Paul Reeves denies report

Paul Reeves denies report

Thu, 8 Mar 2001 16:06:16 +1200

PEOPLE'S COALITION GOVERNMENT, FIJI
Issue No: 566 8 March 2001

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Sir Paul Reeves denies FT report

Former New Zealand Governor-General, Sir Paul Reeves has denied making any comment to the Fiji Times about the Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.

The Fiji Times reported earlier this week that Sir Paul had stated that Chaudhry was not capable to leading the nation forward now, and that an ethnic Fijian was needed as Fiji's Prime Minister.

Sources in New Zealand who have spoken to Sir Paul say that Sir Paul denies speaking to the Fiji Times or of making the reported comments to the Fiji media.

Sir Paul was the chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission whose recommendations formed the basis of the 1997 Constitution.

Earlier the Fiji Times had also stated that the military thought that the Prime Minister was a threat to national security. The military also denied saying this.

The misreporting of the Fiji Times on Chaudhry raises serious questions about media ethics in the newspaper's newsroom staff, and the political agenda of the newspaper's editorial staff.

It is believed that the anti-Chaudhry misreporting is done deliberately as a well orchestrated destabilisation campaign by the newspaper's senior staff. In the past, the Fiji Times has been accused not only of misreporting about the People's Coalition Government, but also of stirring racial tension in Fiji.

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