Asia-Pacific News

May 3, 2009, 20:52 GMT

Fiji extends emergency and media censorship for another month

Wellington - Fiji's military regime will extend emergency regulations, which include a ban on political meetings and media censorship, for another month, Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said on Monday. Extension of emergency powers announced on April 10 after the constitution was abolished and the Pacific island nation's judges sacked was necessary because the media was 'unprofessional and biased,' he told Radio New Zealand in an interview from the capital Suva. The emergency regulations, due to expire next Sunday, will remain in place until June 10. The decision follows the 16-member South Pacific Forum's suspension of Fiji's membership on Saturday for failing to name a date for a return to democracy and fresh elections this year. Military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama has governed Fiji since ousting the elected government in a bloodless coup in December 2006. He has said there will be no elections until September 2014 when changes to the electoral system giving the ethnic Indian minority equal voting rights with indigenous Fijians will be in place. Fiji Law Society president Dorsami Naidu told Radio New Zealand the regime was shutting down any dissent and there was no justification for the emergency regulations. He said the situation in the country of about 840,000 people was very unpredictable.

And Also

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups - PopEater
GASP: Goldstriker creates world's most expensive iPhone - The Tech Herald
A Charlie Brown Christmas Preview - Cinema Blend
Guide to Avoiding Red Carpet Faux Pas - PopEater
A&E series 'Hoarders' and 'Intervention' premiere Monday, Nov. 30th, preview

Your Talkback on this Story

Similar articles

Two Fiji online journalists arrested by military regime
Fiji extends emergency and media censorship for a month (Roundup)
Fiji military regime bans all media criticism (Roundup)
Fiji military regime bans all media criticism

Latest Headlines in Asia-Pacific

Older Talkback

Asia-Pacific: Index

: News; Features

Latest Pics

From Sites we Like

Pictures of the ugly ass bonobo born at the Jacksonville Zoo [Florida]
The choice is to save your wife or your son. This man had to make that choice. What would you do? [Sad]
Who knew hospitals had cannons? [Amusing]

More Not News from Fark

In Monsters and Critics

: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Lifestyle; Movies; Music; News; People; Science & Nature; Sport; TV; Archives
Other Languages and Sites: Deutschland (Monsters and Critics); The Tech Herald; Free Games

Entertainment: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Movies; Music; People; Soundtracks; TV
Media: Celebrity Photos; Movie Pictures; Movie Trailers; Movie Posters; Theatre Stills; Celebrity Video; Music Video
Released this week: Movies - USA; Movies - UK; DVD - USA
Distractions: Online Games; Daily Crossword; Sudoku Classic; Daily Jigsaw

World News: US; UK; Americas; Europe; Middle East; Asia Pacific; South Asia; Africa; Business; Education; Health
Science and Tech: Science and Nature; Technology
Lifestyle: Autos; Fashion; Life; Travel

Corporate

: About; Advertise; Contact; The Team; Vacancies; Privacy; RSS; Site Map; Terms; Webmasters

The Fine Print

© 2003 - 2009 by Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All photos are copyright their respective owners and are used under license or with permission. * Note M&C cannot be held responsible for the content on other Web Sites.

Servers supplied by Servint