SUVA (Fiji Sun / Pacific Media Watch / Republika Magazine): A University of the South Pacific academic has been sacked by the university after it invoked a new ban against staff being elected into political party leadership positions.
Assistant law lecturer Lynda Tabuya, who is also the union-based People's Democratic Party (PDP) Suva branch secretary, told the Fiji Sun newspaper that she had informed the university of her election as a PDP office bearer last year and it had no problem with this.
But a month ago, the university said it had a new policy which would not allow university staff to "hold official positions in any political party".
After this, Tabuya was told to resign or face the axe. When she did not resign, the university sacked her.
USP's Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education, Dr Akanisi Kedrayate, told the Fiji Sun that staff had to choose between working for the university or a political party and that nobody had been forced out.
This is not the first time that USP management has clamped down on freedom of expression and association.
Last year, Professor Wadan Narsey was invited as chief guest of the USP Journalism Students Association to celebrate UNESCO World Press Freedom Day, but was removed from the programme under instruction from USP management after penning a speech saying that "the Fiji regime’s decrees, public stance and prosecutions of media owners, publishers and editors, have effectively prevented the media from being a 'watchdog' on government".
"Some media organisations are propaganda arms"
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Pacific Media Watch
