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Fijian women have been sexually molested for speaking out against the country's military coup, while other protesters have been beaten and intimidated, the United States says in a scathing report.
In its latest human rights report on Fiji, the US Department of State (DoS) said human rights had
deteriorated sharply since the December 5 coup.
The report released yesterday painted a picture of dramatic change in Fiji since the coup, in which Fiji's military leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama took power.
"Prior to the December coup the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, although there were serious problems in some areas," the report said.
"The human rights situation deteriorated greatly following the coup.
"Following the coup, there were numerous incidents of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) detaining without a warrant and abusing persons who had voiced opposition to the coup or who supported a return to democratic government.
"Some women detained by the military for speaking out against the coup were sexually molested," it said.
The report also details claims that on Christmas Eve soldiers took six people from their homes, including young people who had set up a pro-democracy shrine.
It said they were taken to Queen Elizabeth barracks and reportedly beaten, stepped on and threatened with weapons.
"Also, on December 25, the military seized five young men in a Suva suburb and made them strip to their underwear and crawl through drain pipes before being dropped at a remote jungle location to find their way home," the report said.
The report said that the number of reports to the Fiji Human Rights Commission (FHRC) had not increased significantly, which showed there was a "climate of intimidation and fears of reprisal" following the coup.
The United States, Australia, Britain and New Zealand have already imposed sanctions on Fiji following the coup, and yesterday the European Union indicated it could withdraw about 200 million euros ($391.77 million) of aid earmarked for the country.
The Fiji Human Rights Commission today issued a stern rebuke to the United States in response to the report.
It said matters detailed in the DoS report were currently before the courts and the US may have prejudged those on trial.
"The court is not likely to take kindly to its authority being usurped in this way, not even by one of the most powerful nations of the world. The US government may have some explaining to do," the commission said.
The commission went further, claiming the United States government had committed human rights abuses itself.
"The US government commenting on human rights in Fiji is like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black," the commission said in a statement.
"Last year's human rights report on the United States by China shows that extra-judicial killings and deaths in custody are serious issues that have not been resolved in the United States.
"Moreover, the legality of detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, who have not even been charged yet with a crime, is still a concern for the international community."
It also attacked the United States as the only country apart from Somalia not to ratify key international conventions protecting woman and children from abuse and exploitation.
Bainimarama responded yesterday to reports of human rights abuses at the hands of his soldiers by promising to reduce the role they have in investigating crimes.
"All previous cases involving abuse of human rights will be thoroughly investigated on an independent basis by the police and the Human Rights Commission," he said.
- AAP
