22 Nov 2010

Fiji's emergency regulations 'unnecessary'

5:58 pm on 22 November 2010

The Fiji Law Society says there is no need for the military regime's Public Emergency Regulations to be extended again.

The latest round of the 19-month-old regulations came into force at the weekend. They restrict public assembly and what information can be published or broadcast in the media.

The regime had said it would lift the restriction once it had imposed a media decree, which came into force in June.

The law society's president, Dorsami Naidu, says the emergency regulations are disrupting the organisation's day-to-day functions.

The regulations were introduced after a coup led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama.

Commodore Bainimarama on Sunday issued a warning to non-Fiji citizens not to interfere in the country's internal affairs, Radio New Zealand International reports.

An executive of American company Fiji Water was deported last week for acting in a manner prejudicial to good governance and public order.

Two days before the deportation, acting prime minister and immigration minister Ratu Epeli Ganilau resigned, saying he could not sign the removal order.