Thursday, 1 October 2009
(+) Blog Rumour Foul*-Mongering and PERs Backfiring
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Some blogs are built on gossip, rumour and hopeful speculation. In the case of Coupfourpointfive, the usually more reasoned of the anti-government blogs, most rumours concern different government officials getting sacked or being moved on. My guess is that their purpose is to keep the pot boiling on supposed divisions within the military and Bainimarama government. As the saying goes, "If you throw enough mud at a wall, some of it is sure to stick." Another blog, based on its "reliable sources", had the military about to revolt and Methodists determined to hold their conference, whatever the odds.
Sometimes the rumours prove true, but most times one waits in vain for the axe to fall on an unsuspecting official. Coupfourpointfive never comments, corrects or apologies for its errors.
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Recent rumours include expected shifts across the Police and Defence Departments with Defence Minister Ratu Epeli Ganilau being kicked upstairs to a diplomatic postings, Esala Teleni taking over his job in Defence, and Col. Md Aziz moving into Teleni's job as Police Commissioner. Another rumour had it that Col. Pita Driti was told to take leave when he allegedly tried to get Attorney-General Aiyaz Khaiyum dismissed. It turned out he was taking overdue leave. We were also told Anand Singh wants to replace the A-G, and Permanent Secretary for Finance John Prasad was reportedly asked to submit his qualifications record to the Public Service Commission that had doubts about them.
Postscript. When I had nearly given up on Coupfourpointfive they redeemed themselves with a factual post stating that recently appointed Minister of Local Government Col. Samuela Saumatua had dismissed the Suva City Council Administrator Vijendra Prakash and his Human Resources appointee Joe Turagasau Hewson who today was convicted of stealing $24,000 from a Northern District school fund. Apparently Prakash knew of the charge against Hewson prior to to his appointment, but relied on a character reference from his (Vijendra's) cousin Ram Chandar. Prakash is Gen.Sec. of Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabhu, Fiji's largest Hindu organization, that also, incidentally supports Bainimarama. Wheels within wheels. All the ingredients for nepotism and corruption, thankfully thwarted by the government minister.
To its further credit the blog also published a correction to a false posting in the rabidly anti-Government blog Raw Fiji News. RFN had stated the military had raided the offices of Fiji TV, a not untypical RFN fabrication.
There are two lessons to be learnt from this proliferation of rumour (of which the internet will record only a fraction):
1.Opponents of the Bainimarama government will stoop to every pettiness to discredit it.
2.The Government's Public Emergency Regulations are backfiring. Rumour only flourishes when substantiated news is absent. The continuation of PER, now that the disquiet of the last two months is over, could well be playing into the hands of the Government's opponents.
* Fowl-mongers sell hens; foul-mongers sell cracked eggs.
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12 comments:
'Opponents of the Bainimarama government will stoop to every pettiness to discredit it....'
And more power to them....since when was it an offence to attempt to discredit an illegal regime?
When legality masks injustice.
'Lessons learnt'?
"Opponents of the Bainimarama government will stoop to every pettiness to discredit it."
Wow! Sounds like politics!
"The Government's Public Emergency Regulations are backfiring. Rumour only flourishes when substantiated news is absent."
And I dare say has an effect on 'lesson' #1 as well.
To your credit, you've been pointing out this side-effect of the PER for quite some time. Kudos for that, even if we disagree on whether Bainimarama has the right to take the law, and the future of Fiji, into his own hands.
@'when legality masks injustice'...
And the last 3 years hasn't been marked by almost weekly acts of injustice!?
It would have been almost acceptable - and that is very heavily qualified - if Frank had held some semblance of the high moral ground. But he didn't, as indicated by the investigations around the mutiny, the recently published report on the state of the army accounts, the so called yellow ribbon project - the list goes on.
If you were able to produce evidence showing the Qarase government was guilty of murder, the terrorising of civilians in their homes, rampant mismanagement and corruption, or even widespread nepotism in government appointments then maybe this line of discussion about other blogs would have a point.
I look forward to seeing you publish that evidence.
It is one thing to criticise anyone who presents inaccurate information and who attempt to hold it as factual - but to criticise non violent opposition to an illegal regime which has probably visited more harm on Fiji than Qarase managed during his time in office is almost offensive.
Surely an attempt to discredit anyone, legal or illegal is not a journalistic strategy? Whatever happened to objective reporting? Caramio and Alterego miss the point. Even if a newspaper hates a government with a vengeance, the media cannot mix up its political views with its ethical duty to present facts. And that includes facts favorable to the hated government. It also includes apologizing if it gets the facts wrong. The trouble is that journalists have forgotten their ethical duty, so bent are they on discrediting the government. But the means are not justified by the ends. If they were, in what way is the media better than they government they seek to discredit? After all the media, Alterego and Caramio, are critical of the government in Fiji on the basis that it has chosen illegal means to achieve its ends.
@Kiti
I was refering to the number of blogs carrying anti regime articles. Whatever their faults - and I suspect that many wouldn't make the claim of being objective - they at least provide some alternative to the heavily censored mainstream media.
The barbarians who seek to oppress free expression and an open media - despite its alleged faults - fortunately haven't devised a way of closing them down and long may that be the case.
Strengthen the libel and anti sedition laws if you want a 'responsible' media.
Ha Ha ha Caramio -What free expression and open media you are speaking about in Fiji. Do you know who controls the news content? Like Waqavonovono and Apolosi Bose ( who gave Amnesty report on Fiji) they all are "Children of 1987" - the beneficiaries of a racist regime implanted by Rabuka and enhanced by Qarase. Now that Bainimarama has removed those "goodies", they now hold a grudge , under the guise of a free media and other human rights they hitherto failed to protect. Fiji TV has been in the pockets of Qarase and its past CEO has been his disciple. The Fijian Holdings Club elites had Fijian media in their pockets. Please read research reports done by Sandhya Kiran and Obini - check at USP on media reporting in Fiji and it will open your eyes.
Fiji Times is now celebrating its 140th anniversary. There have been numerous atrocities on Indian indentured labourers in the girmit era as has been recorded by historians. Did it ever stand for human rights and justice? It was white-man's intrument of oppression and has changed little. While its colour has changed a bit in Fiji newsrooms, its ways are the same- support for the elite and those in political power.
So, stop giving all those hogwash about free media in Fiji
And what have you got now Thakur?
I thought you army boys had RealFijiNews as your window to the world - you probably feel quite at home on this site. Makes for amusing reading though. Ciao bella.
@caromio
From December 2006 to April 2009, I wrote countless letters to the Fiji Times trying to correct false stories published by them, or trying to give an alternative point of view from the angle run by the Times. Not a single one got published. Yet a whole lot of letters which were anti-government, and anti-anyone the Times thought was a coup supporter got published daily. Is this free speech? To suppress letters written from a point of view contrary to the Time's position? I don't think so. I see that Raw Fiji blogsite now takes exactly the same position. Character assassinate people, then refuse to publish refutals. Please. The media deserves what it is now getting.
Does anyone on the planet actually believe there could ever be journalistic freedom on a Murdoch rag?
@Tropicat
Agreed, but it is not only the Murdoch press. At the last Forum meeting in Cairns, the Australian government only allowed those journalists to cover the event who were supportive of the Australian policy on the Pacific. And the World Socialist Web journalists were banned! Good one Australia. And you dare to accuse the Fiji government of curtailing press freedom? But what a shocking revelation about the majority of Aus media agencies. They were allowed at the meeting because they were pro- Australia. Wow. What media independence.
The Australia media are just like their American counterpart. They are the cheerleaders for the invasion of two sovereign nations - Iraq and Afghanistan.
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