March 13, 2007

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.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Someone should ask the AG exactly what he has done for Fiji to deserve that ranking of AG...wait, nothing, he has his PR in Aussie or well atleast did and now what...lets face it, if anything FRANK should also investigate you and all youve done

Anonymous said...

ha I thought uh they uh were going uh to arrest uh u uh guys uh.......yeah right i'd love to know how they plan to trace you with their level of military (un)intelligence....

Anonymous said...

For IAG and Major Leweni to be taking the time to comment on this website speak volumes of their level of intelligence - Level 0.

You'd think that with the economy crashing around us in Fiji, they'd be more foccused on getting $$ in to assist the flood victims, assisting TAG to lure in more tourists etc.

But, NO, they'd rather announce to the country that they will track you down for "inciteful/misleading information".

Like that they can!! Ha! Ha!

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work and lets hope someone in the IG has enough brains top comprehend your logic, as expressded here.

BTW, looks as if new responsibility has fallen to you guys now that the forum button has disappeared from the home page of Fiji Village dot com!

Long live free speech!

Anonymous said...

I come in here to read your postings and all reports and I love them...makes my day...keep on guys...

Anonymous said...

Hey guys the Forum has disappeared from Fiji Village website...mmm I wonder why????

Anonymous said...

Look i am just sick and tired of this IAG - bullshit con artist - Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum. Fair enough he is a clever man and sure enough he has conned his way through the ulu-lala of Leweni and Frankie. Typical!
He only knows too well that what his buddies in green are doing is utterly wrong and yet when questioned, he somehow brushes it aside and undermines the severity of the issues. FACE THE FACTS AND BE LOYAL TO YOUR PROFESSION AND MORALES - if there is anything let of it!

Dean said...

i think the load was too much for the forum.. methinks the designers didnt expect this much hits ;)

Anonymous said...

The YELLOW BUCKET gone as well!!!!
It is a sad day when people cannot speak freely on any given subject of their choosing.
I have been following and contributing to this blog for some time now and find it to be fair, informative and not subject to over dramatising of events. I hope that it continues in this vein and not degenerate into gutter journalism. We need a point of reference where people can express their views freely and logically and this blog supplies it.
May you keep up the good work and may Freedom of speech rule.

Anonymous said...

I salute you all at INTELLEGENTSIYA, well bloody done and god bless and perhaps you can crate your own forum (hint, hint)thankyou for being my and many, many, many others voices.

Anonymous said...

Okay I'll be honest i shall really miss KEEP-THE-FAITH on Fijivillage forum, so you will just HAVE to keep us informed (and entertained) here......Good luck people! and come on does the army really evan know how to use a computer, I DON@T THINK SOOOO.I mean really,that would take them away from the grog bowl. Darn the mear thought of it would make Leweni stop stuttering he he he

Anonymous said...

VI VA LA INTELLIGENTSIYA....long live free speech, what a hoot though, anyone would think that the Fiji army had nothing better to do, oh thats right- they don't
GO KICK IT!

Anonymous said...

This is typical back-to-front logic from the military. People don't get upset with the military's tactics because they've got nothing better to do, or because they just decided to "discredit" the military for the sake of it. People object to what the military is doing because it offends their values and sense of justice, and it has dire moral and economic implications for our nation. People are not posting comments in order to try and upset people! People are upset, and so they naturally want to express that in some way. If enough of us get upset enough with the military, that will spell real problems for them. But the level of public discontent will exactly track the amount of unacceptable behaviour and actions done by the military - so the ball is really in their court! This is a battle of ideas, and the problem with the military is they are unable to defend their ideas by debate, so they defend them by force instead.

Anonymous said...

all these are posted by non other than the owner of IT Intelligence who has shops in Ba and Nadi. He lives in Ba and also in Sydney and makes remarks from there.

Keep The Faith said...

Well Anon -- keep-the-faith is not going anywhere and ummm e-resides here full-time these days..LOL..keep the faith and stick around -- this party's just getting started!!

Unknown said...

Bloody hell why did the ass holes take out the forum from Fijivillage. Ok lets make this the site for resistance on behalf of those who suffer in silence. Lets rip into the stupid fu*%kers.

Anonymous said...

Hey KTF its good to know you are hanging around here. Sure!!! Lets party folks.

Anonymous said...

The only peace we are disturbing is by speaking out even in a forum like this where our numbers are increasing day by day thus limiting theirs. So let's keep it going.

Anonymous said...

The fijivillage forum was closed down because the army wanted it so.

Here is the story.

http://www.fijiworldnews.com/news/publish/News_1/Fijivillage_Chat_Room_Shut_Down.shtml