Fiji Children Ask Questions

Thanks to our faithful contributor Ana Nakadavu for creating this brilliant clip expressing some of the thoughts Fiji's children may have today:

Power to the press (blogs and all)

Today the world marks Media Freedom Day and in Fiji, now more than ever, we must reflect on the basics of a free press and what it means in a country in a perpetual state of “emergency”.

Intelligentsiya was born after journalists became too intimidated because of direct or indirect threats against them or their organisations by the military who seized power on December 5, 2006. We continue to aim to be an outlet for level-headed opinion, report events that don’t get mainstream coverage and express “intelligent resistance” to the military junta that is in power – all rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution.

This year, blogs have thrust themselves into Fiji and the world’s media spotlight as a free, anonymous way to express views and news, not all of them palatable or true. Still, it shows the media landscape during this coup has dramatically changed, with the mainstream media often picking up items from blogs and broadcasting widely.

In all our reporting we did make about two mistakes – notably the one about a death in Vanua Levu at the hands of soldiers. A man was indeed beaten badly, a fact that the military did not expressly deny. The only denial was that the man did not die. We are not making excuses for the mistake but it does illustrate the difficulties in reporting in a country with a climate of fear – trying to obtain basic information is hard because people are afraid of the consequences of speaking out.

If Fiji's media was truly uninitimidated, they would have travelled to Vanua Levu (we have a name and village of the man in question which was passed on to some journalists) and tried to find out exactly what happened to the man, who was apparently missing from his village after the beating. But, this did not happen, and the military succeeded in putting more fear into journalists.

Today we hail all the brave journalists of our region among them the late Robert Keith-Reid, who was never afraid to tell it like it is, and Michael Field, who kindly allowed a special feature he wrote to be published on Intelligentsiya, pointing to the likelihood of another coup.

In the argument for a free media, the military is always suggesting that the media has been “irresponsible” at times deliberately. But on the whole, reporters face an uphill battle trying to get “official” comment from the powers that be and often have to deal with aggressive military-types while reporting.

To all journalists in Fiji and abroad, facing such intimidation, remember it is a battle of the minds. Do not be intimidated by the threats, direct or indirect. And while this may be easy to say, we realise the reality is not always pretty. So ultimately it comes down to the individual journalists, and whether they have the heart, passion and courage to face down military oppression.

Stay safe and freedom for all.

The Journey has just begun…

Pat yourself on the back if you stayed at home today because the reality is no one else will. Rest easy however in the solace that by doing what you did, we as a collective critical mass pushed the tempo with the Junta by their very reactions. That is people power folks.

Yes we knew that we wouldn’t change the state of our democracy in a day, but we will get there! The journey has just begun but already we have shown that we will continue to be a thorn in the side of this Junta and all of their elements even without a parliament or an opposition.

Here’s our take on the Fiji side of things today:

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Media Statement

Suva, Fiji Islands, May 1, 2007.

The 1^st of May Protest today rankled the Public Service Commission to a state of hysteria said Freedom bloggers Fijianblack, Discombobulated Bubu and Intelligentsiya.

This came to light after Fiji Village reported that the Permanent Secretary for the Public Service Commission, Taina Tagicakibau had warned all civil servants via a circular that “any unauthorized absence” would not be entertained.

By midday Fiji Village reported that the PSC Chairman Rishi Ram was assessing whether civil servants were absent from work today. Mr Ram was reported to have said that there was “no feedback as yet on the staff turnout at the various ministries and government departments”.

The Fiji Freedom Bloggers warns the Public Service Commission as the employer of the largest work-force in the country the rights of workers are still intact and that under the various domestic and international industrial relations instruments, surely workers are entitled to stay at home for a day under the various provisions provided for within these laws?

“It is absolutely appalling that the Public Service Commission chooses to threaten its core human resource capital in this manner and is a very clear sign that the military government is not adhering to commitment number 2 (under the Rule of Law clayse) made to the EU on 18 April” said Discombobulated Bubu.

‘That the military government is promising one thing in Brussels yet allows the directives of threats, is not a good thing. It reeks of dishonesty and ACP countries currently in Fiji are warned to note such displays of “leadership” ‘ said Fijianblack.

Commitment number 2 states: “That the Interim Government upholds the 1997 Constitution, and guarantees the normal and independent functioning of Constitutional institutions such as the Fiji Human Rights Commission, Public Service Commission, Constitutional Offices Commission. The substantial independence and functioning of the Great Council of Chiefs will be preserved.”

“Workers within the civil service should not be afraid of victimization as the Fiji Public Servants Association is the primary body that should be defending violations of labour laws of their members by the PSC” said Fijianblack.

“Despite whatever Mr Leweni chooses to grace our eardrums with the success of this protest depends on what side of the fence one sits on. We would call it a success because this protest was not so much about numbers but more so about empowerment. Even while our democracy is fragmented, we as a people can still force the change and get the power's that be to pay attention. Perhaps after today many will realise this power that we can and should control together no matter what laws, guns or restrictions are imposed on us and that we can get the changes we want. We want democracy and the rule of law back in a big way.

This is just the first step and as you know every journey begins with a first step” said Intelligentsiya.

FijianBlack had on 25 April called on all sons and daughters of Fiji, to stay home, as a sign of opposition to this regime on 1 May 2007.

"The coup culture is alive in Fiji, because we have not done anything about it" he said. "We need to be more pro-active in defending our democracy, our rights and the future of Fiji. If we don't, this is a forlorn legacy we are bequeathing to our children"

ENDS

Contact: fijianblack@gmail.com; mawdsomething@gmail.com; veekaybee@gmail.com; intelligentsiya@gmail.com

It’s 9am – do you know where your people are?

There are no more words to be said. It’s time for INaction – at your place!

While Frank and Mahend are doing the “schmooze” thing with ACP visitors at Denarau Island, the Junta continues to do what they know best.

Leweni maintains that the Public Emergency regulations will be lifted only WHEN THEY DECIDE there are no threats to national security…sounds like his broken “need to know” record on the Close-Up programme...whatever.

Driti’s doing another round of deflection, this time slamming Rabuka. It is not a pretty sight to be seeing military men flexing publicly. Driti has just given away his Achilles heel. That of media whore without the substance to back-up any measure of credibility.

Last but not least Ms Tebbutt of the FABC and her take on the “smart but smarter” sanctions needs a mention. First of all from a very pragmatic angle, the Immigration Dept of Oz does not have the time to be assessing travel needs on a case-by-case basis. They serve the immigration needs of maaaaaaany people and it is extremely labour intensive for them to be doing background checks on all of Fiji’s little wanna-be “forward movers”.

Secondly if the “strong people” who she mentions as probable worthy candidates were really interested in moving the country forward, what the hell does going to Australia have to do with it? Their core responsibilities should be in Fiji and fixing it up. If they need to contact Australia (whatever for is my question as most of our aid programmes are probably frozen), Fiji is not Timbuktu and telecommunications are quite advanced i.e. video conferencing and the good ol’ telephone.

Sorry Caz but your sanctions “raw data” needs more work.

Any-old-whoo...stay at home today and chill out. I’m off to join Capt Freedom’s crew for a bit of early morning kava!

Keep a note in your diaries...May 3rd is Media Freedom Day.