Behind the Fiji censorship: A comparative media regulatory case study as a prelude to the Easter putsch

On 10 April 2009, a military backed regime wrested total control of the Fiji Islands in what was arguably a fifth coup and imposed martial law. The then President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, abrogated the 1997 Constitution and dismissed the judiciary in response to a Court of Appeal ruling—by a bench of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: David Robie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Asia Pacific Network 2009-10-01
Series:Pacific Journalism Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/article/view/986
Description
Summary:On 10 April 2009, a military backed regime wrested total control of the Fiji Islands in what was arguably a fifth coup and imposed martial law. The then President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, abrogated the 1997 Constitution and dismissed the judiciary in response to a Court of Appeal ruling—by a bench of three Australian judges—that the interim government of Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama established after the fourth coup in December 2006 was illegal. Bainimarama was reinstated, emergency regulations—including state censorship—were decreed and elections were deferred until 2014.
ISSN:1023-9499
2324-2035