NGO Slams Fiji's Rights Record

australianetworknews.com/stories/201112/3387196.htm

NEW YORK (Australia Network News / Pacific Media Watch): Another international non-government organisation has sent a letter to Fiji's interim prime minister condemning his regime's human rights record.

The Committee to Protect Journalists followed the example of the International Federation of Journalists, Human Rights Watch, and the International Trade Union Confederation in condemning the coup installed military government of Commodore Frank Bainimarama.

Madeline Earl, the CPJ's senior Asia researcher, said her organisation's main concern was the lifting of official government censorship of Fiji's news media.

"There are some very draconian restrictions on the media that his [Commodore Frank Bainimarama] government has put in place, first in 2009 under emergency regulations that are still in place, second with a media decree introduced in 2010," Earl said.

"Both of those as far as we are concerned should be lifted, he should be allowing reporters to cover the news freely".

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