Lesley Deverall
7 July 2010
Newstalk ZB
English
Bulletin supplied by IRN Limited (c) 2010 IRN Limited
Media freedom a mystery to Commodore
The Green Party says Fiji's Commodore Frank Bainimarama is missing the point with his latest criticisms.
An unnamed Australian Foreign Affairs official has raised the hackles of Fiji's military ruler by saying Fijians may have no choice but to stand up to Bainimarama and his "thugs."
The comments were reported in The Australian newspaper, which is owned by News Ltd.
Commodore Bainimarama says the article promotes unrest in his country and he is accusing the Australian Government of interfering in Fiji's domestic affairs.
However, Keith Locke, the Green Party's Foreign Affairs spokesman Keith Locke says the Commodore is paranoid.
"It sounds pretty bad. Maybe he's going to kick out the Australian diplomats again because it is a complete over-reaction to lambaste the Australian Government for what its media says. It shows a complete lack of understanding of media freedom."
A recent Fijian decree demands that the media in Fiji is locally-owned.
