Protest pine
men stay put
Landowners who closed off three Government pine forests in the Western Division yesterday in retaliation for alleged non-payment of rent decided last night to continue their protest.
Representatives of the three mataqali (land-owning units) involved decided to keep the forests closed until they received the $17,000 they allege the Government owes them, or until they get a meeting with Government ministers and Native Land Trust Board officials.
Police yesterday offered yaqona in traditional Fijian style to the landowners of forest;and at Drasa and Lololo, before pulling down roadblocks the owners had erected during the night.
19 chief justices
attack press
Nineteen chief justices at a New Zealand conference felt press reports of court proceedings tended to be sensationalised with too much inaccurate and unbalanaced reporting, a spokesman for the Fiji judiciary said yesterday.
Fiji’s chief justice, Mr Justice Grant, attended the sixth Asian judicial conference in Wellington and presented a paper about his administrative problems.
He is back but is ill with dengue fever.
The spokesman said Mr Justuce Grant was not prepared to release his paper to the press but would submit a copy to the Governor-General and the Prime Minister. He said it dealt mainly with extra judicial functions imposed by various laws.
Bad weather
cuts fish output
Unstable weather conditions since Hurrican Val have robbed many fishermen throughout Fiji of their usual earnings.
Buliya fishing group in Kadavu had to dump 3000lb of fish spoiled because they could not bring it to Suva on the hurricane week.
Many fishermen have not gone out since Hurricane Val and are waiting for clear weather reports from Lautoka and Labasa indicate a scarcity of fish in both markets.
The National Marketing Authority fish marketing officer, Mr Levi Underwood, said the NMA had only 6 1/2 tons of fish, mainly walu at the Lami terminal.
The authority is selling fish every day at the Suva market.
2 gaoled for
police assault
Two youths were sentenced yesterday to nine months in prison after being found guilty of attacking the officer in charge of the Central Division police force and wounding his father.
They are Josefa Layasewa, 18, unemployed and Saukat Ali, 20 (s/o Mohammed Ali), a painter, both of Nasinu.
At an earlier hearing, they pleaded not guilty to two counts of intending to cause griveous harm but admitted being drunk and disorderly.
The charges followed an incident outside the house of Suprintendent Chandra Deo Shra, at Naulu, on December 18, in which he was challenged to a fight by a group of youths causing a disturbance on the road.
In his evidence, Suprintendent Sharma said that when he identified himself and the officer in charge of the Central Division prosecution officer, Deputy Suprintendent Dur Swamy Naidu, who was with him at the time, Layasewa began abusing the police officer.
England wins
final test
MELBOURNE – England won the sixth and last test against Australua by an innings and four runs here yesterday and Tony Greig, fittingly bowled the last ball of the tour.
Greig had Ashley Mallett caught by the vice-captain, John Edrich, at silly mid-on 35 minutes after lunch to end Australia’s second innings at 373, still four runs short of England’s first innings lead of 377.
Planning goes
on for big night
The Fiji Amateur Boxing Association has not yet set a date for the year’s biggest local bill- an international clash between Fiji and New Zealand in Suva.
The programme late in April, will feature three New Zealand champions — light heavyweight Bi;; Byrne, light-middleweight Ron Jackson and welterweight David Jackson — against Timoci Belo, Jovesa Keresi and Inoke Cakautini respectively.
