Subject: 'austraLasia' #390

FURTHER INFO ON THE COMMENT REFERRING TO ST JOHN BOSCO SCHOOL

(Forwarded from RelPacNews)

Julian Fox

SUVA: 26th July -- In despatch #19 (RPN) I made brief reference to the presence of rebel supporters at St. John Bosco School Nepani (Suva) today. Subsequent to that despatch I went down to the school to check out the situation and ascertain the facts. Here they are:

* This morning a number of police who have children at the school arrived to bring their children home. They had heard that a group of rebel supporters were heading for the school with a view to taking over the property.

* A number of other families, having heard similar, then also came and took their children home. The Head Teacher indicated that he had no solid information, and that only further discussions with authorities (such as the Ministry of Education) would lead him to close the school unless there was any real indication of a safety issue for the children.

* IN the meantime soldiers from the Laqere Bridge area, close by, already manning a checkpoint to keep control of Speight supporters further up the Kalabu Road, arrived to control any difficulties if there were to be any.

* A phone conversation then ensued between the Head Teacher, the Police Commander in Suva, and, indeed, Major Ligairi, the rebel army commander who had been commanding the armed group in parliament. It was agreed that there was in fact no real threat to the school, that talk of rebel supporters moving into the school was rumoured rather than real threat, and that as far as Ligairi was concerned, it would not be happening.

School continued as normal for the day and will resume on the morrow.

It is so easy in the present climate of disinformation, to be moved to action by rumour. The problem, of course, is that rumour takes on proportions that create a certain reality anyway.