Famous for gorgeous white sand beaches and blue water, Fiji is well known to visitors as a paradise. However, the website www.destinationfiji.org is trying to debunk this image and show how the island is violating human rights of Fijian dissidents.
"Under the military dictatorship of Commodore Frank Bainimarama, there has been little sunshine for Fijian workers and communities.
Since seizing control of the country in 2006, the regime has stripped workers of their wages and conditions, free speech has been stifled, and the country's Constitution and Bill of Rights has been abrogated," says destinationfiji.org.
According to the website over 60 percent of Fijian wage earners now live below the poverty line and many workers earn less than $3 an hour. "Those speaking out against the regime are threatened and assaulted," says the website.
The Telegraph reported that the website has been condemned by Fiji's military government and Tourism Miister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum accusing the The International Trade Union Confederation who set up the website for undermining Fiji's most valuable industry which puts workers at risk.
"This is a campaign of a handful of Fijian trade unionists with the assistance of their Australian and New Zealand mates to undermine the Fijian economy, create job loss and punish the livelihoods of ordinary Fijian workers," Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told the news website Fijilive. "All in an attempt to bolster their own position."
Fiji's Trade Union Congress general secretary Felix Anthony said that the campaign was not trying to discourage tourists from visiting the area but aimed to educate them about what was happening in the country.
"Commodore Frank Bainimarama's regime relies on the tourist dollar. Almost 700,000 people visited Fiji in 2011 - almost three-quarters of those visits were for a holiday.
The people of Fiji deserve to earn a living wage and have fair conditions at work, without intimidation from employers or the government. Don't let your tourism dollar prop up the Fiji military regime this year," says destinationfiji.org.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
