Military bid to block blogs makes it onto news

The military's attempts to cut off access to blogs including Intelligentsiya has made it on the news.

The Fiji Times is reporting the story on its website here. Fijilive also has a report here. And Scoop (NZ) has also published our media alert here.

It has also been published on the Australian Associated Press news service. The AAP story is also carried on The Age here:

By Xavier La Canna

AUCKLAND, May 11 AAP - 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.

AAP xlc/goc/bwl