Fed:Deported ABC journo talks of incredible intimidation in Fiji

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2009
Fed:Deported ABC journo talks of incredible intimidation in Fiji

SYDNEY, April 14 AAP - Fiji is a country ruled by military government intimidation,
says an Australian journalist deported from the Pacific nation.

In the past five days the military regime has gained more power after the country's
constitution was dissolved, its judiciary sacked and the Reserve Bank taken over, and
local media has been heavily censored.

The Fiji government, under the leadership of Commodore Frank Bainimarama, had veteran
ABC correspondent Sean Dorney deported from Nadi on the first Australia-bound flight on
Tuesday.

He touched down in Sydney just after midday (AEST).

"There is an incredible amount of intimidation going on there at the moment," Mr Dorney
told reporters in Sydney.

"There's no disturbances in the street, there's no carry on, ... the military really
has the country under the thumb.

"Under these regulations there's ... no judges so you can't contest anything, you can't
take anything to court.

"It's total military control at the moment."

Mr Dorney was one of a number of journalists caught up in the latest military government
crackdown.

New Zealand television journalist Sia Aston and cameraman Matt Smith were also deported,
and a Fijian journalist was arrested for giving footage to another New Zealand television
network.

Mr Dorney was approached by Fijian immigration officials after one of his stories went
to air in Fiji on the Australia Network.

"I got a phone call from ... a senior immigration official saying: 'Sean, we want to
discuss your reporting with you, could you come into the office?'," Mr Dorney said.

After refusing to leave the country voluntarily, Mr Dorney had his mobile phone confiscated
and was held for several hours.

"I said `my job here is to report what is going on. I'm not going to leave voluntarily,
I've got a visa that's valid for a few more days yet. If you want me to go, I will comply
but I'm not going to go voluntarily'," he said.

Mr Dorney said at no time during his deportation did he fear for his safety.

"I never felt at any stage ... that I was under physical threat,"Mr Dorney said.

"We were not roughly treated but they did insist on having a look at all our cameras,
having a look at what we had shot and they ordered the cameraman from New Zealand ...

to delete everything he had shot."

Mr Dorney said he planned to return to his Brisbane home but had not ruled out returning
to Fiji in the future.

"It's a story that needs to be covered and at the moment it's going to be exceptionally
difficult for someone to cover it," he said.

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KEYWORD: FIJI MEDIA DORNEY

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