18 May 2007

Fiji telecommunications company denies blocking access to selected websites

9:50 am on 18 May 2007

Fiji International Telecommunications Limited, FINTEL, has denied blocking anti-military blogsites on the Internet.

The denial comes after access was denied to the website, resistfrankscoup, and several others became inactive temporarily or for longer periods.

FINTEL's chief executive, Sakaraia Tuilakepa, had earlier confirmed that the company had advised the military on how to deal with its concerns about the websites.

But another company spokesman, Ioane Koroivuki, told the Fijilive news website last night that if anyone had done anything to the websites, then it was not FINTEL.

Mr Koroivuki said if FINTEL had done anything, they would have told the truth anyway.

Meanwhile, the interim prime minister, Commodore Bainimarama, says he has informed people not to waste their time on blogs.

Commodore Bainimarama says the blogs tell anti-military stories meant to depress people.

He says they are all lies and it's no use reading them.

The military has been working on blocking the blogsites since last week and says it has identified about 20 people who are responsible for them.