Reporters Without Borders (via IFEX) reports an unnamed Finance Ministry official was suspended from his post on September 14th, due to material he posted on his blog.

Prior to this another blogger, Filipe Nagera, a senior administration officer with Fiji’s Public Service Commission, was removed from his government position due to blog posts that were apparently critical of the Fijian military.

The report quotes army commander Colonel Pita Driti saying, “People should realize that certain freedoms have to be restricted, including freedom of expression,” he said. Whether or not the bloggers in question are right or not, they have the right to speak without being harassed, and deprived of their livings. If they committed libel? Take them to the courts. The tin-horn colonel would do well to remember the world is watching him, thanks to the Fijian bloggers who continue to put people like him under the global microscope. Oh, and it is global, Colonel.

If any Fijians can tell us the name of the latest official to be removed from his or her post, and can point us to the blogs in question, we would appreciate it.

(I’ll spare you any jokes about Pita Driti in petrie dishes. For now.)