Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:00a.m.
But the Chief Executive of New Zealand’s Newspaper Publishing Association Tim Pankhurst says this silence does not mean Bainimarama’s government is not oppressive or good for Fiji.
“It may well be calm in downtown Suva, we’re not reporting rioting in the streets, but it is not calm if you are a reporter or you are an editor,” he says.
That is why his organisation has set up the email address freefiji@newspapers.co.nz, for Fijians to send information out of their troubled country.
"The Bainimarama regime may be able to muzzle the Fiji media but it can't control internet access and completely cut off the country," says Mr Pankhurst.
“I’m not sure who will respond but it is designed to be an outlet for anyone who cares to.”
According to Mr Pankhurst, this approach has not been tried before.
Mr Pankhurst does not see any silver lining for the Fijian media.
“I think the situation will continue to deteriorate under Bainimarama and any dissent will be quashed,” he says.
“That includes anything the regime does not agree with, or anything they deem to cast them in a poor light.”
It is our media’s responsibility to promote free speech – we cannot let military dictators ride roughshod over inalienable human right to express dissent.
There are critics of this view who say that Fiji needs a firm hand, a benevolent dictator to rid them of their woes.
But, Bainimarama has only added to their woes and it is patronising to the Fijian population to say they “need” an autocratic leader.
Mr Pankhurst agrees the New Zealand media has a responsibility to promote free speech internationally.
“The Media Freedom Committee, which includes TV3, has as one of its aims the promotion of free speech. Full stop. That is not confined to New Zealand’s boundaries,” he says.
And local Fijians are managing to get their stories out of the country via independent blogs -
http://rawfijinews.wordpress.com/ is a website with local updates on the situation in Fiji.
One email address may not look like much but it could be invaluable to a country that is currently unable to tell its own story.
Read the related story here.
Click here for an excellent background piece on the Fijian crisis.