Vijay Narayan
SUVA (Fiji Village/Pacific Media Watch): Serious concerns have been raised about "misleading information" being spread by some pro-democracy groups in Australia and mischievous reporting by some Australian media outlets.
In a meeting near Canberra over the weekend, some members of the pro-democracy groups claimed the singing of Fiji’s national anthem was banned in Fiji.
This was also reported by Radio Australia in the Asia-Pacific region and published on their website.
Permanent Secretary for Information Sharon Smith-Johns said this was a "blatant lie".
In 2007, the Education Ministry made the flag-raising ceremony and the singing of the national anthem compulsory in schools.
Smith-Johns said this was a clear indication that the opposite of what was being said in Australia was happening on the ground in Fiji.
Pacific Media Watch
