[LINK] Aust. Near-Neighbour Denies Freedom of Speech

Roger Clarke Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au
Fri May 11 19:34:34 AEST 2007


Fiji's war on bloggers
SMH/ AAP
May 11, 2007 - 4:46PM
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/fijis-war-on-bloggers/2007/05/11/1178390538794.html

The military in Fiji is moving to shut down access to anti-government 
weblogs after unsuccessful attempts to find those responsible for the 
sites.

Senior military commander Colonel Pita Driti has told Pacific Radio 
that access to the sites would be closed down this afternoon.

Internet technology in Fiji is provided through only one provider, 
Fiji International Telecommunications Limited (FINTEL).

A FINTEL spokesman confirmed he had met with members of the the 
interim administration this morning and been asked to shut off access 
to the weblogs.
He said they asked that access be cut off to the blog for "national 
security" reasons.

"They asked us to address a few things. We have given them some 
options to consider, because we can't just go into the web and stop 
access. It would be unfair to the general public," the spokesman said.

"We will address the blog sites, but they need to direct us about 
what we are to do. We can't just go in and stop anything and 
everything. It must be specific," he said.

Asked whether FINTEL would block access to the blogspot.com website, 
where most of the anti-government sites are hosted, he said the 
company may have little choice.

"If the directive is to block, then we have no other option but to 
comply. ... we are seeking authorisation on that from our 
administration," he said.

He said any moves to cut-off access to the blogspot website would not 
happen by this afternoon.

Weblogs in Fiji have become a popular way for people to speak out 
about the government led by military chief Frank Bainimarama, who 
seized power on December 5 last year in a coup.

Sites including Intelligentsiya, Resist Frank's Coup and 
Discombobulated Bubu, have broken stories that have embarrassed the 
interim government.

In March Fiji military spokesman Neumi Leweni said efforts were 
underway to establish exactly who was producing material for 
Intelligentsiya.

The military has since said it could not determine who was publishing 
the information.

The United States has accused interim government in Fiji of trying to 
censor television news broadcasts and said the military had 
"detained, interrogated, and abused" people who wrote letters to the 
media opposing the coup.

"On a radio talk show on December 22, Bainimarama stated that if 
pro-democracy activists did not shut their mouth, the military would 
shut it for them," the US report said.

Major Leweni did not immediately respond to phone calls this afternoon.

-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW



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