Following his induction as President, Ratu Epeli read the 13th century prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi - Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
"Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy." (Fiji Times)
Earlier, Government spokesman Neumi Leweni said the appointment was discussed by cabinet "quite a while ago." Why a decision was delayed for three months is anyone's guess, but the much quoted Dr Jonathan Fraenkel, of the Australian National University, "a leading academic on Fiji" (Oh, to aspire to such acclaim and be quoted as much, or indeed, to be quoted at all!) has one explanation. He says:
“Quite a few people have suggested that there’s some nervousness on Bainimarama’s part of giving executive power to Ratu Epeli Nailatikau [because Ratu Epeli is part of the old elite he told the UN he was replacing]. So there’s obviously [sic!] some fissions going on within the cabinet.” The delay could "suggest a split within the interim regime."
Ratu Epeli, a former army commander, is credited with guiding Bainimarama through his early military career.
Several anti-government blog are openly critical. FijiTruth's article by former SDL politician Mere Samisoni (still living, unmolested, in Lami) calls it a "miscarriage of justice" and says deposed VP Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi was supposed to be the next president as agreed by the Great Council of Chiefs.
In a rambling, disjointed statement she says "Bainimarama and his stooges have [acted] to avoid paying the price, under the rule of law, for what happened under his command to the murdered Counter Revolutionary Warfare soldiers and the four civilians. With Nailatikau's appointment, there is now a Mara-Ganilau dynasty that is trying to "rule and own the Fijian people and our land... Fiji languishes under Bainimarama’s politics of expediency. This kind of politics does not promote public good or Justice. It is greedy for power, money and status and it is an insult to the Fijian people, to our history, our culture and our sacred values and aspirations." She then calls for elections.
Brief Biography
Ratu Epeli Nailatikau LVO OBE MSD OStJ (68) has had a long career in the military, diplomatic service, and government. He was 17 years in the military, saw combat service in Sarawak, and rose to Brigadier-General and Commander of the RFMF only to be deposed while overseas by Lt Col Sitiveni Rabuka in the 1987 Coup. His diplomatic career followed after a Foreign Service course at Oxford University with appointments to United Kingdom and Fiji's Roving Ambassador and High Commissioner to the member states of the South Pacific Forum, before taking up a post as Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Trade in 1999.
Following the Speight Coup of 2000 that he strongly opposed he was nominated for Prime Minister but withdrew in favour of consensus candidate Laisenia Qarase. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Fijian Affairs in Qarase's interim Cabinet, and following the 2001 elections he was Speaker of the House until the 2006 miliatary Coup. Since then he has successively been Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, Provincial Development and Multi-Ethnic Affairs, Indigenous Affairs, and Vice-President.
In Fiji and in the Pacific, he is known for his outspoken appeals to combat AIDS and in 2005 he was appointed the UNAIDS Special Representative for the Pacific.
Ratu Epeli is the great-great-grandson of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau who ceded Fiji to the British, the second son of Ratu Edward Cakobau, the Fiji Battalion Commander in World War II, and an uncle of the present king of Tonga.
He is married to Adi Koila Mara, the second daughter of modern Fiji's founding statesman Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who was a Cabinet Minister in the Chaudhry FLP Coalition Government. Adi Koila was detained by Speight with other Government members for 54 days. She later spoke out strongly against Qarase's inclusion in government of extreme nationalist CAMV politicians who had supported the Speight Coup, and praised Bainimarama for speaking for the "silent majority" in opposing Qarase's "Reconciliation" Bill. She blames the Coup for the early death of her father and mother.
Her mother, Ro Lady Lala Mara, was Ro Tui Dreketi and head of the Burebasaga confederacy until her death when she was succeeded by her younger sister, Ro Teimumu Kepa, who is a strong anti-Government spokesperson. Adi Koila's brothers are Ratu Finau Mara, recently appointed Tui Nayau and Coup supporter, and Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, the fourth-ranking officer in the RFMF.
Ratu Epeli Nailatikau will probably be the last president before a new constitution is written. It is doubtful the future will see a return to the past with the president nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs who must be an ethnic Fijian. But the appointment could be made by the ruling party or, more likely, by parliamentary agreement, or even by the people in a national election. The position could be largely ceremonial, with or without emergency powers, or, if elected, have some of the powers of a US president.
We will know sometime before 2014. But, of course, if the Government is overthrown before then, the chiefs could once again be the power brokers -- and even more "reconciliation" will be needed.
Sources: Wikipedia and various.
8 comments:
For someone who professes to be non-partisan, you are doing a pretty good job proving otherwise.
Contrast “This blog is unusual in that it aims to present a balanced and helpful representation of events ...” with your belittling comments about those who oppose Bainimarama’s regime: “(Mere Samisoni (still living, unmolested, in Lami)” and on Dr Fraenkel “((Oh, to aspire to such acclaim and be quoted as much, or indeed, to be quoted at all!)”.
Do we sense a little professional jealousy from one so “neutral”?
And the famine of comments that afflicts your posts? That should tell you what people really think of your blog.
This boat (read blog) nails its colours to the mast (+-o)and, sailing against the wind, it sometimes has to tack too far to port or starboard. But you're right in one particular. I should have resisted the temptation to comment on Mere and Jon.
Jon Fraenkel is a bloody idiot. And the proof of that is his pathetic opinion piece in today's Australian newspaper.
Can you believe this guy says Australia should step up its efforts to stop Fijian troops from serving in Iraq!
Never mind that Australia is baulking at US requests to send more troops to Baghdad because the war there is so unpopular.
Fraenkel wants to stop Fiji troops from going when they're prepared to and the UN is having trouble finding anyone prepared to serve. Crazy!
It's time this guy was exposed for what he is; a polemicist firmly under the spell of his Fijian wife, whose hatred for Bainimarama is well known in the narrow social circles they inhabit in Canberra.
Jon Fraenkel is no reputable authority on events in Fiji. So whoever you are, kindly spare us your dig at Croz Walsh for merely pointing out the bleeding obvious.
Croz, don't give an inch when it comes to Mere Samisoni and Jon Fraenkel.
The bread shop lady from Lami is a dangerous extremist responsible for inciting racial hatred in a string of media appearances until the emergency was imposed.
And Fraenkelstein is a preening pom notorious for launching vicious attacks on anyone who dares deviate from the ANU's party line.
You, by contrast, are a paragon of civility and reason. More power to you in these dark times.
Professional jealousy isn't one of your failings, Croz.
In fact I think you give too much credit to some of these imbeciles!
That Fraenkel comment about Epeli Nailatikau you refer to is so "out there" that Fraenkel can only have made it up.
What's his evidence of a power struggle between Epeli and Frank? Come on Jon, produce it.
This isn't academic rigour but fanciful speculation and wishful thinking.
Epeli Nailatikau is a true gentlemen and a great leader. Most people in Fiji are happy to see him appointed President.
It is the gentlemen we so need now, the 'caballeros verdaderos' or the cavaliers with lineage and civility. Most of the aforementioned are lacking in the necessary accoutrements of desirable leadership. For years and years we have dumbed-down so. Time to 'show some respect' and move up a notch or two? No doubt our near neighbours care nothing for such refinements - all boring republicans at heart! This should pepper up your blog and bring down the opprobrium of the 'hoi-polloi' . Time to jibe, methinks?
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