Are we disturbing the peace?

Since the interim Attorney General accuses Intelligentsiya 0f disturbing the peace with misleading reports we now attempt to set things right.

Firstly, Intelligentsiya is a blog, a site personal to those involved. We did not set out to misinform or get the military hunting for us. And neither are we aligned with SDL or hoping for the reinstatement of the ousted government. All we want is to be able to freely talk about the issues that are affecting our lives under a military-led government.

And while have tried our best to verify claims before posting stories, we still remain a personal site and mistakes have been made. When we reported about a death in Vanua Levu linked to soldiers, we did so in good faith and did not set out to “deliberately misinform the public”.

We have since been informed that while the man in question did not die, he was very seriously wounded in an attack by soldiers and has not been taken to hospital. He is being cared for in a home in Vanua Levu. It is also understood a close relative of the man is in the military.

The AG Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum also took issue with our tally of military-related deaths. He took issue with our labelling the John Whippy murder as military-related because it was the result of a drunken brawl. The Navy Commander Francis Kean is on trial for Whippy’s death.

So we retract our earlier posting and say there have been TWO military connected deaths – not FOUR. The two deaths were that of Nimilote Verebasaga of Tailevu and Sakiusa Rabaka of Nadi. The deaths are being investigated by police, but there has been no word on the progress or outcome of these investigations.

We point out that Intelligentsiya reported the injuries and ultimate death of 19-year-old Sakiusa Rabaka, which turned out to be correct.

It seems Intelligentsiya has rubbed Fiji’s military and interim authority up the wrong way – and our incorrect report, repeated by the mainstream media, has given them ammunition to come after us. But we are in no way attempting to disturb the peace or incite violence, as our rulers have been at pains to label us as.

Let us continue to peacefully report and discuss issues that affect all citizens of Fiji. We maintain that citizens must be allowed to peacefully question their ruling power without fear. And that’s what we’ll do – peacefully.

PS: While the hunt goes on for Intelligentsiya bloggers, other blogs on Fiji have popped up, inspired by our example. Please welcome Discombobulated, Good Men and Women, Hearts and Minds and FreeMyFiji linked on the sidebar.