[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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