(PINA/IFEX) – On 24 May 2000 (local date), the third Fiji Islands daily newspaper, Fiji’s “Daily Post” resumed publishing as the Fiji Islands news media continued to report fully and without restriction the country’s continuing crisis. The two other English-language dailies, “The Fiji Sun” and “The Fiji Times”, had continued publishing since the government was […]
(PINA/IFEX) – On 24 May 2000 (local date), the third Fiji Islands daily newspaper, Fiji’s “Daily Post” resumed publishing as the Fiji Islands news media continued to report fully and without restriction the country’s continuing crisis. The two other English-language dailies, “The Fiji Sun” and “The Fiji Times”, had continued publishing since the government was seized in an attempted coup on 19 May (local date) and which was followed by widespread looting and arson in the downtown area of the capital, Suva.
“Fiji’s Daily Post” editor Jale Moala told PINA that the newspaper’s offices were in an area of Suva worst hit by the looting and burning of Indian-owned shops by indigenous Fijians on 19 May (local date). Moala, an indigenous Fijian, said they locked their ethnic Indian staff members upstairs for safety and the Fijian staff members guarded the front doors to protect them as the looting and arson raged outside. The main shareholder in the “Daily Post” is the government, although Moala and his staff have largely maintained their independence.
A state of emergency has been declared in the Fiji Islands as the attempted coup leader George Speight, and his men, continue to hold Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and members of his government captive in the parliamentary complex. The president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, has assumed executive power and is being backed by the police and army.
By the fifth day of the crisis, Fiji and international media were continuing to be allowed to report freely. Fiji Islands radio and TV stations were carrying hourly reports and frequently breaking news stories round the clock. Scores of international journalists arrived and were let in without restriction. There was some difficulty with international telephone calls, but Telecom Fiji said this was caused by massive congestion as people overseas tried to ring Fiji and people in Fiji tried to ring out.
On 23 May, in the first sign of any curbs on reporting, journalists were moved away from the front of the parliamentary complex, where coup leader Speight had been holding regular news conferences for the international and local news media. The chairperson of the influential Great Council of Chiefs, former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, told journalists the president was concerned about the unbalanced amount of publicity Speight had been getting. But journalists continued to be able to ring Speight and talk to him.
As well as the international media coverage, extensive e-mail coverage of the crisis has been provided for the news media in the rest of the Pacific Islands by PINA’s “PINA Nius Online” (pina@is.com.fj) and the Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association’s Pacnews services (piba@is.com.fj). Both have been sending out special bulletins as well as their regular editions. There has also been extensive coverage on three Fiji news websites:
– Fiji Village (http://www.fijivillage.com/news/) run by radio stations FM96, Navtarang and Viti FM with input also from Fiji’s biggest daily newspaper, “The Fiji Times”, and main regional news magazine, “Islands Business”.
– Fijilive (http://www.fijilive.com/) run by a Fiji publishing, advertising and public relations company and also carrying news coverage from “Fiji’s Daily Post” newspaper.
– the University of the South Pacific , which carries news produced by journalism students.
Peter Lomas, the editor-in-chief of the region’s main magazine publishing group told PINA Nius Online: “The local Fiji news media have done an extraordinarily good job so far in keeping the people accurately and fully informed despite the difficult circumstances. So far this has also been a very media friendly crisis, with considerable access for both local and overseas journalists to almost all the main parties.”
BACKGROUND
Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry won power as Fiji’s first ethnic Indian prime minister in general elections in May 1999. His Fiji Labour Party formed a coalition government which included some indigenous Fijian parties. The events of 19 May followed growing protests by indigenous Fijians, who are concerned about the protection of indigenous rights and land.
Speight, a businessman, and some men from the elite Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit of the mainly indigenous Fijian army, stormed parliament during a big protest march by indigenous Fijians in downtown Suva. They have held the parliamentary complex and Chaudhry and main members of his government since then, although they have let some parliamentarians free.
Fiji’s ethnic Indians are mainly descendants of indentured plantation labourers brought from India by the British colonial government in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In 1987, following widespread unrest and growing violence following the election of what was seen as an Indian-dominated government, Rabuka, then a colonel, led two coups by the army. Fiji returned to parliamentary government in elections in 1992, with Rabuka voted into power as a civilian prime minister. Chaudhry’s government was elected under a new multiracial constitution adopted in 1997.
