SUVA (PMW): Newspapers, media executives and media freedom groups have condemned the detention by Fiji's military forces of three Radio Fiji staff over a news story as intimidation of the country's news media.

The acting chief executive of the state-owned radio station, the news director and a reporter were seized by armed soldiers on the morning of 20 October 2000 and detained for questioning for more than seven hours.

They were released without the military succeeding in forcing them to divulge their sources, but may yet face charges, legal sources told Pacific Media Watch.

The intimidation against the radio station came as Information Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola attempted to gag Fiji Television over a planned interview with deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry on a popular current affairs programme.

The Fiji Times said in an editorial on October 21 that the military had "overstepped the mark" and cautioned against a "confrontation between the army and the media".

"While the military may well see freedom of expression as a threat, the population is likely to see threats to the media as an even greater one."

However, the rival Fiji Sun was more cautious in its editorial. It said:

"The Fiji Broadcasting Corporation [Radio Fiji] can cite its right to press freedom or freedom of expression. On the other hand, the military, as one of the chief custodians of security and peace in this country, can cite that FBC had not exercised that right responsibly.

"And it could say that for the sake of security and peace in this country the action of airing that item was tantamount to sabotage of the security of the land and could incite trouble."

Daily Post publisher Ranjiit Singh condemned the action by the military, expressing his concern at "this worrying trend of harassment of the Fourth Estate by the military".

"If any law has been broken then the offenders should be charged by police. The military should not detain these people for doing their job, or subjecting them to such detention," Singh said.

He added that it was a basic principle of journalism that the source of information was kept confidential.

Pacific Media Watch co-convenor David Robie said the action by the military was "outrageous intimidation of news media staff and utter contempt for the role of news media enjoyed in any open and democratic society".

"Sadly, this will demonstrate to the world that there is no normality in Fiji," said Robie, who is also journalism coordinator of the University of the South Pacific.

"This intimidation of FBC and the gagging attempt on Fiji Television shows that freedom of speech is very fragile".

The regional industry body Pacific Islands Media Association (PINA) described the intimidation of FBC as "total overreaction".

The association said the military forces should have no role in questioning journalists and trying to get them to reveal their sources for news reports.

The three detained people - general manager public broadcasting Francis Herman, who is also acting chief executive; news director Vasiti Waqa; and reporter Maca Lutunauga - were released after further questioning from Central Police Station.

Although they were not charged, PMW understands they could still face charges under an Internal Security Decree.

The Fiji Times said that the military found a report aired by Radio Fiji on the 7am news bulletin on October 20 "dangerous".

The report quoted an unnamed senior army officer as saying the military did not want Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli to act as President and commander-in-chief of the military.

Seniloli was rebel leader George Speight's nominee for president while holding the elected government hostage for 56 days. Speight is now charged with treason.

President Ratu Josefa Iloilo is due to leave the country for a medical check-up in a fortnight, said the newspaper.

"The military said the news item was entirely false and could divide the army and cause concern in the community," the Fiji Times reported.

On a Fijian-language broadcast on Radio Fiji on October 20, former coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka said the military should clarify whether it would accept taking orders from Seniloli.

Rabuka, who staged the 1987 coups and is a former prime minister, is now chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs.

He was quoted on the radio as saying that the President "remains the President" when he would be in Australia. This meant he could still exercise his powers as military commander-in-chief while out of the country.

According to Pacnews, Assistant Police Commissioner Jahir Khan said the state lawyers were working on amendments that would among other things force journalists to reveal the source of their stories.

"The arrest of the three journalists highlighted loopholes in the country's internal security decree Number eight," Khan said.

"This is why the three were only cautioned, not charged."

When asked if such a law would violate a fundamental right of a journalist, he said that if reporters were writing and broadcasting "truth", then they shouldn't worry about revealing their sources.

"Reporters who broadcast or publish stories that are deemed to be malicious should not hide under the pretext of safeguarding their source but should be made accountable," he said.

Meanwhile, ousted Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry said such a decree, if imposed, would infinge on the individual's freedom of expression and would violate a person's basic human right.

Chaudhry said such a decree was imposed after the 1987 military coups and it did not last long.

WHAT RADIO FIJI REPORTED

Date -- 20 October 2000

THE [Fiji] military is concerned about Ratu Jope Seniloli, the Vice-President, taking up the position of acting President when Ratu Josefa Iloilo goes for treatment overseas later this month.

Once Ratu Jope is acting President he will become commander-in-chief of the Fiji Military Forces - a position reserved for the President or acting President.

As Maca Lutunauga reports, the military does not want to take orders from Ratu Jope, who was nominated for President by coup leader George Speight's group at the height of the hostage crisis:

When Ratu Josefa Iloilo goes for his regular check-up for a heart condition in Sydney, he can appoint anyone to act in his position.

The most likely candidate is Ratu Jope, his deputy.

The reliable source says although Ratu Jope will be acting President he will not be able to make changes to any policy matters.

The source reveals that the military which handed over executive powers to the President, still has a say in the running of the Interim Administration.

The reliable source gave the example of when Ratu Iloilo wanted Bau high chief Adi Samanunu Cakobau to be Prime Minister in the Interim Government, he was warned by the army.

According to our source, the warning from the military was "get a prime minister of our choice, or less lose the army".

When asked whether the military was stopping the President from going for his regular check-up, which is now overdue, the source replied no.

The source says the President has been refusing to go for the check-up because he is concerned about the current political situation in the country.

However, the senior army source says under the emergency decree, the military can take whatever actions [are] needed for security.

This includes getting back the powers it gave the President and the Interim Prime Minister for the administration of the country.

Title -- 3067 FIJI: Information Minister tries to gag Fiji TV
Date -- 21 October 2000
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- PMW/Fiji Sun, 21/10/00
Copyright -- PMW/Fiji Sun
Status -- Unabridged

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SUVA: Fiji's military installed interim administration has tried to gag a popular Fiji Television current affairs programme over a planned interview with the deposed elected prime minister of the country, reports one of the country's daily newspapers.

The Fiji Sun reported on 21 October 2000 that the interim administration had "strongly advised" Fiji Television Ltd against having ousted PM Mahendra Chaudhry on its weekly Close Up current affairs programme.

Chaudhry arrived back in Fiji this week amid tight security after touring several countries and advocating a speedy return to democracy under the framework of the multiracial 1997 constitution.

In a letter written to Fiji TV, Information Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola cautioned the company that such a programme would promote "civil insurrection or disobedience".

"This is an event that must be prevented at all costs as it not only could place the company's operations at risk but also pose a danger to the general public at large", the letter said.

"The Close Up programme also does not subscribe towards the fostering of the spirit of reconciliation that is needed at this time."

Fiji TV's head of news and current affairs Richard Broadbridge was quoted by the newspaper as saying that the company had carefully studied Kubuabola's letter and weighed it alongside the terms of its licence.

Broadbridge said that while Chaudhry, whose Fiji Labour Party had won the biggest ever mandate since independence in 1970 in the 1999 general election, had opted out of taking part in the programme scheduled for October 22, the station was still seeking an interview with him.

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