the latest military government crackdown.
New Zealand television journalist Sia Aston and cameraman Matt Smith were also deported, and a Fijian journalist was arrested for giving footage to another New Zealand television network.
Mr Dorney was approached by Fijian immigration officials after one of his stories went to air in Fiji on the Australia Network.
"I got a phone call from a senior immigration official saying: 'Sean, we want to discuss your reporting with you, could you come into the office?'," Mr Dorney said.
After refusing to leave the country voluntarily, Mr Dorney had his mobile phone confiscated and was held for several hours.
Courtesy: The Canberra Times
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