Rantings and Ratings: Actions and Reactions on Rumour and Misinformation

N0169. GOD, SATAN AND THE BEAST.  If you find references to God, Satan and the Beast unusual in a so-called pro-democracy protest march  call, you're  in for a surprise.  From Semi Draunitutu in Australia, read these words, quite unedited but with key words underscored,  addressed  presumably only to Christian ethnic Fijians living in Fiji.  No one else counts.

"WE ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE CALLED BY GOD TO MARCH THE SREETS OF SUVA TO SAVE OUR CHILDREN OUR PEOPLE AND OUR BELOVED FIJI. WE MUST BE EFFECTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE.
WE MUST DESTROY SATAN AND THE DRAGON BEAST OF THE DEMON THE COMMANDER, THE MILITARY AND AG [Attorney-General].
THE PLAN OF GOD IS NOW AT HAND.
God has spoken and his fulfilled action plan and prophecy is overflowing with results in the middle east. The “People Power” for Fiji is here the action plan, is a GRAND MARCH” through the city with placard “GOD IS GREAT FIJI IS FREE” “FRANK AND KHAIYUM OUT” ”RFMF DEAD FIJI ALIVE
‘ILLEGAL MINISTERS TO THE GALLOWS. FLEE WHILE STILL LIVING'.

The “Peoples Power” through peaceful demonstration and march through the city this FRIDAY March 4th from Sukuna Park, is our act of obedience to God Almighty to save the future of our generation and our country. The Spirit of God Almighty is calling us the “People of Faith,” to declare war against the Demonic Dragon and the Snake Beast of Satan headed by an Alkaida Muslim spirit of Anti-Christ[AG] and a 666 Damnable spirit of Lucifer [PM Bainimarama]that is ruling and running our beloved country to economic ruin and social and cultural disaster since 2006."

Inshallah! (God willing). So far three anti-government blogs have published, without comment or moderation, Semi Draunitutu's call for the protest march in Suva on Friday.  Last year he called another one, and no one turned up. Draunitutu lives in Australia and is active in Tui Savu's Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement that has also had indifferent success in calling Australia's Fijians to marches. But that does not mean he should not be taken seriously. 

N0170. SAI LEALEA'S Fiji Coup 2006 was one of the blogs that published, without comment, Daunitutu's rantings. Yet Sai, in an earlier posting, had called for a "return to democratic rule via a negotiated settlement." It is difficult to reconcile such moderation with his implicit support for Draunitutu.

N0171.  DELIBERATE MISINFORMATION. A Suva informant writes: "I have today discovered that there is a strategy of deliberate misinformation being spread in Suva. There was no ammunition found in the President's house and no one has been charged with sedition or is in custody. The misinformation falls into two categories,
(1) that the President is about to be removed to be replaced by the PM with the AG becoming PM and the Muslims then taking over the country, and
(2)  that there is a witch hunt of officers and other people and that people are being badly beaten by police and/or army."

I replied, "This supports my impressions from the avalanche of misleading items  being published on the anti-government blogs, and attempts to do the same on my blog.  Please keep me updated.   Why doesn't the Govt have better PR.  They bring much of the present confusing situation on themselves.  I was talking with ABC's Bruce Hill earlier today and no one in government will tell him anything.  He's anti-coup but his interviews are fair and reasonable probing. Is there any way to get to get the PM to change their  approach?"

N0172. WHY IS GOVERNMENT SILENT? The failure of government to respond to any of the deliberately misleading rumours (other than the PM's brief statement that Aziz is still at work) must be seen as a major factor contributing to their increase and wider circulation.

Government's failure to respond to requests for information from responsible overseas journalists is a sure way to get its position misrepresented in the overseas media, and a sure way of entrenching the present opinions of politicians in Australia, NZ and elsewhere who might be persuaded, through the media, to change their approach to Fiji.

Government's  failure to inform its own citizens about rumours that will not go away is equally serious because it  could be interpreted as a sign that their opinions do not matter. This is hardly the message Fiji citizens need to hear if the government intends genuine dialogue on the constitutional and electoral reforms.

These days, every reputable organization and government (and many not so reputable) take public relations (PR) very seriously except, it would seem, the Government of Fiji.  In the absence of a free media, rumours become the news.  To ignore some rumours is understandable; to ignore them all is to play into the hands of your opponents.