In what FijiLive called "an extraordinary verbal attack on a neighbour", Samoa's PM Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi claimed the Fiji military is planning to stay in power for another decade; PM Bainimarama is "stealing public money", and that Fiji has no need for the military. He called on Fijians (sic!) to "Wake up now. Stand up and reclaim your government. It is your God-given right." He called Bainimarama's appointment of Police Chief Esala Teleni, the appointment of one "madman" by another, an action "reminiscent of Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler." He also accused Bainimarama of lying to the Pacific Islands Forum that Samoa, or any other country, coerced smaller Pacific states into supporting a harder line against Fiji.
Tuilaepa is an economist, born in 1945, who was elected by other matai (chiefs) to parliament in 1980. He was instrumental in the major financial reforms of the early 1990s and for closer economic ties with China.
He has been criticized in Samoa for introduced legislation aimed at eroding customary forms of land tenure, allegedly in breach of the Constitution; forcing the resignation of the attorney general, reportedly over a case involving election fraud; and for legislation, protested against by 15,000 people, which switched Samoan road use from left to right-hand drive. This episode had many saying he was "out of touch or arrogant or ... simply tired." [Or all three?] Source: Wikipedia.
Tuilaepa is an economist, born in 1945, who was elected by other matai (chiefs) to parliament in 1980. He was instrumental in the major financial reforms of the early 1990s and for closer economic ties with China.
He has been criticized in Samoa for introduced legislation aimed at eroding customary forms of land tenure, allegedly in breach of the Constitution; forcing the resignation of the attorney general, reportedly over a case involving election fraud; and for legislation, protested against by 15,000 people, which switched Samoan road use from left to right-hand drive. This episode had many saying he was "out of touch or arrogant or ... simply tired." [Or all three?] Source: Wikipedia.
Postscript. Last week the media and the Interim Govenment's opponents squeezed all they could out of the "Teleni Affair." This week it promises to be the "Tuilaepa Affair" with the SDL and two anti-Government NGOs leading the charge. Be against the Interim Government by all means, but say what -- realistically -- you think should be done in the present situation. Perhaps like holding the IG to its commitment to an early meeting of the President's Political Dialogue Forum? Fortunately more helpful views are to be found in Chaudhry's comments, and in those of the Tongan PM Dr Feleti Sevele.
Surely there are more important things to attend to this week in Fiji than what the Samoan PM thinks of Bainimarama! Or vice versa!
3 comments:
Maybe Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi would rather be the Fiji Prime Minister?
In the rhetorical question posed by the Samoan PM about the need for a Fiji Army, can best be answered with the fact, that if Samoa had an army of Fiji's calibre; there wouldn't be a Western Samoa and American Samoa.
Your Postscript is definitely unbalanced.
One must first realise that the Samoan PM was reacting to Bainimarama's claim that Samoa was in league with Australia and New Zealand in the Forum's PNG decision on Fiji. The tirade was started by Bainimara. His accusation belittles Samoa's independence and sovereignty and suggests it has become a "eunuch" to the two larger countries.
The Samoan PM is justified in his response and pointing to Bainimarama's lack of legitimacy as a Pacific leader. Bainimarama's legitimacy as interim-PM has come from a President whom his men isolated from the elected PM.
The Samoan PM's comments on the size of the Fiji army s not too far off the mark. Apart from providing international peacekeepers(and, admittedly, earning foreign exhange)the army has done very little else for the people of Fiji who pay for its existence. If anything, it has defecated in the face of its populace through complicity in four coups in Fiji.
So yes, the Fiji army needs to downsize, preferably to an engineering unit that can be mobilised in times of natural disaster.
Holding the IG to its commitment to early elections is indeed what the Samoan PM and his Forum colleagues have been doing from 2007. The problem is Bainimarama has reneged on his promises and keeps moving the goal post with regards to what he wants to achieve before elections can be held.
I appreciate your efforts to keep abreast with what is happening in Fiji but I do not appreciate unbalanced coverage.
Fair enough, Dennis. I probably went a little overboard, but I still think his comments "inflammatory and unhelpful".
Post a Comment