Fiji compared to Burma as junta tightens its grip

Frank Bainimarama is back with more power than ever after his regime was declared illegal by judges. Photo / Greg Bowker

Fiji is deteriorating into the Burma of the South Pacific, say regional experts who warn the troubled nation is now staring at years of stifling military rule and financial destitution.

Commentators have labelled as an "outrage" the latest developments in Fiji which effectively saw the country's military leader, Frank Bainimarama, return to the leadership with more power than ever.

The actions stemmed from a court ruling last Thursday which found that Commodore Bainimarama's regime, in power since a 2006 coup, was illegal under the 1997 constitution and could be replaced.

In response, the ailing 88-year-old President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, sacked the judges, dissolved the constitution, ruled out any election for five years and briefly removed Commodore Bainimarama before reappointing him to the top job.

"This was all a total charade, just a hoax that spits in the face of democracy," said Professor Brij Lal, a Pacific specialist at Australian National University.

"The President is a senile old man, a puppet in the pocket of the military. It was planned all along that he would look after Bainimarama and strengthen the regime, and no justice would be done."

Fijian reporters have been told not to speak to foreign media by Government censors who are checking stories before they go to print.

A senior reporter from one of Fiji's three daily newspapers spoke to the Herald on the condition of anonymity because journalists have been locked up by the military before.

"Our editor in chief was one of those taken up to the military camp so we're really cautious about what we print. He was taken up for questioning, [another staff member] has been up there many times. It's really unpredictable, we don't know what these people are up to. Journalists have learned from what happened in 2006, 2007 ... they're taking precautions."

President Iloilo abolished the constitution on Friday in response to the Appeal Court ruling that Commodore Bainimarama's coup was illegal, and the commodore was sworn in as Prime Minister on Saturday. He immediately declared a 30-day state of emergency. Regulations giving the police and military extensive powers were also put in place.

Pacific leaders have condemned the moves and say they amount to turning Fiji into a military dictatorship.

Over Easter "information officers", who were accompanied by a mixture of plainclothes and uniformed police, were coming into newsrooms during the late afternoon to check journalists' copy.

"By the looks of it most of them don't want to be doing what they're doing," the reporter said. "The first time we had it they joined us for kava downstairs. There's no one standing over us with guns or anything but it's looking at the stories and telling us: 'This is good, this isn't."'

The reporter said some stories rejected by censors were not anti-Government, but were political in nature, while others had travelled back and forth to the Ministry of Information, Communications and Media Relations before being accepted or denied.

Meanwhile, Fijian officials were in the process of deporting an Australian journalist last night.

Sean Dorney, who works for ABC news, said: "They called me to the immigration department this morning and informed me they were unhappy with my reporting being broadcast on the local Fiji One network.

TV 3 News reporting staff have also been expelled, with political reporter Sia Aston and cameraman Matt Smith being told they were no longer welcome in the country.

New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's travel advisory said there was potential for a rapid deterioration to civil disorder and violence in Fiji.

The Ministry urged New Zealand travellers to register their travel plans with the ministry.

"There is some risk to your security in Fiji and we advise caution," the site warns.

- additional reporting by AAP