SUVA (Fiji Times/Pacific Media Watch): The Fijian government is said to have lifted the ban on foreign journalists reporting in the country as long as they have been accredited in the usual manner by the Department of Information.
The Fiji Times reported the announcement was made earlier this week by prime minister Frank Bainimarama who said the ban on foreign journalists was established because he believed they were not objective in their reporting.
"The government originally instituted these bans because it believed that some journalists had crossed the line from journalism to political advocacy and had inserted themselves into the domestic political debate.
"But the government reminds foreign journalists of their universal obligation to report events fairly and in a balanced manner."
New Zealand journalist Michael Field was banned by the military regime in 2007, while TVNZ's Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been blacklisted from Fiji since 2008.
Read more on: Asia Pacific Report.
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