THE interim administration has lifted emergency laws which had been in force since the military takeover last December.
-PUB
According to interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, it followed a thorough assessment of the national security situation after consulting the military, police and the Home Affairs Ministry.
He said they agreed not to extend the Public Emergency Regulation.
The lifting of the emergency provisions is also part of an undertaking by the interim regime to the European Union to do so by the end of May.
Fiji may lose hundreds of millions of dollars in aid if it reneges on the promises made in Brussels in March.
Commodore Bainimarama said the emergency regulations had been in place to provide safety and security for the people and to protect property.
But he stressed the Public Order Act would be strictly enforced.
It means all investigations into inciting violence and disobedience of law will now return to the police.
Under the Public Order Act, any person will be guilty of an offence if he or she: incites violence and disobedience of law; incites racial antagonism; disturbs public peace; holds public gatherings without a permit; maliciously fabricates or knowingly spreads or publishes whether by writing or by word of mouth any false news or false reports to create or foster public alarm and anxiety; and acts in a manner prejudicial to public safety or to the peace and good order of Fiji.
Commodore Bainimarama said any person found guilty of these offences would be investigated and/ or arrested and charged by the police.
He said despite the lifting of the regulation the Home Affairs Ministry would continue to monitor the situation and ensure provisions of the Public Order Act were enforced.
Ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said last night he was going to reserve his comments for the time being.
He said he would have to wait and see how things turned out as a result of the lifting of the emergency laws.
The tourism industry, which would greatly benefit from the lifting of the laws, welcomed the news.
Fiji Visitor's Bureau chief executive Bill Gavoka said: "I may speak for all involved in tourism to say we are very happy with the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations.
"We believe this would help in the softening of travel advisories from source markets around the world resulting in an increase in tourist arrivals."
Mr Gavoka said the latest development would greatly assist the efforts under way to return Fiji to the position it enjoyed before December 5.
He said with huge marketing campaigns about to be launched in New Zealand and Australia over the next few days, the relaxing of travel advisories for Fiji would strengthen the country's appeal as a safe and popular destination.
But while Mr Gavoka said the lifting of the regulations would help the tourism industry, he said the discounts of as low as 50 per cent at hotels and resorts around the country would continue for some time.
He said the discounts would continue because Fiji still had a lot of catching up to do in terms of restoring the industry to its former position in the global tourism market.
The Fiji Islands Hotel and Tourism Association also welcomed the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations.
Association president Dixon Seeto said they hoped to see the reflection of the lifting of the Emergency Regulations in the travel advisories.
He said they were hopeful that the various high commissions and embassies based in Fiji would try to ensure that security concerns raised in their advisories were reduced.
Mr Seeto said they wanted to thank the interim Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and the other stakeholders, including Cabinet, for lifting the Emergency Regulations.
He pointed out that as for the law and order situation, which he said was still not fully stable, he hoped the police would look into it.
Mr Seeto said the police should be given more support and more resources to ensure that the crime rate was reduced.
Confederation of the Public Sector Unions chairman Rajeshwar Singh also welcomed the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations.
Mr Singh said the interim Government had given its assurances to the European Union and he was glad that it was sticking to it by lifting the Public Emergency Regulations.
He said Fiji was depended a lot on EU funding, especially where the sugar industry was concerned. He said it looked promising that the interim Government took all that into consideration. Mr Singh said foreign travel advisories had been damaging for Fiji and he hoped the situation would change for the better.
Interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said what was lifted from midnight last night was the Public Emergency Regulations Act, which came under the Public Safety Act.
He said the Public Emergency Regulations Act was Act 20 under the Public Safety Act.
He said the Public Safety Act had been in existence for a long time that it was a normal law in existence.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said under the Public Order Act, while the law provided for certain activities under this act, there were still activities like public gatherings in public places which still needed permits.
Under that, he said people needed to be mindful of the law.
However he said all offences committed under the Public Order Act would now be dealt with by the police.
He said the police were the first line of law enforcement following the lifting of the Emergency Regulations.
Fiji Employers Federation member Harvie Probert described the lifting of the decree as a step in the right direction.
"It is hard to argue all is well when a Public Emergency Regulation act is in place," he said.
Fiji-Australia Business Council president Caz Tebbutt Dennis described the lifting of the Act as a significant and positive step.
She said it would possibly help in the reviewing of the travel advisories which could bring tourists back into the country.
She said tourism was the backbone of the economy and this would have a flow on effect for the economy and would ultimately be good for all businesses.
Tourism industry stakeholders had been concerned for some time about the slide in the number of tourists arriving.
They were also worried about the downturn in business because of the travel advisories by countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
Many hotels and resorts had begun to layoff workers or force them to work reduced hours or take pay cuts as cost-cutting measures.