The government says an AON report and The Telegraph article both refer to Fiji as having a reduced risk for terrorist activity, not an increased threat as incorrectly reported by the Fiji Times.
The government says the report did not assign value based on a numerical ranking as reported by the newspaper.
The report simply lists all 21 nations that have been determined to have a reduced risk for terrorism, giving no significance to Fiji’s placement as 11th on the list.
The government says such irresponsible reporting and misinterpretation of Fiji’s efforts to combat terrorism unfairly damages Fiji’s international reputation.
It says an immediate re-traction should be issued clarifying these errors.
The government says it takes the threat posed by terrorism very seriously, no matter how scarce the possibility such dangerous activity has of reaching our shores.
It says it will continue to build on the success in reducing the threat posed to Fijians by terrorism and is committed to preserving Fiji as a tourism hub and safe, secure society.
Fiji Times Editor in Chief, Fred Wesley has acknowledged this.
He has apologized for any inconvenience caused.
Wesley also accepts the fact that the Terrorism and Political Violence Risk Map produced by AON referred to Fiji as having a reduced threat of terrorist activity.
