Nine prominent opposition politicians – including two former prime ministers – have been arrested in Fiji for voicing concerns about a contentious land bill, leading to fears the Fijian government is using the police as a “political weapon” to intimidate and crack down on dissent. Prasad said arrests of opposition MPs were a common occurrence under the prime minister, Frank Bainimarama. “Now the police are being used as a political weapon by the FijiFirst party to intimidate opposition,” he said. The government has introduced a bill to amend legislation concerning the governing of native land, an amendment the opposition have said will remove power from landowners. A local journalist who has spoken to the Guardian said he was concerned that “journalists too will end up being questioned by the police for writing stories about the amendments to the land bill”.

Source: The Guardian July 26, 2021 09:30 UTC