Nauru opposition says Facebook shut down

Transcript

The Nauru opposition says the government has forced the country's only internet provider to shut down access to Facebook on the island.

One of five opposition MPs who have been suspended since May last year, Mathew Batsiua, says it has been done to stifle continuing criticism.
 
It comes a day after a statement from the government that it was stopping access to pornography sites and that Nauruans were united behind it.

Mr Batsiua, told Don Wiseman it is the final stage in Justice Minister David Adeang's obsessive desire to rule by a mix of dictatorship and fear.

Nauru opposition MP Mathew Batsiua Photo: Supplied

MATTHEW BATSIUA:  Well unfortunately Nauru has now joined an infamous list of countries that have blocked its citizens from accessing Facebook.  I think it's only about five countries in the world that do that and they are dictatorships and communist regimes and now Nauru are the only democracy in the world to join that list.  The government put out a release saying that they are cracking down on access to pornography sites on the internet.  Nothing wrong with that but in doing so they have shut down Facebook.  We think that it's a cover.  The excuse they have used that they are shutting down access to pornographic sites, it's an excuse.  They foreshadowed that they were concerned about the criticisms of their actions by Nauruans on Facebook.  They foreshadowed this by a statement by the president in parliament a few weeks back and now they've acted upon it.  Now they've censored citizens from accessing Facebook.

DON WISEMAN:  The Nauru government refuses to talk to overseas media.  They very occasionally through a communications person in Brisbane, put out press releases.  They put out one yesterday saying how unified Nauru has become that the opposition is all coming from the overseas refugee campaigners and the likes of media such as this one but you are saying that there is a lot of opposition coming from within the island?

MB:  Yes there is a lot of criticisms from Nauruans in general, just about the lack of accountability and just the actions the government has been doing.  It's an atmosphere where people feel that they're being restrained.  This censoring of Facebook is just another example the measures the government will take to curtail the freedom of expression of the people of Nauru.

DW:  Will it work for them do you think?

MB:  No.  No it won't work because there are other social media outlets that people can use instead of Facebook but the point, they are restricting people's expression of freedom.  That's why there is a growing movement now to organise a rally so people will march towards parliament and confront government on these types of issues.

DW:  When's that going to happen?

MB:  The organisers are putting it together.  I am not sure about the dates but it is going to happen soon.

DW:  In the middle of this is this multinational Digicel.  They have been very enterprising right across the Pacific.  Are you surprised that they seem to have fallen into line?

MB:  Well, you know, the manager of Digicel recently was deported from Nauru or was prevented from returning to Nauru.  Companies like that are just part of the overall regime and the real bullying of people.  They've fallen victim to that as well.  I'm disappointed that they've followed the directives from the government.   I would have thought that being an international company that has such standing that they could stand up to the government.  They've been intimidated I guess because of what happened to the manager.  The government has failed to explain why they did that to the manager.  A lot of people are asking why that happened.  The government is so arrogant that it doesn't see the need to explain itself it just keeps doing what it does.