New Zealand Bloggers Offer Support For Freedom Of Speech In Fiji
New Zealand bloggers from across the political spectrum are offering material support for Fijian blogs in the face of
violence and censorship by the country's military regime. They are also calling on the New Zealand government to
condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the regime's acts of violence and censorship against this nonviolent,
grassroots blogging movement.
The Fijian military regime has declared anonymous pro-democracy bloggers to be a "threat to national security", and have
attempted to block Fijian access to common hosting sites such as www.blogspot.com. Suspected blogger, Ulaiasi Taoi, was recently subjected to beatings, verbal abuse, and humiliation during a 24-hour
questioning, according to The Fiji Times and Fijian news sites. The military regime now claims to have identified 20
more people responsible for pro-democracy blogs who will also be threatened with "questioning".
In support of the right to freedom of expression, a group of New Zealand bloggers are now offering access to their own
websites for Fijian residents. The group is composed of prominent New Zealand bloggers from across the political
spectrum, including writers of Just Left, Kiwiblog, No Right Turn, NZBC, Public Address, and Spanblather. They have
agreed to publish guest articles by Fijian bloggers, and where possible will provide hosting on their servers for Fijian
blogs.
The group are also calling upon other members of the New Zealand online community with an interest of freedom of speech
(such as Scoop, nzherald.co.nz, and Stuff) to make a similar offer of material support for Fijian bloggers.
Blogs are one of the few news sources outside of the control of the military regime in Fiji, representing a vital
channel of uncensored information for both Fijians and the international community.
Any Fijian bloggers wishing to make use of this offer should make contact through one of the above-listed websites.
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