Regime trumpets online safety poll
Title -- 5403 FIJI: Regime trumpets online safety poll
Date -- 29 March 2008
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Stuff (Fairfax Media NZ)/AAP 28/03/08
Copyright - Stuff/AAP
Status -- Unabridged
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POLL SHOWS FIJI IS SAFE - BAINIMARAMA
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4455474a34.html
SYDNEY (Stuff/Pacific Media Watch): Fiji's military government has trumpeted the results of an online poll that found the South Pacific island nation was safer for Australian families than the US and UK.
The poll, published on the Australian-based www.outandaboutwithkids.com.au website, asked its readers to list the safest destination for families out of a list of five.
Of the 3686 who responded, Fiji was named as the safest by about 26 per cent, ahead of Vanuatu (19.5 per cent), the United Kingdom (14.3 per cent), the United States (11.7 per cent) and Bali (11.7 per cent).
Fiji's military leader Frank Bainimarama, who seized power in a military coup in December 2006 and appointed himself prime minister of the country, heralded the poll findings.
"It shows that we are moving in the right direction and Fiji continues to remain a safe tourist destination and visitors to Fiji are well looked after," Bainimarama said.
"The survey also shows a very positive outlook for Fiji contrary to the negative comments by academics and other analysts. This is indeed a welcoming revelation from a reputable international survey.
"I am sure that potential visitors to Fiji will now feel more confident and ignore the media reports and travel advisories which do not accurately and objectively report the onground situation here," he said.
The publisher of Out and About with Kids magazine, Deborah Dickson-Smith, said the poll was intended to see whether families were deterred from travelling to places that had experienced political problems or terror attacks.
"We deliberately chose a selection of countries that combined popular holiday destinations for Australian families, with countries that had recently experienced political turmoil or terrorist action," Dickson-Smith said.
"We think the results are interesting particularly that Fiji is considered safe by a much higher percentage of our members than is Bali, considering the political turmoil there recently," she said.
The Australian government warns people travelling to Fiji to exercise caution because political events could lead to outbreaks of violence and civil unrest.
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