Who knows what the inexperienced foreign minister might do? His utterences today are surely not supportive of the jaundiced junta.

” FOREIGN Minister Stephen Smith has accused Fiji of trying to muzzle free speech after the Australian editor of a local paper was deported.

Hunter said he believed his newspaper’s reports about tax evasion involving Mahendra Chaudhry, a minister in Fiji’s interim Government, may have been the catalyst for his deportation.

Australia has protested the deportation with the Fiji Government and has called on it to respect the rights and civil liberties of all citizens and residents.

Mr Smith said the deportation of Hunter was another act in a pattern of disturbing behaviour since the coup.

“The fact that the Fiji authorities detained and removed an Australian citizen without any advice to the Australian Government or providing consular access is totally unacceptable,” he said.

I’ve just seen on the Fijian TV news that the jaundiced junta disobeyed a high court order stopping the deportation of Russell Hunter.

It will be interesting to see if anyone is charged for disobeying this directive.