(o+)What Price Human Rights?

Opinion -- Crosbie Walsh

Rev Akuila Yabaki is in Geneva attending a Human Rights workgroup that will make submissions to the Human Rights Council from 9am – 12pm on Thursday (tomorrow) 11 February 2010. The event can be watched live on: www.un.org/webcast/unhcr/index.asp A CCF release indicates that his main concerns are an independent judiciary and human rights. 

My own opinion is that while these matters need to be addressed in Fiji (but only internationally to gain more internal clout), genuine human rights advocates like Akuila should not underestimate the dangers inherent in the present situation, and the far-from-democratic forces aiming to destabilise government. If they succeed, Fiji will have another manipulated  "democratically elected" government, just like the old one.

There can be little doubt that Government is more aware of this possibility than it openly admits and it could account for it curtailment of some human rights. If this is so, outcomes could be very different than Akuila intends. It would be naive not to consider such a possibility. 

The relatively small scale and scope of human rights abuses in Fiji, important though they are, are at this point in Fiji's history of less importance than the ongoing abuses that have affected large numbers of Fiji citizens over a long period of time. These will only be addressed by ensuring Government keeps to its Roadmap and elections in 2014.  

There are risks in all situations (how can we be assured Bainimarama means what he says?) but Fiji needs to go forward not back, and this is the risk I believe must be taken if there are to be positive outcomes from the 2006 Coup and all that has happened since.

Short Briefs 10.2.10

Asia Human Rights Watch is  again calling on UN to condemn Fiji's "abuse of human rights.

Jon Fraenkel and Jone Baledrokadroka will speak Thursday midday at the Austrian Ambassador's residence in Canberra on the Fiji situation tomorrow. Austria! Those wishing to attend email karina.doblander@bmeia.gv.at

Rev Akuila Yabaki is in Geneva attending a Human Rights workgroup that will make submissions to the Human Rights Council from 9am – 12pm on Thursday (tomorrow) 11 February 2010. The event can be watched live on: www.un.org/webcast/unhcr/index.asp For my opinion on this, see the post "What  Price Human Rights?"

Gold Find in Upper Wainibuka valley, Tailevu.

Fiji plans to lure 130,000 Kiwi tourists.

Former High Court Judge Nazhaat Shameem looks to the media to properly inform the public on the new Media Decree.


NLTB liquidates Vanua Development Corporation. Wants full landowner participation.

Australian travel ban harsh and not working,

The local shipbuilding industry could be revived next year with help from China.

FNPF review. Public, employer, trade union, NGO and civil society organization  submissions close in one week (16 February) on the Fiji National Provident Fund Act review. The FNPF is working with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise on phase one of the review process to reposition the FNPF for the next decade. Reserve Bank and FNPF officials will visit Singapore to study its Central Provident Funds structure and operations. Link here.

Companies in breach of land rent conditions. The Public Accounts Committee has found that several well-known companies like Flour Mills of Fiji and S Nair Buses are in breach of lease conditions on Government land. Re-mortgaging has occurred without rental reassessment, FMF was underpaying rentals, many thousands of dollars are involved, one lease is on land zoned residential, and some cases go back to 1999.

See also the first comment on the "Political Satire" posting for opinions on some of these developments. Thanks, TheMax.

(o) Alleged Assassination Plot Case Continues

Reports from three four sources

Three prosecution witnesses appears in assassination trial

Fiji Village Link
Three prosecution witnesses appeared in the assassination plot trial earlier today as the prosecution tries to present evidence to prove that certain meetings occurred in 2007, which was aimed at conspiring to murder the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and others. 

President of the Fijian Teachers Association Tevita Koroi gave evidence that he received a call from one of the accused, Sivaniolo Naulago in September 2007, requesting Koroi to arrange a private meeting room for Naulago and a small group.

Koroi stated that he knew Naulago as the General Manager of Pacific Connex, who they were in consultations with to upgrade their IT system, and so he made some calls and arranged for them to use a room for their meeting.

State witness Lance Corporal Peniasi Kuli had said earlier in the trial that they had one meeting in September 2007 in a room at the FTA Hall at Knolly Street.

He revealed that the meeting started at 8pm, and he said in court that accused, Sivaniolo Naulago asked the three members of the Territorial Forces Luke Soa, Saula Lasagavibau and Sevuloni Kaidreli and him, on the type of weapons they were going to use to execute the plan.

Kuli said they gave their ideas that M16's, silencers and AK47's were to be used.

Another witness who took the stand today was Anita Degei who is a Reservations and Sales Agent for the Sofitel Hotel.

She revealed that on October 26th, 2007, Ballu Khan, who had booked three rooms at the hotel, paid for the rooms and other bills.

She said Khan paid in cash after requesting that the expenses for the three rooms be put under his bill.

Lance Corporal Kuli had earlier said during his cross-examination that some meetings occurred at the Sofitel Hotel.

Makoi based van driver, Hazel Khan gave evidence that he picked five men from RB Centerpoint in Laucala Beach on the morning of September 22nd, 2007 and took them to Nadi to watch the final of the Sanyo cup.

Khan revealed that he took the men to Sabeto before driving them to the game.

He said he returned soon after and that it will be difficult for him to identify any of the passengers on that day and that he never went to the Sofitel hotel.

The eight accused persons charged with conspiracy to murder Commodore Bainimarama, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and Mahendra Chaudhry are Naitasiri high chief, Ratu Inoke Takiveikata, Feoko Gadekibau, Barbados Mills, Sivaniolo Naulago, Metuisela Mua, Eparama Waqatairewa, Kaminieli Vosavere and Pauliasi Ramulo.

Click on Read more to continue.

(o) Political Satire

Political satire in its many forms is a powerful weapon that has not escaped the attention of anti-Goverment people or the foreign media.  The English magazine Punch used it in the mid-1800s to ridicule and effectively destroy the Chartist Movement, and it has been used many times since. But not by the Fiji Governnment: there are no cartoonist or satirists at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks. And it takes humility and political wisdom to sometimes laugh at oneself.

This  link to the Cafe Pacific posting is an example of good political satire based, as much of it usually is, on a somewhat onesided selection of facts. I address one of these  is this comment I made to their post:

 Sas's Open Letter to the Prime Minister
The letter's brilliant. Pure satire, it exposes the numerous petty over-reactions of Government, but it  rests on one important misrepresentation: Ordinary pensions are not being stopped and ordinary people deprived of an income derived in part from their FNPF contributions. The pensions stopped are those of former politicians to which they made no financial contributions.  They are paid by the State they seek to undermine.

Enjoy the letter but be aware that  political satire is a powerful weapon that is sometimes aimed deliberately off-target."

I have a serious suggestion. Government should also use humour to attack its opponents and popularise its own perspectives. Recruit some cartoonists and other satirists, or mount public competitions around themes like: SDL ideas on democracy; Church keeps its head out of politics, Mataqali share of land rentals,  Fiji's "new" squatter and water supply problems; Qarase returns tabua. There are endless possibilities but keep them light and humourous.

Short Briefs Tuesday 9.2.10

The alleged assassination trial was  adjourned yesterday due to a key witness illness. It should resume today.

Government is looking for a chairperson for the Political Dialogue Forum who will not be "biased towards anyone." More than 200 applications have been received from NGOs, the Churches, Chiefs and the population seeking a seat in the Dialogue Forum.The agenda and the time of the Forum has yet to be decided.

Rotuma airport expected to be completed in 2012.

Fijian landowners have been promised better returns when the Mahogany Decree is in place.

It is rumoured that 20 former parliamentarians have lost their parliamentary pensions.

Former judge Isikeli Mataitoga presented his credentials as Fiji's first Ambassador to the Russian Federation at the Kremlin in Moscow last Thursday.

Roving ambassador and high commissioner to the Pacific Islands, Ratu Tui Cavuilati, will present his credentials to the President of the Federated States of Micronesia – tomorrow. Ratu Tui will be exploring trade opportunities for agriculture, labour export and tourism. The North Pacific trip is part of Fiji’s renewed foreign affairs policy,  aimed at garnering support from traditional allies and expanding or establishing new bilateral relationships.

Some 232,680 Australians visited in 2009, Fiji's toughest year.

State warn fish thieves.

PM Bainimarama has urged coasal Kadavu  villagers whose seawalls have broken to look for other sites inland.

It is sloppy, misleading and unfair reporting that uses the term "Asian" so loosely, especially when reporting crime, and it occurs in NZ as well as Fiji. If the Fiji Times means Chinese, say so. Asians account for nearly one-half of humankind and include Turks, Uzbeks, Iraqi, Indians, Pakistani, Koreans and many others who are Asian but definitely not Chinese.

Readers are again urged to read Comments to postings. Many provide insights and viewpoints at least as valuable as the postings themselves. Please comment yourself, but if you wish to remain anonymous, use a pseudonym. Anonymouses  are not accepted.

Why Short Briefs?

One reason for starting Short Briefs is that I can write them without having to sit at the computer for too long. The doctor has diagnosed arthritis of the lower spine.  It should get better but for now sitting, standing, walking and even lying down cause some pain. I'll try to publish daily Short Briefs and 3-4  articles a week on major events and issues, but if you think of something I should cover, and haven't, why not submit your own writings for consideration?  The condition could be greatly eased with some yaqona but the Maori only managed to bring kawakawa to NZ which is okay for stomach upsets, boils and intoxicating small fish, but not for human consumption.

Short Briefs Monday 8.2.10

NZ has put some conditions to Fiji before finalizing the appointment of Councillors.

Foreign Minister Inoke Kubuabola described the talks as constructive, mutually beneficial, and another step, towards restoring starved diplomatic relations.He said a change in climate on diplomatic relations is on the cards.

Steve Ratuva suggests "innovative diplomacy."

Peter Thomson has been confirmed as Fiji's permanent representative at the UN. Click link for short biography.

The Fiji Live poll on whether NZ should continue sanctions while trying to improve diplomatic relations remains constant with 72% saying No.

Following on from Government's ban on its monthly and divisional meetings, the Methodist Church has urged members to comply with the law. PM Bainimarama says Government is still watching seven ministers he claims are backed by corrupt politicians.

The Ministry of Works has started work on reforms to comply with Government instructions to improve efficiency.

Seventeen new lawyers have been admitted to the bar. Chief Justice Anthony Gates urged them to treat their clients equally, no matter what their social station.

PM Bainimarama has been accepting and then returning tabua (whale's tooth) at recent traditional ceremonies. Civil servants who have received tabua as part of their job have been told to follow suit.

Following the confiscation of tabua from Suva pawn shops, the  Department of Environment has ordered that anyone wanting to sell tabua should register to do so, setting the fee at $1,050.

LandForce Commander BrigGen Pita Driti has announced that 90 Fiji soldiers for the next UN mission will leave for Iraq next month. They will be responsible for guarding UN personnel in Baghdad, which they have been doing since 2006.

The Citizen's Constitution Forum quarterly newsletter Tutaka Online, Vol 4, Jan 2010 can be downloaded by clicking this MediaFire link. It contains several items on recently declared Decrees.

Qarase's Philosophy Supported the 2000 Coup. Click here for Subhash Appana's article in the Auckland-published Indian Weekender.

The Government Information and Referral Centre opened last July in downtown Suva to provide better access for the public to government information, services and departments has so far answered 1,000 enquiries.

Sunday Feature: An Insider's View from the Outside

Nesian is a pseudonym for a moderate, Fiji-born, part-Fijian,Hindi-speaking, sky-blue passport-carrying, former Fiji-resident. An Insider's View From the Outside is the result of years spent thinking about all that has happened since the 2000 coup.   Photo: Earth from space. Oakfieldmedia.com.

Defining Moment

IN the lead-up to the 1999 elections, I was part of a tour into the heart of the then Fiji Intelligence Service headquarters in Berkley Crescent.

Outside, we walked past officers undergoing martial arts training under the guidance of Major Dong Jin Kim.

The centre of the room where the National Security Council met was dominated by a sizeable round table. There were chairs for the members of the council: the Prime Minister (Sitiveni Rabuka) and Minister for Home Affairs, the Commander of the Fiji Military Forces (Ratu Epeli Ganilau), the head of FIS, and others I can’t now recall.

Heavy light green curtains lined the walls of the room and one of these had been drawn aside, perhaps for the benefit of the visitors, to reveal photos of various weapons that were still missing from the 1987 illicit arms shipments.

A curtain on another wall had inadvertently slipped open. The resulting crack revealed a map of Fiji, and highlighted on the map were Fiji Labour Party campaign meeting details, the party’s strongholds and the names of party members.

The campaign that spawned May 19, 2000 was in motion.

P.S. No suggestion is made that those named were part of the "campaign that spawned the 2000 Coup" but what was seen on the wall certainly suggests some FIS involvement in the 1999 election. The FIS was disbanded when Chaudhry's FLP won the election, only to be ousted one year later by the Speight-fronted coup. Photo: Earth from Space.

Wellington Sevens

Fiji wins! An exciting game.  Samoa was so very close. Congratulations to both teams.

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in www.connectme.com.fj/news/opinion. I thank Allen and Connect for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.

Water Issues

Most parts of Lautoka get water from around 5 to 9 am then it comes on again around 4 pm and is turned off again at 8 pm. In a day we get 8 hours of water. In a day we get only 8 hours of water. We store water for cooking, drinking, and sanitary purposes. Our home looks like a water bottling factory. If we have a family function we either request the water authority to bring a tank of water or just made do with what is available and the garden. Yuck.

Many people have said that with the new water authority things will get better. But where will they get the water from if there is no rain? And with the increase in city population resources will be affected. Not to mention the leaking old pipes

However, I hope the authority can adopt FEAs policy on billing. When a consumer vacates and moves to a new home and goes to get the meter registered in his name they should be asked to produce the bill for their last residence and any outstanding monies are transferred to the new account. Many times landlords or new tenants have their water meter cut because of outstanding bill incurred by former tenants. The new water authority doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel - FEA has a full proof method of collection.

I have one question – will the water problem be ever solved?

(o) Assassination Plot Trial

The most dramatic news from Suva this week is the start of the High Court trial of Naitasiri High Chief Qaranivalu Ratu Inoke Takiveikata (photo) and seven others charged with plotting the assassination of PM Bainimarama, Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum Khaiyum and former PM and at the time Minister of Finance Mahendra Chaudhry in 2007.

The other accused are Feoko Gadekibau, Barbados  Mills, Sivaniolo Naulago, Metuisela Mua, Eparama Waqatairewa, Kaminieli Vosavere and Pauliasi Ramulo. Fiji-born NZ businessman Ballu Khan who was arrested, beaten and deported a year ago, is implicated but not charged.

State Counsel, David Toganivalu, asked the then head of Military Intelligence Unit, Major Isireli Narawa, about his first meeting with Ratu Inoke.  He said he met the first accused, Ratu Inoke, at the Sofitel Resort in Nadi in 2007 where the plans to assassinate the commander were made known to him. The Major told the Qaranivalu he did not want Ballu Khan at the meeting, and this was agreed.

Ratu Inoke said the plotters had the backing of the vanua, a number of [Methodist?] churches in Kinoya, Nabua and Cunningham (Greater Suva) had been organised to carry out a rally on the day of the assassination, and an interim administration had been planned. "We basically need to get the prime minister out, to kill him," he was told.

Major Narawa said the military first heard rumours of an assassination plot around February-March 2007, and in a bid to draw out elements planning the assassination, had "released intelligence officer Lance Corporal Peniasi Kuli into the community to gather information undercover."

Kuli, the first State witness, had told the court he posed as a disgruntled senior army officer, willing to support the removal of Bainimarama, when he has first visited Ratu Inoke in a Nadi hotel room on 24 October 2007. He gave the chief his support and an assurance that “he could arrange for the entry of the assassination team into the army barracks on the execution day to carry out the plan”.

Major Narawa said he informed Bainimarama and the Police Commissioner the following day about the situation and the matter was referred to the Military Council. The police were not informed at that time because the military were unsure of the loyalty of the Police Special Branch and Police CID unit.

Further evidence was given by Lance Corp. Kuli that former Fiji nationalist politician Apisai Tora would supply the weapons. Defence counsel Iqbal Khan asked Kuli where he got this information, and Kuli said that he heard it from one of the accused. Khan then questioned Kuli about his statement to the Police on the 11th of September, 2007 that one of the accused Barbadoes Mills and businessman Ballu Khan would provide the explosives/ Kuli said it was another accused, Sivaniolo Naulago, who had told him about the explosives, and that he had a "dry run" of the plan at a training session with four other men at Wailase in Naitasiri. Altogether he had attended 14 meetings with the accused to plan the assassination.

Major Narawa said that Ratu Inoke told him that former politician Peceli Rinakama was out in the highlands gathering ex-military personnel for the cause, and that money had been sent to New Zealand to purchase the arms and weapons.

Ratu Inoke also told Major Narawa he had the support of the international embassies including NZ, Australia, USA and the British embassies and Ratu Inoke alleged that the Australian Embassy had given $1 million to kick-start the economy if something happens. Fiji Live wrongly reported the sum as one billion dollars. Major Narawa said Commodore Bainimarama, the then Chief of Staff, Colonel Samuela Saumatua and the Commissioner of Police, Commodore Esala Teleni were briefed on the plan by him. 

The trial continues on Monday. Photo: FijiLive.

With reluctance but in fairness, I have accepted the advice of several readers not to publish comments while the trial  is still in progress. Comments already published have been deleted.

(-) Fiji and the The Epoch

Military Ruler Tests the Boundaries

I'm forever amazed at where news on Fiji turns up, and what it too often says. Reporter Julia Huang in NY-based The Epoch made at least eight errors or unsupportable statements in her recent report.
1. The military is planning to oversee any newly elected government. Could be, but only by keeping government to the Constitution.
2. Bainimarama has exiled many of his critics. A small number of foreigners and Fiji-born critics who have renounced their Fiji citizenship have been deported or refused entry. But exiled and not many.
3. He intends to draft a new constitution. Along with many others!
4. Regions opposed to Bainimarama have been forced to apology. Fijian custom, no force, and one or two tikina (districts) not the four main regions.
5. He has cancelled the pensions of those opposing his government, including form PM Rabuka. These are parliamentary pensions funded entirely by government, not the general contributory pensions paid to civil servants and others on retirement. So far only one pension has been cancelled: Rabuka, who led the first Fiji coup in 1987 and ceased being PM over ten years ago.
6. Rev. Yabaki said this would cut off people's food line and starve those against Government.  The statement was a reaction to false news spread by Fiji media misunderstanding and anti-government bloggers.
7. Ms Huang repeats Apolosi Bosi's dated, biased and exaggerated statements made on behalf of Amnesty International.
8. She quotes American Professor of Political Studies (not History) Steve Hoadley who thinks Leweni's nomination is Bainimarama "trying to provoke a fight" with NZ. Sounds good for the media but hardly an academic's evaluation.

And who and what is Epoch Times?

American reviewers see it as Falun Gong in disguise and "somewhat paranoid". Virulently anti-Chinese government, it is published in 30 countries and 11 languages. It claims the 2008 Sichuan earthquake was caused by a Red Army nuclear explosion, and the Shenzhou 7 Spacewalk was filmed under water to distract attention from the babies' Milk Scandal in which NZ company Fonterra was unknowingly implicated. If you believe this, you’d believe anything – even on Fiji. But, more times than not, the world’s mainstream media, ensures it’s in good company. Source: Google, Epoch Times.

One Small Step? Australia Lifts Travel Ban

Three Wise Men?

Several readers have expressed the opinion that the lifting of the travel ban by Australia signals a breakthrough in its relations with Fiji. I would like to think so also, because there can be no improvement in relations without dialogue and if the ban remains lifted, more capable people will apply for senior government positions -- and this can only be good for dialogue and democracy.

There are four reasons why I am less optimistic:

• First, the ban had to be lifted to allow Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola to meet with his Australian and NZ counterparts, Stephen Smith and Murray McCully  in Canberra;
•  Secondly, it is a qualified "case by case" lift, that can be revoked at any time, but this is probably the best that can be expected in the circumstances.  It is a pity family exemptions were not explicitly mentioned but this may the next call.
  
• Thirdly, ABC interviewer Linda Mottram in the report seen by some readers says Ratu Inoke Kubuabola carries little weight with the Bainimarama government. She cites no sources, but given the Government's record of allowing different spokesmen to say different things only to have them "corrected" later by Bainimarama, her comment is at least credible. Kubuabola's mention of Parmesh Chand to McCully at their Nadi meeting  and the subequent nomination of Neumi Leweni is a specific example.
  
• Fourthly, and most importantly, Smith signaled the action represented no change in their basic position: 1) Fiji must "return to democracy on a much shorter timetable than the interim government is currently indicating." 2) "There must be full and free and fair participation in the political process in Fiji which, in our view, is not occurring," 3) "We  (Australia and NZ) propose to let our views about the current arrangements in Fiji continue to be known to our neighbours and friends in the Pacific and in the Commonwealth." Link to Joint Press Conference.

Middle Ground

One can only hope this a mix of principle and expediency with a large pinch of face-saving. The South Pacific's "superpowers" can't -- and won't -- give in to Bainimara, and for the same mix of reasons Bainimarama can't -- and won't-- give in to them.

There is, of course (because there must be) a middle ground that would revolve around multi-lateral, one-step-after-the-other, concessions to speed up the process: Speed is at the centre of the issue. Speed fast enough to satisfy AusNZ, and convince Fiji citizens that real progress is being made, but not so fast Bainimarama has insufficient time to at least embed, if not fully achieve,  the changes he desires

What steps can be taken?
Fiji could accept some members of the old political parties into the citizen dialogue process (and later constititional and electoral dialogues) on the understanding that they publically accept the priniciples of the People's Charter and the need for electoral reform, including the abolition of race-based parties.  Once the Media Decree is in place the PERS emergency could be lifted, and some reasonable accommodation sought with the Methodist Chuch in exchange for their oath to permanently refrain from party politicking, and desist from misinforming world-wide Methodism about the causes for their present position.

In return, AustNZ could offer legal, technical and financial help to speed up investigations into corruption, and assist with legal reform, media reform, civil service reform, land reform and land use, and other items of the Roadmap.

Of symbolic but no less important, AustNZ would send out really good vibes to Fiji if it asked the Commonwealth (which acted in the first place on their prompting) to readmit Fiji into the Commonwealth Games because "progress" was being made.  One sanction less will not ease the pressure on Fiji but this one could well be the "test of sincerity" Fiji says it wants.

Further concessions should see AustNZ actively encouraging Fiji's participation in all the regional institutions and processes from which it has restricted access or been totally excluded. At some stage the Commonwealth and the EU could also  be persuaded to resume their aid and othe assistance to Fiji. We could also reduce pressure on the UN on Fiji peacekeepers.

If most or many of these steps could be taken, Fiji should be able to bring elections forward to 2013 or even 2012.

Before then, each positive step taken by Fiji should be taken as "progress" by AustNZ leading to further steps and, with each step taken, Fiji will see we really are their friends in need and deed.  Once a firm election date is set, all sanctions should be lifted with Fiji returned to its rightful place in the community of nations.

Other Players, the First Move, a Special Committee?
There are, of course, other important players, in Fiji and overseas.  In Fiji, the most influential include the media, the Methodist Church, the more moderate politicians, chiefs, trade unions, and non-government organizations. If they are seen to be supporting the steps forward, success is assured and the  more extreme elements will become irrelevant to Fiji's future.  The AustNZ media, that for the most part has made the situation worse,  also need  to be better informed and more supportive of positive change.

Who makes the first move? AustNZ with the Commonwealth Games, Pacer Plus, the regional organizations mentioned by Richard Herr? Or Fiji by lifting PERS, being more inclusive and tolerant of constructive debate and criticism, by retracting its latest restrictions on the Methodist Church, by revoking no further pensions, and improving its PR and speaking with one voice. One stray public remark could seriously set the process back.


A Special Diplomatic Committee?
The ball is probably already rolling behind the scenes, but until more senior diplomats are installed in Suva, Wellington and Canberra, a special diplomatic committee representing the three countries, housed at the Forum headquarters in Suva, with hot lines to their respective ministers, could help push things forward and, just as important, ratchet up each step and stop it sliding back.

Update: That the Ministers have reported some progress and have agreed to meet again may seem an anti-climax but we may be assured discussions will continue at different levels. This "feels" more like the end of the beginning than the beginning of the end.

Reflections on the Naidu-Walsh Debate

Between Politics and Poetry 

by Sudarsan Kant

Your recent debate with Nick Naidu on the political situation in Fiji unwittingly exposed a fundamental divide between the different interlocutors around the Fiji question and the proper course of action to pursue in solving the crisis. You have for sometime now insisted that substantive solutions must be congruent with the reality on the ground, and to pretend otherwise will not alter what has happened, and is happening in Fiji.

Neither you nor I suggest that we ought to elide over the hash that people have made of politics and society in Fiji for a very long time, but trying to wind the clock back to 1987, or 2000 or 2006 is certainly not moving forward.

(B) Electoral Reform for Fiji

 Electoral Reform for Fiji: the Importance of Speedily Ending Malapportionment

by

Scott MacWilliam

The current regime in Fiji has correctly identified one vote one value as an important democratic principle which should underpin electoral reform in Fiji. The system used under the 1997 Constitution for the 1999, 2001 and 2006 elections grossly distorted the weight given to votes as between different constituencies, which is malapportionment, but not gerrymandering. (The latter involves the specific drawing of electorate boundaries to benefit a particular party or individual candidate, and was not a major feature of the Fiji electoral system.)

Malapportionment is usually initiated when conservative parties, with their bases in rural areas have most influence. In federations, where there is an elected upper house or Senate, there is often constitution derived, deliberate malapportionment which favours states or provinces with small populations. In the US, each state has two Senators, whether the population is large – California, New York etc. – or small – Alaska, Wyoming, South Dakota etc. In Australia there are twelve Senators per state, with each seat in Tasmania allocated per approximately 27,000 voters and in New South Wales and Victoria allocated on the basis of about 330,000 voters. That is, a senator from the two most populated states represents more than ten times as many people as a senator from Tasmania. A former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating was in part referring to this disparity when he described members of the Senate from all parties as ‘unrepresentative swill’.

However for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries lower house seats for the national and sub-national legislatures have been malapportioned as well, usually reflecting the continuing power of rural interests in the major parties or coalitions. It was not until 1974, that malapportionment was removed for House of Representative seats in Australia and the practice remained at the state level until recently. It has often been the case that the Australian Labor Party has campaigned hardest for reform, but in seeking to become the dominant force in conservative politics in Australia the Liberal Party – or at least some its members – also favoured the end of malapportionment. One vote one value is a cause with political as well as moral imperatives.

This is the case for Fiji too: the malapportionment of the old electoral system played a major part in keeping the country’s political economy mired in its rural past, even as the population shifted to the urban areas. Along with this shift educated, skilled workers and professionals formed a larger proportion of the labour force. While communal electorates are widely regarded as conservative, being important for keeping Fiji’s politics race-based, malapportionment should also be credited – if that is the right word – with reinforcing this and other anti-democratic features.

(+) Impressions of Fiji

Fiji Now: February 2010

By Subhash Appana*

I’ve just come back, much weakened through over-recharging, after a much-anticipated three week stint in Fiji. The very first thing that struck me was the fact that so many things had changed, yet so little had really changed. I’ll tell you about this as we go along. The main issue that I wish to address is a recurrent question that virtually everyone asks: "So how is Fiji?"  Read more...

Nik Naidu and Croz Walsh on Radio Australia

 This is the link to Radio Australia's Pacific Beat programme when Bruce Hill hosted an off-the-cuff  "debate" between  Nick Naidu, spokesperson for Auckland-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji, and myself. The programme was recorded on Friday 29 Jan. 2010. To listen, you will need Windows Media or a similar programme.

(o) Coupfourpointfive Continues to Mislead

Coupfourpointfive is an Auckland-based anti-government blog published by anonymous journalists.  Other than publishing the occasional rumours that later proved false, it used to be generally well informed and reasonably balanced. Lately, the number and quality of its postings have sharply declined, suggesting a change of editors.

Cafe Pacific, commented on my earlier post under the heading:

Fiji Blog Cops a Blast Over 'Treason' Law Makeover Misrepresentation

This is what it  wrote: Blog Coupfourpointfive has had its credibility challenged over a report claiming any "Negativity against regime treated as treason". The shallow item was attributed in the first paragraph to "sources". Former University of the South Pacific Development Studies academic Crosbie Walsh, whose own Fiji blog is increasingly looked to for informed and accurate analysis, has condemned the website, run by journalists, for misrepresentation. The original "treason" blog posting has now had a hasty title change to "New Criminal decree brings worry". Read on...  Cafe Pacific then reprints my posting.

Title Change But No Retraction and Equally Incorrect Comments Allowed

The blog has since accepted and published nine comments from readers -- except mine that merely asked for a copy of the decrees. I reprint the comments, partly to show how misrepresentation multiplies, but mainly to demonstrate the thinking of those commenting. I have underlined the most revealing thoughts. Readers will note the absence of constructive comment on how to resolve the situation other, of course, than that proposed by Wellington anti-government blogger, Sai Lealea.

Mark Manning said... "Might this be the last straw ? To expect others to suffer a prison sentence for Sedition at the hands of an illegal entity, for criticising the very person who himself was about to be arrested for sedition, is hypocritical to say the least.The difference and stark contrast is, Frank Bainimarama was guilty of Sedition against a " Legal Entity " .

Anonymous said...Here we go again! Frank and Khaiyum are consolidating their positions so that they will be in power for the next 20 years. 
The worse part is that Fijians are lapping all these up and now starting to praise Frank the dictator as the saviour of Fiji!
From the beginning Fijians have always suffered from this weakness. They will yell and swear that democracy and elected govt is the only way to go. But if Frank persists for a short while and do some pysical development at the village level then Fijians will start turning around and praising him as if he is the lord Jesus Christ.Click on Read more...

(o) Negativity is Treason: Blog Misunderstands or Deliberately Distorts New Crime Decrees

Cartoon: Goofy Green Monster with Spots, Six Legs and One Eye. Clip Art.

The story  posted by the anti-government blogger Coupfourpointfive under the heading "Any Negativity Against Regime Treated as Treason" is factually incorrect and, one must assume, deliberately misleading. I consider this the most blatantly biased, damaging -- but most easily refutable -- release so far by Coup4.5. Their general credibility is now in serious doubt.


If the mainstream print and radio media report this blog story without first checking the facts against Fiji's old and new laws, they are a party to the blogger's action, whether intended or not. Sloppy journalism becomes a weapon in politically delicate situations.

Coup 4.5 reports that "  one part of the decree limits what the Fiji media can report on a criminal case."   The inference is that this is a new provision, limiting freedom of the press. This is not so.The provision of the Criminal Procedure Decree prohibits reporting on criminal cases "until the conclusion of the trial" (section 201). It applies only to offences to be tried before the High Court such as rape and murder. And the provision  is identical to section 236 of the repealed Criminal Procedure Code that has been Fiji law since about 1948.

The blog then states: "  Under subsection 65 Part 2 individuals and NGO's criticising Frank Bainimarama's regime are deemed to have committed treason and this is punishable by life imprisonment."

In fact, section 65 of the new Decree is section 65 of the old Penal Code, which defined a seditious (sic!)  intention as an intention, inter alia, to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of the population of Fiji.  Section 66 of the old Penal Code created the offence inter alia of "printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, or reproducing any seditious publication" which offence was punishable with two years imprisonment and/or a fine of $200 on a first offence and three years on a subsequent conviction.

So the offence in the Decree is not new and arguably blogsites which promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between classes of the population have already been guilty of the old section 66! Only the name and the penalty has changed. The offence is now called "inciting communal antagonism" and the maximum penalty is now 10 years imprisonment. The offence is not called treason.

Treason is a separate offence under section 64 and it re-enacts the old common law definition of treason (as used in the trials of Timoci Silatolu and George Speight). It includes acts of killing the President or the Prime Minister or causing them harm and also includes levying war against Fiji. In fact the new definition adds nothing to the common law definition of treason, nor does it dilute it.

Last year's Abrogation of the 1997 Constitution made it necessary to replace laws existing under the Constitution.  For the most part, the decrees that replace them replicate, clarify and update the old laws. No new "draconian" sections have been added.

Readers wishing to read the new Crime Decree and Criminal Procedure Decree may click on these links to Mediafire, and download them from there.

The Media Decree is still being drafted so responsible comment is not yet possible. 

Anonymous comments on all posts must include pseudonyms, either in place of Anonymous or as part of the comment. This helps discussion.

Insider's View from the Outside

New Weekly Feature. 
Insider's View from the Outside will be published every Sunday at 9:00am NZ time for the next several weeks.

Nesian is a pseudonym for a moderate, Fiji-born, part-Fijian, Hindi-speaking, sky-blue passport-carrying, former Fiji-resident.  Insider's View From the Outside is the result of years spent thinking about all that has happened since the 2000 coup.    

Photo: Earth from Space. Oakfieldmedia.com

The Forces Coalesce

This post is predominantly about post-1999 Fiji. It is my attempt to understand why the 2000 coup took place and how, years later, Fiji is still feeling the effects of that event. Some readers will argue that we will need to go back to May 14, 1987 for the source of the country’s coup culture. I won’t dispute that but I was just a kid when Sitiveni Rabuka overthrew the Bavadra Government. I wasn’t even on the mainland and was thus mostly immune to its effects.

But I was very aware of events in Fiji leading up to and since the introduction of the 1997 Constitution:

• The contrast in campaign styles of Rabuka’s SVT/NFP/GVP coalition and Mahendra Chaudhry’s for the 1999 general election. Rabuka and Jai Ram Reddy tended to focus on the 1997 Constitution and how it was going to create a multi-cultural nirvana and be a beacon of hope to the rest of the world.
  Chaudhry astutely focused his attention on reducing the cost of living, improving infrastructure, cutting tax – bread-and-butter issues that occupied the thoughts of most people.
  It wasn’t as if Rabuka and co did not also make similar promises. It was just that theirs were overshadowed by the lofty opportunities the new Constitution would present and that is what the media latched on to;

• The effect the preferential voting system had on the results. Prior to the ‘99 elections, Fiji had utilised a ”first past the post” system, ie: the person with the most votes won.
  Victory under the new system was yours only if you had 50 per cent + 1 votes. It was complicated system that confused most voters. Successful candidates would not know their fate until several rounds of laborious manual counting.
  Again FLP saw an opportunity where its main opponents did not: It swapped preferences with every other party except the SVT, National Federation Party and General Voters.
  The fact that there was also a comparative glut of Fijian parties did the SVT no favours. This effectively rendered the Fijian vote ineffective because it broke it into so many fragments;

• The behind-the-scenes machinations by ministers in the outgoing Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei for Chaudhry’s removal. The seeds were sown during their farewell morning tea. One of these ministers (because there were several) allegedly said: “We can’t let this bastard rule for a year. We have to get him out before then. If he stays longer than that, we won’t be able to get rid of him”;

• Once Chaudhry took power, his arrogance and disrespect for everyone in general and Fijians in particular, came to the fore.
  While Adi Kuini Speed and the rest of the Fijian Association Party were waiting for him on the outskirts of Suva to discuss the make-up of the new Cabinet, Chaudhry was at Government House being sworn in as Prime Minister.
  What riled Fijians most was that a chief of Adi Kuini’s stature had suffered the indignity of finding out what was happening over the radio.
  Yes, Chaudhry did reduce the cost of living but the public was easily distracted by his actions.
  Perhaps he forgot about the power of television. Every condescending smirk in response to even perfectly reasonable questions was duly recorded and broadcast on the 6pm news;

• Neither were Fijians impressed by the pedestal on which he was being placed as Prime Minister. On a visit to a Fijian village soon after he was appointed PM, Chaudhry had been transported off a boat on the shoulders of Fijian warriors so he wouldn’t wet his feet. This is veneration normally reserved for chiefs, ”not for commoners and certainly not for an Indian”;

• Failed politicians from the National Federation Party who attempted to sow seeds of racial disharmony by paying former (Fijian) criminals to burn down Indian schools. One of them owned a shop on Grantham Road;

• How Chaudhry’s tax crackdown risked netting well-known businessmen who owed millions of dollars in business taxes dating back 30 years. The name of one of these businessmen has cropped up a few times, once for allegedly providing funds to bribe senior army officer and 2000 coup opponent Viliame Seruvakula;

• Jostling for position and prominence between chiefly families. On the one hand, the Cakobaus whose forebear was the self-styled Tui Viti who ceded Fiji to Great Britain. In the other corner, the Maras, who began to dominate Fiji’s affairs post-independence.
  It went even further, rearing its head in the form of rivalry between the old boys’ networks of Ratu Kadavulevu and Queen Victoria schools versus that of Marist Brothers High School that the male descendants of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara attended.
  The flames were further fanned when Ratu Mara’s daughter Adi Koila Nailatikau joined Chaudhry’s government;

• The involvement of criminal businessmen like Iliesa Duvuloco who saw financial benefits;

• Finally, members of the elite Counter Revolutionary Warfare unit who carried out the coup. How could a clique of well-educated and intelligent young men be so brainwashed and turned into puppets for such a illegal, dangerous and devastating episode in Fiji’s history?

Except this play was all too real.

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in Connect.  I thank Allen and Connect for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.

 Laidback Lifestyle

A friend of mine spent some time recently in the Lau group and was amused by the fact that women were always busy preparing meals, cleaning clothes, etc while men were enjoying a much more relaxed lifestyle which doesn’t need to be described. A group of young lasses not even 10 years old sent to the bushes by their parents to collect coconuts told him that “men have lazy bones” which apparently suggest that even the young ones understand very quickly the rules of life.

In a recent article (Fiji Times 20 January) about the rocket stove, we read things “Women can easily do whatever other household chores they may have and men are now assisting the women with their cooking because the stove is very easy to use”. It seems that the traditional culture is the best way to ensure that women will migrate to the city (no wonder there is such an imbalance between young men and women in the countryside) and the failure of the leaders of those communities to adapt to modernity will assure the short and irremediable death of the maritime province in a near future.

(o+) Appeal to My Cousins Across the Ditch

 The Australian government seems to have taken no notice of Prof. Herr's report, repeating the old line: no relaxation of sanctions until there's signs of progress towards a "return to democracy and the rule of law."  But there are many things happening to improve governance long-term, and the lot of the ordinary Fijian short and long-term.

My Appeal to Australia (and NZ)

Leaving aside the "return to" (How could you  possibly believe the Qarase government was democratically elected or acted in ways that democratically-elected governments should, and usually do), there are "signs of progress": witness the Citizens' Assembly in Suva yesterday and the one in the West next month. Dialogue is going on.  Not as much as you may wish, but dialogue nonetheless.

You could argue that the old parliamentary parties should be included in the dialogue.  This seems reasonable until examined more closely. Qarase's SDL (and its links with the Speight Coup perpetrators) are in large part responsible for the situation in Fiji today. Qarase has also said his SDL party opposes the People's Charter. It's difficult for Bainimarama to include people in dialogue when they refuse to even consider the merits of the Charter. Bainimarama will not negotiate with Qarase and the SDL. He thinks them spent forces, irrelevant to Fiji's future.

For Bainimarama, the Charter is the bedrock on which the future Constitution will be built, and  elections in 2014 will be conducted according to the  new Constitution.

Qarase (if you truly love Fiji), and Australia and New Zealand (if you are truly Fiji's friends), examine the Charter. Spell out what you disagree with, and what you can work with. Acknowledge that the Citizens' Assemblies are "progress." Acknowledge also that the Bainimarama government is doing many things for the ordinary Fiji citizen that should have been done years ago.

I know you, Australia,  are not deliberately trying to  cripple Fiji, its governance and economy. But your rigid stance is making things worse. Your  so-called "smart sanctions" are hurting the ordinary Fijians you say you are trying not to hurt.  I'm told there's an influx of ordinary Fiji citizens into Australia. I suspect this is as much, or more, due to economic than political factors.

Things are moving in Fiji, slowly, erratically and not always as you may wish. Often Fiji government spokesmen are their own worse enemy. It's often a case of two steps forward, one step back.  But Bainimarama, at least, is genuine.

Applaud the good things his government is doing.  Offer technical and other support to help him achieve his stated goals. Stop pushing him into a corner. Ease back on the isolation. And hurry. The longer this takes, the greater the dangers.  Help to keep him on track. He's far more likely to heed a friend than an enemy. Offer  all the help you can to promote truly democratic change in Fiji.

Heed the advice of many: Richard Herr, Peter Thomson, Scott MacWilliam, your fellow Australians, and in Fiji that veteran stalwart of "true" democracy, the Rev. Akuila Yabaki. All of them want more flexibility in your policies. None of them like coups but all of them want positive outcomes from a coup that has already happened.

The only clock you can turn back by your inflexible policy is a return to the far-from-democratic and racist government of Qarase -- and none of the deep-rooted problems which caused the 2006 Coup would have been resolved. Back to square one and -- counting -- and over three years lost.  You (and my own government)  cannot want this!

Pacific unity threatened by impasse over Fiji | The Australian

Pacific unity threatened by impasse over Fiji | The Australian

If you wish to comment anonymously, you MUST sign off with a pseudonym of your choice (within your comment)  before clicking Anonymous. This will help discussion.
WARNING. Personal and rude comments will be deleted.Attack the argument and not the man. Please help me to maintain the high quality of comments.

(o) Special Report by Australian Richard Herr

Time for a fresh approach Australia and Fiji relations post-abrogation

by Richard Herr

.

http://www.mediafire.com/?f1zmzjnzomk
This is a link to the full report.

Background
The abrogation of Fiji’s 1997 Constitution on Good Friday 2009 has profoundly altered the views of most observers on the restoration of parliamentary democracy in Fiji. The government of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has publicly charted a new course involving constitutional change and no elections before 2014. As much as critics may doubt that the new roadmap announced by Bainimarama in July 2009 will be followed, the government insists its timetable is non-negotiable.

Brigadier Driti, New Zealand and Other Stories

(-)Testing, Testing, Testing ...I doubt Brig. Pita Driti is the Fiji Government but if his latest repeat of earlier comments are any indication,  it appears he does not want New Zealand to accept the nomination of LtCol Neumi Leweni as Fiji's counsellor in Wellington.

His "The Fiji government is testing the NZ government on whether it is genuine in having dialogue and assisting Fiji" can only be seen in Wellington as brinksmanship.

Prime Mininster Bainimarama: Government needs to speak with one voice. Too much is at stake! We already have enough people in NZ working against Leweni's appointment. They don't need Driti's support.

(+) School Leaders Must Perform. The Education Ministry will replace head teachers and heads of departments whose schools have consistently underperformed over the last three years. Education Minister Filipe Bole School says he will be personally lead a team of officials to visit these underperforming schools, saying many school heads have become too comfortable in their current appointment, which has allowed complacency to settle in. He said a jolting exercise was required.

(o) Rice Farmers in Bua Province in Vanua Levu
 say their crops are thriving thanks to a new variety of rice provided by the Ministry of Agriculture that takes only 12 weeks to mature. Villager Peni Matakasi, whose increased yields have enabled him to buy a tractor and harvester, says 18 other villagers are also planting rice, and they hope soon to form a village co-operative. The rice is sold to Rewa Rice Ltd.

(o) PM's Kadavu Tour Continues. PM Bainimarama called on the people of Kadavu and Fiji to support his government’s reform process, and accepted a tabua (whale's tooth), as a traditional apology from the Sainima tikina who had earlier opposed his leadership. The PM told villagers to send away those who visit their villages and make complaints against the work of government. He asked the people to try to help themselves and government will do its part.

Snippets: Customs, Land, Lawyer, Judiciary, Rabuka, Kadavu, Media and Crime Decrees, Commonwealth Games, Rugby Coach, Blood

 (+) Customs Co-operation. One area where Australia and New Zealand should co-operate with Fiji is with customs control. But Fiji's Acting Revenue and Customs Board Chairman  LtCol Pio Tikoduadua  says this is not the case.
     Tikoduadua said the Oceania Customs Organization has 23 members and as part of this Organisation, Australia and New Zealand should be more open as Fiji's stringent border control measures will also be beneficial to them.


(o) Idle Land. The Native Land Trust Board has revealed that over 3,000 land leases, given to grow sugar are now lying idle. According to the blog FijiToday this represents about 180,000 hectares.

NLTB General Manager the Alipate Qetaki says the sugar industry's failure to obtain the 4 million tons of cane required by the sugar mills is not due to lack of acess to land. Many leasees are old people unable to look after the land which now serves as their residence only. Qetaki says that to resolve the problem, all stakeholders such as Fiji Sugar Corporation, NLTB and Government must work together.
     [One might add that many leasees, who migh otherwise work the land,  feel their leases and their future in Fiji are insecure. Many have already left the country. Government is working on ways to increase leasee security and get more lease money to the mataqali owners ofland, and less to the chiefs and the NLTB. This is part of the Roadmap.]

(+) Lawyer Struck from Roll  Suva lawyer Abhay Singh has been disbarred from the legal profession and ordered to pay $1,000 fine. He was charged with breaching the Legal Practitioners Decree – through professional misconduct, following complaints from the public. One of the charges was that he pressured a client to transfer a parcel of land to him in payment of the balance of fees. Another was that he acted for multiple parties in a sale and purchase agreement for a land - in return for the transfer of a taxi permit to the land vendor. Ending such practices by some members of the legal profession is part of the Roadmap.

(o-) The Cancellation of Sitiveni Rabuka’s Pension Some years ago this may have been justifiable. Rabuka started the "coup culture" in his 1987 Coup, and although his record has left some questions about his sincerity (there were rumours of his involvement in and immediately after the Speight Coup in 2000), his overall record as PM up to 1999 and his offers to assist the Bainimarama Government have been reconciliatory and, at least on the surface, helpful.
     I presume Government has heard rumours that Rabuka has made anti-Government statements in public and this could be the reason his persion was cancelled. Whether true or false, and whatever the rights or wrongs of this particular case, I think the pension cancellation sends the wrong message. Government needs to be seen as conciliatory and moving towards dialogue across the political divide. If the public think the action unfair, it will be seen as petty and vindictive. 

(+) Chiefs on the island of Kadavu have expressed support for Government and asked Bainimarama to carry on beyond 2014 if necessary.The chiefs told the PM the whole of Kadavu supports his leadership as they have witnessed first hand developments they have never seen in the past 40 to 50 years.

(-) Media organization Pacific Freedom Forum has said the Media Decree discussions will be "meaningless" if the Fiji Times and Fiji Television are not represented. I found their argument unpersuasive and and unneceesily provocative, but I agree the mainstream media should be represented. The more Government moves are seen as inclusive, the more support it will win, in Fiji and overseas -- and inclusiveness means inclusion of all all major viewpoints. If only those who totally agree with Government are included, it is talking to itself!
     See also RNZI news in which Bainimarama says irresponsible journalism over many years "promoting certain political ideologies and philosophies [has] contributed to the nation’s social and political unrest [causing] disunity and upheaval."


(o) High hopes of Fiji Competing in Commonwealth Games
This is one area where Australia and New Zealand could ask the Commonwealth to think again. Fiji's exclusion only adds to all the other exclusions, and this one only hurts sports men and women.

(+) New Crime Decree Will Assist Fight against Sexual Abuse

(o-) The Truly Pro-Democracy NGO Citizen's Constitutional Forum has released a statement calling on Government to ensure a truly independent judiciary amid concerns this has not alway been so. This blog supports them not just because a judiciary should be independent but because Government must, increasingly, be seen to "do the right thing." It has more to lose than gain by not doing so.

(o) Rugby Coach Sale Sorovaki, well known in Manawatu rugby circles, would like to return to NZ to finish his coaching certificate. but there are problems ...

Fiji Appeals for Blood. Local readers please help. Click heading to view details.

The Link to Croz's Radio Interview

http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/national/ngts/2010/01/25/south_pacific_report
 It was a bit rushed and I missed out on completing my last point but, thanks to Bryan Crump, the interviewer, we covered a lot of ground.

There are two errors.  I should have said Parmesh  Chand, not Paresh Singh. And Bryan spoke of the appointment of High Commissioners. The posts are for Counsellors (a much lower position), and later, hopefully, Deputy Heads of Mission, then Heads.

(-+)The Leweni Nomination, Fiji after 2014, and Fiji's Poor PR.

Having spend 20 minutes on RadioNZ last night arguing a case that the Leweni (Photo FBC) nomination is not provocative, I read that Brig.Gen.Pita Driti says Fiji is "testing" New Zealand's sincerity. This is provocative. If NZ also decides to "test" Fiji's sincerity, the good work of the countries' Foreign Ministers will have come to nothing.

Meanwhile, PM Bainimarama has again said the proposed regional trade agreement PACER Plus, advocated by Australia and New Zealand, will not benefit Fiji. He may be right but this is not the time to say it.

His speech in Kadavu (see previous post) was also not helpful, leaving the impression of the military leaning on any future government not toeing the line. He presumably meant if it departed from the principles of the People's Charter (that few can disagree with, and which will will provide the framework for the new Constitution) but this was not made clear.

Diplomacy is about building bridges, not threatening them when construction has hardly begun. It is also about tact, timing, keeping your eye on the long term goals, and good PR, and being misunderstood only when intended.

I can't see how Fiji can possibly benefit if NZ does not accept LtCol Leweni as Fiji's senior representative in Wellington, good man that he might be.

Driti was right in one thing, though. He said Jone Baledrokadroka's claim on Radio NZ that Leweni was to go to Wellington to "spy ...is childish."

(G) A new Fiji in 2014: Bainimarama

In his clearest statement so far, PM Bainimarama has spelt out what he intends for Fiji's future: Elections will be held in 2014; the country will be run by Government (and not the Great Council of Chiefs or the Methodist Church) and "the Military will always be there to see the path taken by the new government is on the same track."  Sinister as this may seem to some, it is similar to other former colonial countries, such as Indonesia, Philippines and even Singapore, where the path to democracy followed a different route from Western democracies.  Radio Fiji reports:

Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has told civil servants on the island of Kadavu that only government and no other institution will run the country.

Bainimarama says the Fiji military that took over the country in 2006, was different from the military that took over in 1987 and 2000.

He added that there would be no delay to elections being held in 2014, but the military would ensure the new government keeps to the path they have set.  FBC Reporter Apisalome Coka is in Kadavu with the Prime Minister’s delegation and filed this report:

"Speaking to civil servants at the Vunisea government station Prime Minister Commodore Bainimarama declared that Government will run the country and no other institution, such as the Methodist Church or the Great Council of Chiefs.

Bainimarama says this is where past governments have failed. The PM urged civil servants to work together. He said the country has a new military in place that is much different from the military that took over in 1987 and 2000.

Bainimarama told civil servants the military council has suggested he bring in four of his colonels as Commissioners* as he wants quick responses to what the people need."

"The Commander has also called on government officials in the province to urge the people to stand by the People’s Charter. He says the People’s Charter is the backbone to the reforms being carried out in the country.

"He also revealed that officials from the World Bank who visited the country last November supported government plans and told him it was the best for Fiji.

"Bainimarama also confirmed there will be no delay in elections scheduled for 2014. He said by 2014 Politicians, church leaders, chiefs, and all those in leadership roles should be ready to continue where his government has brought the country to. But he warned the Military will always be there to see the path taken by the new government is on the same track." For FBC News, I'm Apisalome Coka."

* Regional administration is overseen by commissioners of four "Divisions," Western, Northern, Eastern and Central. The large (478 km2) island of Kadavu, a little smaller than NZ's Lake Taupo, is 80 km2 south of the main island Viti Levu (10,429km2)