Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. (René Descartes, mathematician and philosopher,1599-1650)

Sunday 28 February 2010

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

Looking for a Prime Minister After the Speight Coup
Former development banker Laisenia Qarase was, to Bainimarama, the perfect candidate to turn his dream of a united Fiji into reality.

Ever since Independence, Fiji’s politicians had relied on the
tried-and-tested methods of racial politics. If you were Indian, you blamed the “lazy” Fijians. If you were Fijian, you criticised the“selfish” Indians. If you were kai-loma, well you tried to align yourself with the Fijians who owned all the land, or the Indians who had all the money.Otherwise, you put your head down and hoped no one would see you.

But the stalemate that followed initial discussions between George Speight’s group and the military was resolved when Qarase was appointed interim Prime Minister. Here was a Fijian without political connections, who was untainted by the nationalistic spores that seemed to have contaminated everyone else. And for Bainimarama, he was the better choice than the openly xenophobic alternative, Adi Litia Cakobau.

As campaigning began for new elections in 2001, Bainimarama sent out civil affairs teams from the military to the remotest parts of rural Fiji. They had one directive, to urge the people to vote for Laisenia Qarase and the new Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) party.It was a decision Bainimarama would regret.

The army commander was full of optimism that Qarase would use his position as leader of the country to find, expose and bring tojustice all those who allegedly had a hand in the 2000 coup and mutinies at Sukanaivalu Barracks in Labasa and Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva.

In Bainimarama’s eyes, Qarase rewarded them instead: a posting as high commisioner here, ambassador there, an executive posting elsewhere. And whenever someone with links to the 2000 coup was brought to justice, Qarase’s government found imaginative legal methods to let them off.

They now found themselves at odds, drawn inexorably towards their December 2006 showdown. Bainimarama, feeling betrayed; and Qarase, doing all he could to satify, if not his nationalistic leanings, at least those of his political partners with their unique creed of patriotism.

Saturday 27 February 2010

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.

Promoting Violence Unintentionally

A very good friend asked if I had ever watched the TV show Power Rangers that is shown every afternoon during children’s prime time sessions.

I said yes, and he asked if I saw any story line and if our children could learn anything from it.  It got me thinking. The movie is about a bunch of kids who turn into robots and take revenge on the enemy.

I said slyly, “Oh, but they are out to save the world from bad guys, kick their butts and kill them.” He said, “Don’t you find it violent and soon after watching Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Winnie the Pooh they get a good lesson on revenge and violence. Then in the evening adults get a dose of sex and violence in adult movies?” “Well I suppose so.” I said.

Then he added, “We take for granted violence in movies, we constantly read and hear about it.” Don’t you think if we see it so much we will become immune or indifferent to it, or it will soon catch on? It's like the advertisements on TV. They are so repetitive that kids soon learn the words and sing along. Some adults have also been caught up; you can hear them humming a jingle or two. ”

I reassured him that our TV station was not promoting violence and they mean good and it’s cheap because it’s made in New Zealand.

But wouldn't it be nice for our children to watch reruns of the Classics. Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe and many more. Surely they will be cheap by now. At least will be educational and they have fantastic story lines.

A more difficult option would be to not allow children to watch TV at all.

Friday 26 February 2010

(-+) This Level of Censorship is Unnecessary and Counter-Productive

Opinion 
FijiLive reports that CCF's Rev Akuila Yabaki  "has welcomed the Government’s participation at the recent United National Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva." Almost certainly Yabaki and the Citizens' Constitutional Forum (CCF) said much more than this but, just as certainly, it was censored out.
Photo: Cafe Pacific.

Recently CCF appealed by email to people to publish their concerns about an independent judiciary because censorship prevented  publication in Fiji.  FijiLive's "abbreviated" release proves their point: the one "positive" comment was allowed; all other comments, no matter how constructive, were not. 

This blog reluctantly recognizes that full media freedom is not possible in Fiji at present, and is probably justified in the short term. Long before censorship was imposed, we were highly critical of media bias against the government, most notably by The Fiji Times

But this blog also condemns this unnecessary high degree of censorship on two grounds: First, CCF is not unsympathetic to what government says it it trying to do. Indeed, it participated in the NCBBF/Peoples' Charter process and has co-operated in a number of government dialogue initiatives. But CCF is also, and justifiably, concerned about government over-stepping the boundaries of good governance in its haste to implement reforms. CCF is not saying the judiciary is never independent, but that it must been seen to be independent, and on occasion has seemed not to be. This is a reasonable warning in the circumstances. 

Secondly, in these same circumstances, one would hope government would see that the  CCF could play a vital role in its own plans. It is a fair and independent watchdog on government; it provides government with feedback from the "middle ground" of which it is a part,  and it is respected and closely watched in Fiji and overseas. 

Government and its censors should recognize that only the inept and inebriated believe a country has only "positive" news. It takes a mix of good, neutral and negative news to make the positive news believable.

Who better to provide this than the highly respected Rev. Yabaki and the CCF!
 -- Crosbie Walsh.
Footnote: There's still no decision on whether The Fiji Times and FijiTV will be included in discussions on the Media Decree. If these two giants are excluded, how meaningful is the participation of others? And what has government to lose by their inclusion?

IMF, the Fiji Economy, and Other Stories

Brief Shorts 25.2. 10 

Support our visitor drive. See left column.
 Accolades. "The best blogger on Fiji matter is Crosbie Walsh’s".  The blog entered the stratosphere yesterday by passing the 50,000 visitor mark. Click on the Flag feature to see daily totals.

Fourfourpointfive continues its credibility slide.  For several months after it was launched in April last year, the "moderate" anti-government blog was an important source of information on Fiji. Now a pale shadow of its former self, it merely pastes items copied from other sources. In uncritically copying Suliasi Daunitutu's response to Bainimarama's "toilet paper" remarks on his 600,000 petition, it does itself a further disservice because, in the absence of comment -- or reference to others who have questioned Daunitutu's petition "methodology" and the numbers claimed -- publishing the story can only mean the blog has accepted the petition on face value, just as RadioNZ foolishly did before dropping "petition" in favour of  "letters."

Radio Fiji's photo. I find it strange that the RadioFiji web page invariably chooses a photo of PM Bainimarama in military uniform, just like the overseas media that seeks to stress his military role. Bainimaramana  said the lifting of sanctions was the main issue discussed between Ratu Inoke Kubuabola and Murray McCully when they met last week, "Ratu Inoke was doing the talking on Fiji’s behalf." Good. One spokesman. One voice.

The ANZ's Chief Economic Asia Pacific  said Fiji has to look for a long term solution for economic recovery.

IMF Commends and Recommends
The International Monetary Fund is urging Fiji to take more decisive actions to restore macro-economic stability because the economic situation is challenging and downside risks remain high.

On the negative side:
  • increased budget pressures, inflation, high level of debt 
On the positive side:
  • "commendable efforts" to restrain current spending
  • Devaluation has helped reverse the sharp decline in foreign exchange reserves
  • The tight monetary policy has helped immediate economic stability.
Recommendations:
  • Faster pace of changes
  • Further decisive actions on macroeconomic stability and structural reforms to lift growth and ensure debt sustainability over the medium term
  • Infrastructure rebuilding needs to be offset by expenditure measures, including civil service reform
  • Revenue strengthened by rationalizing tax incentives, improving tax administration and raising excise taxes. 
The Directors urged adherence to the target of reducing central government debt to 45 percent of GDP by 2014.  Fiji this month applied for a $1b loan from the IMF.

Thursday 25 February 2010

(+) Sydney Morning Herald Makes Mockery of Claim to Free and Independent Media


If Bainimarama's public off-the-cuff statements have not always helped his international image, far more persistent damage is done by the so-called free media. The Sydney Morning Herald provides yet another example.

Reporting on what Bainimarama said to Auckland-based Radio Tarana,  the paper  said "Fiji's military regime has called on Australia and New Zealand to lift their sanctions against it, or face a two-year wait to post senior diplomats back to the South Pacific nation." Unless travel bans on the regime and its supporters were lifted, no high commissioners would be approved for the Australian and New Zealand diplomatic posts in Fiji." "I don't think it (diplomatic appointments) will be on the agenda in the next 24 months," Bainimarama apparently told New Zealand's Radio Tarana on Thursday.

So what did Radio Tarana report?

"Fiji will not accept High Commissioners from Australia and New Zealand into the country, until the two countries lift the sanctions they have imposed against his government. Bainimarama says the return of the High Commissioners from the two countries will not be on the agenda for a while, and the two countries know this."

And what did Bainimarama actually say?

“A lot of people do not understand what we are trying to do in Fiji. So, on that note there will be no restoration of High Commissions until the lifting of the sanctions. That is understandable too. And they understand that. McCully understands that Smith understands that. NZ and Australia understand that...So that’s not really a big deal.”

The SMH disagreed. 

It was a big deal. Fiji was again threatening Australia and New Zealand. There was no mention of the mutual "understanding" which, incidentally means that AusNZ will not accept a Fiji High Commissioner nor that all three countries have said the restoration of full diplomatic relations will take time. Neither, of course, was there any mention of Bainimarama's reasons.  Yet  it had no difficulty retracing Fiji's wrongdoings, or in turning for "a while" into "facing a two year wait" and "24 months."

This small exchange of non-news provided the SMH with another opportunity to inform its readers about the "military coup" that has ousted the "democratically elected government ...tightened its grip on power, overturning the constitution... sacking all judges, imposing widespread media censorship, expelling foreign journalists and arresting and harassing people that oppose it." This is very much par for the course, of course. Fiji's idyllic past has been "couped" into its horrific present.

The paper would probably claim this was necessary background information for readers, and so it might have been had Bainimarama's reasons for saying "A lot of people do not understand what we are trying to do in Fiji" also been given some mention. In its absence, the "background" is a none too subtle example of sublimal messaging, and the publication of the bloated non-story a further example of how our supposedly free press stoop to propaganda.

Wednesday 24 February 2010

Short Briefs Wed 24.2.2010

New Feature. Letters to the Editor.  Scroll down.
Support the Readership Drive. See left column.

(o) Bainimarama considers full withdrawal 
from Commonwealth

In what can only be described as inappropriate and poorly timed diplomacy, unfortunately  too often a hallmark of the Fiji government, PM Bainimarama has said  Fiji will consider a full withdrawal from the Commonwealth if the association of countries continue to harass and meddle in attempts to move the nation forward.

This statement could usefully have been hinted at to someone like NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully. It should  not be publically mused over where those advising McCully and other foreign ministers will probably -- and wrongly --  write it off as bluff or bravado, just as 20 years ago no one thought royalist Fiji would declare itself a republic.

I have no problem with the PM's reasons, just his announcement and its timing. He's spot on in his assessment of the Commonwealth position. The organization has listened too much to Australia and New Zealand and too little to Fiji. It lumped Fiji in with Zimbabwe, and seemed unable to understand or listen to Fiji’s aspirations, posing the same questions over and over again about the "return to democracy."  In turn, Bainimarama stated over and over again what needs to be done before it conducts a democratic election. Government, said Bainimarama, will complete the reforms started, and fulfill their mandate to put in place a new Constitution before elections in 2014.

Why can't the Commonwealth and Fiji's foreign friends live with that, and help Fiji keep on track towards 2014?

(+) PNG Supports Fiji, Melanesian Spearhead Group. Papua New Guinea government has reaffirmed its support for Fiji,  will continued support during the challenging phase in Fiji's history, continue to closely engage with Fiji in dialogue about the status of reforms being undertaken. PNG Foreign Minister Sam Abal acknowledged the progress so far, and will assistand reassured that PNG remained ready to assist where it could, particularly with preparations for elections. The next Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders summit will be hosted in Fiji in July when PM Bainimarama will take over its chairmanship.

(+) Nailatikau visits Naboro. Fiji President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau toured the Naboro Prison yesterday and said  he was impressed with the changes taking place within the Fiji Prisons and Corrections service, most especially the spiritual and other rehabilitation programmes. About a hundred minimum and medium prisons prisoners welcomed the President.

(+) Taiwanese experts help train prison inmates. Taiwanese technical mission experts based Sigatoka are training inmates at Naboro, Lautoka and Ba prisons "the best agriculture and aquaculture practices."Since 2009 the experts haveconducted two-week training for 15 groups of 15 inmates. Link.


(o) Australian aid has failed to develop local capacity in the Pacific overseas "experts"  are keeping Pacific Islanders out of jobs: Helen Hughes.

(-) UK Methodists recently engaged in day of prayer and fasting for Fiji. Their website claimed the Fijian (sic!) Church is under increasing pressure from the country’s government. It has been forced to cancel its annual Conference and choir festivals until 2014, and local districts and circuits are also having their activities restricted, with administrative meetings banned. Further, its Standing Committee has been charged with breaking the Emergency Regulations and some ministers have been charged with spying on government.


(+) Corruption again? The Ministry of Provincial Development has suspended several officers after an audit on its housing assistance scheme revealed that a portion of the $2.5million contributed by rural dwellers was missing. Link. A Fiji Times editorial has  applauded the suspension.

(o) Assassination Plot Update 24.3.10


Dramatic Development 
 
The eight men in the assassination plot trial have been acquitted of the second and third counts of conspiracy to murder the Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry but the first count of conspiracy to murder the PM Bainimarama still stands.

Defence notes that forensic evidence was not collected from Ballu Khan's residence.

High Court Judge accepts evidence from the attempted mutiny that followed the Speight 2000 Coup.

Military Council Questioned me: Ratu Inoke

Ratu Inoke told the court that he was summoned by the Military Council in late September 2007 to a meeting at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks.Ratu Inoke said the meeting was to have been between him and Colonel Tevita Uluilakeba Mara but this was cancelled. However later the same day he was called again but this time told that he would be meeting the Military Council and members of Cabinet.

Ratu Inoke told the court that he clarified to those present at the meeting, that the rumours were false and there was no plot to assassinate Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama. He also told the court, that while Pacific Connex was still in partnership with the Native Lands Trust Board in 2007, officers from the 3FIR regularly visited their office.

Ratu Inoke, who was director for Pacific Connex at the time, says he was present on one occasion when 3FIR officers came and told former CRW soldiers not to try anything. The former CRW soldiers were being employed by Pacific Connex at the time.
---Radio Fiji,Wednesday, February 24, 2010

(+) A Slap for NZ Labour's Backhanded Support for Dialogue


New Feature. Letters to the Editor.  Scroll down.
Support the Readership Drive. See left column.

Labour Party.spokesman Chris Carter supports  the National-led goverment's moves to improve relations  with Fiji --- if Fiji does as it is told.

The Labour Party, repeating what it said when in government,  is concerned:
  • That "there is no clear timetable or commitment to restore the rights of Fiji’s people to elect their own Government" [which there is!]
  • About the "direct interference ...in the independence of Fiji’s judiciary."
  • The "continuing censorship of media."
  • The "overt restrictions on people’s freedom of speech."
  • The "arbitrary arrests, killings [sic!], and beatings of people in police cells, as reported recently by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other respected NGOs." [Respected by whom? Labour has uncritically swallowed their piggy-back reports hook,line and sinker.]
Sanctions, Labour says, should only be lifted when these issues are addressed because

“Concessions by New Zealand and the Pacific Forum cannot send a message to the wider Pacific region that the overthrow of a democratically elected Government by force does not have serious consequences." [How patronising can you get!]

And finally, "Foreign Minister McCully [should] give a strong message that a clear pathway to the restoration of genuine democracy in Fiji is fundamental to improving relations between our two countries." [ My italics. It's a genuine democracy Bainimarama is hoping to establish.]

So what's changed? What new wisdom has Labour brought to the table? Well, nothing actually. They said all this four years ago. They have merely  reacted to National's initiative because that's what an Opposition in a democracy is supposed to do. But they could have lost themselves quite a few few votes from former Fiji residents in doing so.  And in critical Auckland electorates at that.

My advice to Labour. Don't re-visit past policy: nothing changes in four years. Don't reseach issues: just apply your pre-progammed ideological position. Don't send anyone to Fiji to see what's going on. Oh, and don't read this blog. Just keep repeating "Pretty Polly. Pretty Polly."

P.S. Sorry, folks. I'm not usually this sarcastic. But how can you reason with un-reasonable people like this?

Tuesday 23 February 2010

(o) Brief Shorts Tues 23.2.10

New Feature. Letters to the Editor.  Scroll down.
Support the Readership Drive. See left column.


My posting exposing Sailesi Daunitutu's "600,000 petition" has been taken up by at least one NZ blogger with close government ties, and RadioNZ, perhaps coincidentally, is now referring to two "letters" and not a "petition" signed by more than the total adult Fiji population, but it has not publically apologized or withdrawn its earlier releases. PM Bainimarama has called the petition "toilet paper".

PERS and Dialogue
(+) National Dialogue Forum.The chairmanship and membership of the government's proposed National Dialogue Forum is still to be finalised. The forum, initially scheduled to hold its first meeting this month, is expected to lay the groundwork for a constitutional forum in September 2012.  Link.

(o-) PERS, the Public Emergency Regulations, have again been extended for 30 days, to March 2. The late promulgation of the regulations (22 Feb.) actually results in a nine day extension.   Earlier, Government had given its assurance that PERS would be lifted once the new Media Decree is in place. This would mean the lifting of present restrictions on rights of assembly and free speech deemed acceptable while ensuring "acceptable" standards by the media. I fail to understand why government is taking so long to publish the Media Decree and explain its implications. It seems strange to moot a National Dialogue while preventing the very sort of open discussion that dialogue presumes.

As argued many times, government has far more to lose by curtailing informal dialogues (presently prohibited by PERS) as the much needed broad public platform for the more formal National Dialogue than it does by lifting PERS -- unless, as also previously stated, there is a real security risk.

But if this is the case, it is surely possibly to continue the ban on large public assemblies while permitting people to talk politics over coffee or a bilo of yaqona. Blanket bans win few friends, as NZ's blanket travel bans have shown, while most people would accept the need for more finely tuned assembly and travel bansLink.

Fiji-NZ Links 
Fiji Sun editoral on Fiji-New Zealand links. Link NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully has agreed "in principle" to informally meet PM Bainimarama at next month's Hong Kong Sevens but for some unfathomed reason PM Key thinks that both of them going to Hong Kong is a "spooky coincidence." Perhaps they both enjoy Sevens football. But if Key  is right, my bet would be on Bainimarama beating McCully to the stadium.

Reserve Bank governor Sada  Reddy and the NZ travel bans. Link.  

Today's speech to the House on Fiji by Minister McCully that clarifies some issues.  Link.
(+) Roadmap
Micro-finance: part of the Roadmap to reduce poverty. The new 11-member National Financial Inclusion Taskforce chaired by Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) governor Sada Reddy, with members from banks, micro finance organisations and the business community,  wants 150,000 people to have access to banking services by 2014. The body was established to spearhead government’s microfinance campaign.  Link.

Corruption. Ministry of Works and Transport sacks 50 "corrupt" workers.Link.

Shortage of land surveyors Link.  The shortage has been given as one reason for delays in land transfers and leases.

***************

Typoid outbreak.The Ministry of Health has confirmed 32 typhoid cases, following earlier reports of the disease in Suva's upgraded Jittu Estate squatter settlement and its spread to other parts of the country. Typhoid is a water-borne disease and no threat to people drinking directly from properly regulated reticulated water supplies. That said, I'd be boiling all my drinking water for a while. One wonders whether constant metropolitan water cuts has been a factor in the spread of the disease. Click on "Comments" below to read what an informed reader has to say on the outbreak.

Monday 22 February 2010

(+) Suliasi in Wonderland: a Nonsense Petition

New Feature. Letters to the Editor.  Scroll down.
Support the Readership Drive. See left column.


If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?
Alice in Wonderland.

This posting traces the origin of a petition, its validity, and its unquestioning acceptance by RadioNZ and other media outlets.

Fiji: A call for democracy by NZ blog NoRightTurn

"Fiji's people have been fairly meek and accepting in the face of three years of military rule - but not any longer. On Friday, they submitted a petition to the military regime calling for the restoration of democracy and elections by the end of the year. It was backed by over 680,000 people - more than 80% of the country's population. It will be interesting to see how the regime responds to this. With that level of mass opposition, its not as if they can arrest everyone (besides the obvious problem of numbers, the soldiers may not be willing to arrest their families). OTOH, unless the people are willing to turn their mass opposition into colour-revolution-style mass protests, then the regime may not in fact have to do anything."  Link.

Now read on to see where this nonsense came from.

RadioNZ reports, without prior enquiry, question or comment, that a petition "said to have the support of more than 600,000 people"  has petitioned Bainimarama to hold elections this year. Link.( See other RadioNZ links below.)  And Coupfourpointfive has followed suit.

I presume their "source" was one of the interlinked anti-government blogsites, most probably Matavuvale or Tears for Fiji. Do not be surprised to see this incredible story next mentioned in the international print media.

The informant and main petitioner was Suliasi Daunitutu of Queanbeya, NSW, who is linked to the Australian FijiDemocracyNow movement. Suliasi said the petitioners, most presumably living in Fiji, "are afraid to express [their views] openly, so it's being done through various political parties ... Leaders of the Fiji Labour, SDL and National Federation Party..."

So.  This is a petition based on past party membership lists  not individuals who have signed in  their own right or given parties to sign on their behalf. The lists were apparently given by these parties to Suliasi and then handed by him to Bainimarama! I certainly wouldn't like to belong to a political party, or any other organization, which was so free with its membership list. And if Bainimarama is as vindictive as Suliasi would claim, he isn't doing his petitioners any good by giving him their names and addresses. The petition is immediately suspect on these grounds.

It is also suspect on the number of petitioners claimed:

Short Briefs Mon 22.2.10

New Feature. Letters to the Editor.  Scroll down.
Support the Readership Drive. See left column.
Fiji-NZ impass broken. Thank goodness this unnecessary delay in restoring some diplomatic presence, caused by Fiji's nomination of Neumi Leweni, is now over.Mere Tora, who served as First Secretary in Wellington in 2004, has been accepted as Fiji's First Secretary and Acting Head of Mission in Wellington, and MFAT career diplomat Phillip Taula as First Secretary and Acting Head of Mission in Suva.

Australian journalists to put the world right. It seems The Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age in identicaql articles are now trying to persuade the Australian government to get Sri Lanka suspended from the Commonwealth. Who do these guys think they are? Prosecutors, jurors and judges in a Kangaroo Court? An Australian Sri Lankan takes them to task, and in doing do reveals parallels to how the same media cover Fiji. But the newspapers did not print his story. Link.

PM urges Fijian landowners to renew land leases
Link.

Qarase's corruption trial. Former PM Laisenia Qarase and his counsel Qoroniasi Balewas called before the High Court on Friday. The Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption alleges Qarase acted outside his powers when he authorized the use of extinct mataqali funds from the Native Lands Trust Board for investment purposes. The case was adjourned to February 26th . Former Divisional Commissioner Central, Inoke Devo, appeared briefly in court charged with corruption and abuse of office. His case will be heard on March 2nd.  Link.

Assassination Plot Update 22.2.10

  • Mills threatened to kill me:Ramulo
  • Defence questions Fiji and English  translation. Court clarification
  • Police officers told what to ask
Mills threatened to kill me:Ramulo
Friday 19 Februry 2010
 An accused person in the alleged plot to assassinate the Army Commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and others alleged in his police statement that one of the accused, Barbadoes Mills threatened to kill him if he informed anyone of their plans.

Letters to the Editor 1 (22-28.2.10)

ANNOUNCEMENT
The existing Comments feature encourages readers to comment on individual posts. The new feature Letters to the Editor encourages you to write on anything, including what Fiji media editors may self-censor. 
Each Letters to the Editor posted will run for two weeks. A new Letters to the Editor feature will be posted each Monday.
These are the rules:
1. All letters must be signed, even if only with a pseudonym
2. Letters must address issues and treat others with respect
3. All letters must be in English but well known vernacular words may be used. 
4. Letters that are personal, use foul language, or do not meet normal standards will be deleted. Please save me the time of deleting such comments. All you have to do is ask how you would think, feel and react if you were the recipient of the barbs you think so "brilliant and  devasting", and modify your words accordingly.
5. All letters should start with a heading indicating the subject or topic.

Dear Prime Minister 

In some weeks I may suggest a "theme". Writers can write on anything, but to start the ball rolling, the theme for this week is "Dear Prime Minister."  Especially  welcome are letters  on your fears and hopes and "feedback " on what you think he is doing right or wrong, how he can improve government's performance, and letters that seek a "way forward."  

Have no doubt, if he does not read it himself, someone will pass on all helpful ideas!
Support the readership drive. See left column.

Sunday 21 February 2010

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

Gloom Cascades:  The Delainabua Mutiny

Bainimarama once believed himself to be the defender of democracy. And I was one who saw the rationale of what he was doing.I don’t know how his views have changed since 2003, but I don’t think I am alone in questioning his judgement and the wisdom of some of his actions since.

It is important to understand why this naval officer, so despised by his land-based peers when they were passed over for promotion to the position of Commander, Fiji Military Forces, took the extraordinary steps he did on December 2006.

Bainimarama never forgot the events of November 2, 2000. You wouldn’t either if there was an elite group of soldiers intent on assassinating you.

The mutiny at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Delai Nabua reverberated in the capital Suva but its effects shook the very foundation of what Fijians held sacrosanct – the relationships and traditional ties that bound them to one another. These had begun fraying after the 2000 coup, when members of the military found themselves standing on opposite sides of the fence at Parliament House.

Although Fijians had threatened to shed the blood of other Fijians after the takeover of Parliament in May, and there were deaths, the mutiny was different in that there was a plan, a resolve by Fijians to kill other Fijians. Death would not be the by-product of a confrontation that escalated out of control. It was the objective.

The main target was Bainimarama and anyone else who dared defend him. In the ensuing battle, five rebel soldiers and three loyalists died.

It was those three deaths that Bainimarama could not, would never, forget. The effect on him was such that he would become visibly emotional, far more than usual, whenever he spoke about the mutiny.

Saturday 20 February 2010

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.
 
Water Issues

It’s a pity that many people, after taking their grievances to the proper authority eventually go to the papers and tell the world that they got a bad deal at the water or electricity company. Many times we read about people who had a run in with an unhappy and overworked nurse or doctor who had been rude to them. The authorities never respond to deny or apologize. But it makes good reading. As for me I always think that the complainants are wrong because no authority ever goes back to the paper to apologise or sends the police to charge the complainant for false accusation.

Anyway one great problem that we are facing is water cuts. We have been told that we are experiencing a drought and the rivers are running dry. It is costing government thousands of dollars, which will soon go into the millions, to cart water to places where water has been cut or pressure is not strong enough that they have to turn off some places so that other places can drink.

But there has never been any evidence shown to the people about the truth on  pressure. Low water in the dam we can understand. Can a water engineer via the assistance of the TV companies do a documentary about the many manoeuvres that they have to go through shutting water here and there so it is distributed evenly?   

If PWD can do this documentary, all the people who have been complaining can understand the predicament that is at hand and stop complaining. And another thing when water is cut, could the PWD be decent enough to let us know that water will not be turned on at a certain place and time. FEA takes great pains to publish controlled power cuts for maintenance – the water company never does this.

This way we can appreciate and respect each other. Or better still can someone from FEA go over to the water company and tell them how it’s done,  please. I have a lot of respect for FEA.

I bet many letters of complaint can never be published because they contain swears.



Read Comments below to see what "High and Dry" has to say about this!

Friday 19 February 2010

(o) Sulu More Than an Item of Clothing

Sulu or No Sulu
By Subhash Appana, whose "humourous" school memories tell us much of race relations in Fiji
 Sulu Uproar 
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?ref=archive&id=139494
http://babasiga.blogspot.com/2010/02/labasa-college-and-short-pants.html
http://www.allvoices.com/news/5174495-sulu-uproar
STOP PRESS. Education Minister Filipe Bole says students can wear shorts or sulu Link.

The raging Sulu v. No-Sulu debate in Fiji makes one wonder whether the country really wants to move with the times. But hang on; this was a limited case of just two schools in the North wasn’t it? Two Principals had suddenly been found to have been left in an evolutionary time rut somewhere along the line.

That’s how the thinking would go amongst those who oppose the stance taken by the two gentlemen – and there are many of these progressives. From experience I know that much more would’ve been involved to prod the schools to make a public stand and ban sulus among Indo-Fijian students.

Having said that, I’d like to take us back three  decades and share my own experiences with the sulu issue. I was born in the village of Vuna in the southern tip of Taveuni; the most beautiful of Fiji’s many islands. I spoke Hindi at home and Fijian outside. Those were my two native languages.

Short Briefs Fri 19.2.10

Please support my readership drive. See lefthand column.

McCully to meet Kubuabola this weekend.  Link.

Fiji schools will start an hour later from Monday because of daylight saving.  Link.

TOURISM

Four cruise ships will visit Suva over the next ten days,and special tourist police will be on call to see their passengers are fairly treated.  Link.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts plans to build a resort at Natadola - as soon as the global economy improves. Link.

ROADMAP: IMPROVING GOVERNMENT SERVICES

Alleged abuse of funds by FNPF staff.  Link.

Steps taken to down-size and improve efficiency in civil service. Link. PSC Permanent Secretary Parmesh Chand said plans to downsize the civil service were on track after government implemented a 10 percent staff cut in 2008 and compulsory retirement program last year. “As we go along, we’ll build on this to see which areas of government expenditure we’d like to contain, areas such as vehicle expenses, rental space of office accommodation, overtime for civil servants, telecommunications, energy costs etc.” Chand added the Finance Ministry would scrutinize government spending to ensure civil servants are in line with government’s objectives of keeping expenditure to a minimum.

Corruption and abuse of office. The Works and Transport Ministry has sacked 50 workers over the past two years for offences related to corruption and abuse of office.Link.

ROADMAP: IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE

Islanders need water. Link. Villagers on Fulaga in the southern Lau Group  say they've had scarce water supplies since last year. Rainfall has been good but the reservoir and pipes are very old, it takes a long time to fill buckets, and crops have been destroyed. The villagers say they have never asked Government to help. When there are long dry spells "we pray and ask God to meet our needs."

Bainmarama: We need money for water, not to build churches. Link. Government is trying, with limited funds, to ensure that every village and settlement has water and power supply.

Road upgrade budget. Link.

Greater Suva water treatment upgrades. Link.

If readers wonder why I report such mundane matters, it's partly to show government is functioning normally in funding basic facilities, and also to show its Roadmap commitment to improving infrastructure, some of which has been neglected for a number of years.


The Ministry of Education reports that about 1,000 graduate teachers are still on waiting list and not yet found work.  Link.

PM promises equal rightsLink.

(o) Fiji "At Crossroads of Chaos and Prosperity"

Rajen Prasad's excellent article published a few days ago in Auckland- based IndianNewsLink. Link.     

(o) Sugar: NFU Double Take or Censored Report?


 In Wednesday's Short Briefs I provided a link to National Farmers Union president Sanjeet Maharaj saying the Union supported the goverment. "This," he said, "was probably the first time for a prime minister to have an open forum with the people of Rakiraki to freely discuss sugar industry issues." Maharaj said the NFU has been "supporting the government right from the first day [and] have confidence in the government to resolve the issue of land leases and other problems facing the sugar industry."

These opinions are apparently not shared by the NFU leaders, according to an unsigned or attributed NFU posting on the Fiji Labour Party's website. 


Whether this represents a divided leadership, pressure by the FLP (former PM Mahrendra Chaudhry's FLP is a major force within the Union, and a reason Bainimarama has given to "de-politicize" farmer representation. See below), or whether Maharaj chose his words carefully -- and the state censors even more carefully -- we cannot know.  But it is clear the NFU has problems with the RadioFiji's report. Click link for the full statement.

The statement said cane growers had been marginalized, in an industry in which they have a 70 percent stake, due to the dissolution of the Sugar Commission, the Fiji Sugar Marketing Ltd and the Sugar Cane Growers Council, actions over which they had not been consulted. "Growers have thus been left defenceless and completely at the mercy of the State and a failed Fiji Sugar Corporation. None of these moves are likely to promote goodwill and cooperation within the industry."

The statement also questioned policies and actions claimed to have contributed to sugar's worst year ever and intimidation of growers and NFU officials by the army. It concluded with, "As for the interim government’s intention to revive the sugar industry, there has been a lot of rhetoric but little to show for it on the ground."

See also PM on sugar and politics. Link.

Thursday 18 February 2010

(o) Assassination Plot Update 18.2.10

The Fiji on-line press is scarely reporting this trial. I wonder why? There's some mention in Fiji Village and FijiLive. The Fiji Sun and the Daily Post have poor on-line facilities. And there's been almost ziltch in the Fiji Times. Perhaps they are waiting for an acquittal. 
 Hence, for the time being, I'm limiting my "coverage." The only print media source that is giving any sort of coverage is  RadioFiji.

Qualification: Commenting on this post, a reader says state censorship is the reason the trial has limited mention in the mainstream media.

Chief says he was planning his wife's birthday. Naitasiri high chief Ratu Inoke Takiveikata denied allegations that he and seven other men were plotting to assassinate, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, when he was arrested and charged in 2007, saying he was planning his wife's birthday party at the time of the alleged meetings. Ratu Inoke also told Police his relationship with businessman Ballu Khan was only professional as they were both directors of the company Pacific Connex.  Link.

Police officer recalls interview with accused Barbados Mills.
Interviewing officer, Corporal Samisoni Ralulu read out transcripts of the interview with third accused Barbados Mills which revealed details of a meeting held in Nadi in August 2007.
Mills told the officers that the military intelligence officer, Lance Corporal Peniasi Kuli contacted him a day earlier and asked him for a meeting in Sabeto as he was running out of time with his assassination plan. Mills agreed to meeting Naulogo.At the meeting, Kuli brought up the assassination plan which was to shoot Commander Bainimarama and make a run for it. Mills said in his interview that he was very cautious about the plan because he was very concerned about his own safety. Present at the meeting was Peniasi Kuli, Barbados Mills and Sivaniolo Naulogo.The meeting was held at a vacant farm house opposite the Sabeto junction.

The case is adjourned for tomorrow. [For? to? I'll let you know.] Link.

No medical treatment for accused.
  Link.

The case is adjourned for tomorrow. [For? to? I'll let you know.]

(o) UN Human Rights Report by No Means All Critical

Comment and Analysis

I've just read, taken notes and quickly summarised the 20-page UN Human Rights report*, and its 103 recommendations that Fiji is asked to consider, and I must say I'm impressed. It is far more balanced than we were led to believe. The report is part of the UN's periodic review of human rights in its member countries.

My copy of the pdf document came from Mosmi Bhim of the Citizen's Constitutional Forum (CCF) with the note "that it appears that Fiji’s media are not being allowed to publish these recommendations as the recommendations are critical of the current regime in Fiji. There is no way of informing the ordinary citizens of Fiji, of what’s in the recommendations by the UN, due to the heavy media censorship."

If this is the case, it's a pity because the report contains far more than the already well publicised criticisms.

The report actually commends Fiji for its work in a number of human rights areas, including human trafficking, poverty alleviation, AIDS, domestic violence, the rights of women, children and the disabled, climate change, the death penalty, and human rights education. And several countries clearly welcomed the Roadmap, many of government's reforms, and accepted the need to delay elections until 2014. The most common criticism concerned the Public Emergency Regulations.

The impression given by the media in prior comments was that Fiji received a sound drubbing on its human rights record, with little to no support or understanding from any country. This is half true.

Some 15 to 17 of the 31 countries that made submissions condemned, or were deeply concerned about, the usual human rights issues: the constitution, elections, the judiciary, the media, and individual freedoms. There's no need to second guess most of them:the Western democracies, Israel,Chile and Japan.

A second group of some 7-9 countries was relatively even-handed, with a wider interpretation of human rights that included the rights of women and children (for which Fiji was actually commended!). This group included Brazil, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Mexico and Maldives. A third group of 5-7 countries was no less concerned about human rights but they showed more understanding of Fiji's particular circumstances. This group included Philipines, China and Malaysia.

In the second group, Slovakia (recommendation 20) called for a return to constitutional order and the rule of law, genuine dialogue across all ethnic communities, free and fair elections, and the need to address the underlying issues that led to Fiji's political instability

In the third group, Maldives (recommendation 99) requested the international community to do its part and show goodwill by believing in and expressing support for democracy and human rights reform in Fiji, while Morocco (recommendation 100) urged Fiji to persist in its Roadmap reforms and asked the international community to support Fiji in this.

If two halves make one whole, half-true reporting, while expected and true to form,  is also half-wrong. But perhaps that's how some journalists define balance.

Fiji will respond to the recommendations before June 2010.

To read the full report, click this Scoop link.

Coupfourpointfive, in its first original post for several days, makes the solitary obervation that Australia and New Zealand are not the only countries taking a strong stand on Fiji, and lists some of the recommendations. Link. The "orientation" of our two reports speaks for itself.


* Draft of the (UN Human Rights Council) Working  Group on the Universal Periodic Review:Fiji, Geneva. 11 Feb. 2010.

Short Briefs Thu 18.2.10

Check out what this Australian journalist had to say about meeting Bainimarama. Link. There'll be bigger article, with more pictures, in the Observer on Saturday.

Is Australian "expert" ignorant, devious or what? Jenny Hayward-Jones, Director of the Lowy Institute's Myer Melanesia Program, is in the news again. Commenting on Australia's relaxation of sanctions on Burma, she asked why not Fiji. So far, so good.  But then she went on to say "the Methodist church senior hierarchy has been arrested" and "former public officials that criticise the government will be stripped of their pensions for years of public service." Neither statement is correct. 

Some Methodist leaders were detained and then released for breaching the Emergency Regulations. None is pining away in prison, as her listeners might assume from this statement.  The pensions are non-contributory parliament pensions paid to politicians, not the much wider group of "former public officials. These pensions have little to do with "years of service," recipients make no financial contribution, and they are paid directly by government. They most certainly are not the contributory FNPF pensions received by ordinary public servants.  

When supposedly informed people in the public eye, such as Ms Hayward-Jones,  make such incorrect statements, we must dub them ignorant or devious.

Winston Churchill would have used another word, and then apologized. When asked by the Speaker of the House of Commons to withdraw his accusation that a fellow MP was a liar, he "apologized" by saying he had committed a "terminological inexactude."

Farmers Union supports Fiji PM.The National Farmers Union will give their full support to Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama’s efforts in taking the sugar industry forward…despite differences in  the past with the current government. Union national president Sanjeet Maharaj made the commitment after Commodore Bainimarama met with cane farmers in Rakiraki last weekend. Maharaj says this was probably the first time for a prime minister to have an open forum with the people of Rakiraki to freely discuss sugar industry issues. “Yes, we fully support this government. We have been supporting the government right from the first day ... there were ... some differences but looking at the things now I think its quite on the positive side.” Maharaj says they now have confidence in the government to resolve the issue of land leases and other problems facing the sugar industry. Link.

Bogus contracts being clamped down. A number of investigations are underway. Ridding the public service of graft and corruption is part of the Roadmap . Link.

Teachers warned to show profesionalism. Education Minister Filipe Bole has issued a warning to all the teachers to show professionalism and commitment to their profession.This iniative is also part of the  Roadmap. Link.

Wednesday 17 February 2010

(o) Assassination Plot Update 17.2.10


Former Fiji elite troops 
had guns: Witness
Tues. 16.2.10
Former CRW soldiers told undercover intelligence officers that they had the guns to assassinate Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, a prosecution witness informed the Suva High Court today.Territorial Force soldier Luke Toa was giving evidence in the trial of eight men accused of trying to assassinate Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama. Toa told the court he heard one of the accused Barbados Mills tell military intelligence officer Peniasi Kuli that they had the guns. Toa asked Mills why he didn’t bring the guns with him so they could use it for their planned training exercise. He said Kuli then asked Mills if these were the guns from Vanua Levu but Mills said no. Defence lawyers questioned Toa why he didn’t follow up with Mills about the whereabouts of the guns.Toa says he couldn’t because the meeting lasted only ten minutes before they dispersed.Toa adds that he didn’t enquire any further about the guns because he was more preoccupied with uncovering the assassination plot.Kuli and Toa said in their testimony they were sent undercover by the Military to gather information from former CRW soldiers about the whereabouts of missing guns.

Kill Methods Unveiled Before Court
Wed. 17.2.10 11:30am
A sniper shot, food poisoning or motor vehicle collision were possible ways to remove Fiji’s Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and members of his Cabinet, Fiji’s High Court heard today. State witness Major Isireli Narawa said he recommended these types of assassination methods to the group on trial while acting undercover for the military.

When cross examined by defence lawyer Iqbal Khan, Narawa said that was what he had mentioned in his statement to police.“The statement was given in the context of the operation we were doing,” he said. Narawa, who is the army Chief Staff Officer Intelligence, said the idea to trick the accused on trial into believing he was genuine was suggested by Corporal Peniasi Kuli, the army mole that first uncovered the alleged assassination plans.Khan then asked Narawa whether their aim then was still to locate the missing arms from the 1987 and 2000 coups, as alleged earlier. Link.
=--
Defense Counsel questions report
Wed. 17.2.10 Noon
The credibility and accuracy of reports compiled by the Military Officer sent to gather information on the plot to assassinate Commodore Bainimarama and others was scrutinized by the Defense Counsel this morning. In cross examination, Defense Counsel Iqbal Khan questioned the Head of the Military Intelligence Unit, Major Isireli Narawa, as to how accurate and credible the information being brought to him by Lance Corporal Peniasi Kuli really was.In going over the report, Khan asked Narawa if the information was credible because two issues highlighted in the report said otherwise.
Khan stated that the report said that Ballu Khan had the missing weapons and ammunition, however no weapons were found and also Kuli had stated that Apisai Tora would be bringing the guns and ammunition however this also never happened.
Narawa replied that he trusted his source and all information given to him.Khan also questioned Narawa as to why the fourteenth report compiled by Sergeant Waqa on the alleged meetings with the Qaranivalu were never given to the Police when he gave his statement on the 3rd of November 2007. Khan asked Narawa why he only gave his Power Point presentation as this was only a summarised version of the fourteen reports given by Sergeant Waqa on the alleged meeting, to which Narawa replied that, at that time, the Police only asked for the Power Point presentation.Khan then asked Narawa why the fourteen detailed reports were given later on the 28th of August 2008 and not given when he gave his first statement. Narawa maintained that the Police just asked for the Power Point presentation.
The case continues.  Link.

Kill trial witness unreliable: Defence
Wed. 17.2.10
The credibility of a state witness in the trial of eight men accused of plotting to assassinate Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama was questioned today by defence lawyers.
Defence lawyer Iqbal Khan told the High Court that prosecution witness Lance Corporal Peniasi Kuli’s credibility was questionable as a source for the military intelligence unit.

Khan, in cross examining another state witness, the head of military intelligence, Major Isireli Narawa, said Kuli allegedly gave wrong information to the army. As an example, Khan said Kuli had told military intelligence that Ballu Khan and Apisai Tora would provide the weapons for the planned assassination of the Prime Minister.Khan says this never happened and no weapons have been found.

However Major Narawa refuted Khan’s claims and told the court that he had faith in his source, and found the information provided by Kuli as very reliable.

The trial continues this afternoon with submissions from the three defense lawyers.
The trial continues before Justice Paul Madigan and five local assessors.
 Link.

Tuesday 16 February 2010

(o) Cafe Pacific | Media freedom and transparency: Human rights or corruption? Trotting out the real Fiji issues


Read David Robie's blog Cafe Pacific for how some people saw the media coverage of  the recent UN Geneva Human Rights conference. Link. This is what I had to say:
The real Fiji issue here is not human rights (though some, affecting very few people, have been abused). The real issue is the abuse of " media rights"   that have been allowed, if not encouraged, to so distort the situation in Fiji, past and present. -- Photo AUT.

(o+) Short Briefs Tue 16.10.10

"Bainimarama" fined $48,000: Military's Court appeal denied. The Court of Appeal (Justices John Byrne and William Calanchini) upheld a court decision that ordered compensation cost of $45,000 against Fiji Military Forces Commander, Voreqe Bainimarama, for the the military's brutal beating of villager Navualaba following the Speight Coup in 2000, and awarded extra costs of $3000. Link. The only good to come from this case is that it belies the accusations that the judiciary are not independent.

Ethno-nationalism, corruption and greed. Ambassador to the EU, Peceli Vocea, said "Many  of Fiji's finest brains have left the country because they could see no future in a country governed by ethno-nationalism, corruption and greed."  Link.

I can't believe this! Methodists in the UK are being asked to abstain from food and to consider donating the money they would have spent on food to the World Mission Fund, which will be offering long term support to the Church in Fiji. What have Fiji's Methodist leaders been telling them?  link  and scroll down. 

Is Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch the world's biggest capitalist ever? View his world holdings that include the Fiji Times Link.

Fiji land experts brainstorm Geomatric prospects. Link.

Fiji to rid sugar industry of politics PM.  “The Sugarcane Growers Council was to rid get rid of the industry of politics while lessening the burden on those of you the cane growers in terms of reduced levy. I’ve been advised that the removal of the councillors in November 2009 will result in the reduction in annual budget in the sugarcane growers council by $250,000." The 36% reduction in EU sugar price from 2006 and 2009 made the 2009 actions essential. To make the industry viable, overheads have been reduced by dismantling the Fiji Sugar Marketing Company Limited and the sugar commission of Fiji which have a combine annual budget of $1.2m. Link.

PM on education.
"Every Fijian regardless of race, religion, colour or creed has a right to education and the government will ensure that everyone enjoys that right in the country. Link.

Fiji National University launched by PM Bainimarama
.
The PM  said the amalgamation of the local education institutions under the FNU banner provides a unique opportunity where specialized expertise is made available under the one roof.Under the new structure are four colleges – (1) College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2) College of Engineering, Science and Technology (3) College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Services (4) College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies.The University’s administrative headquarters will be based at the Fiji College of Advanced Education in Nasinu.

Dean of Tourism and Communications Dr Mahendra Reddy says“People are now able to send their children to tertiary education at a much more affordable price, and that’s what the Fiji National University is about. It’s about a quality education, affordable prices and more importantly, it’s a bout bringing tertiary education closer to children of Fiji.”

PAC on abuses.The Public Accounts Committee has made a number of recommendations to the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama in relation to civil servants who have abused their authority or abused tax dollars. Link. Some of these abuses were reported in earlier Short Briefs.

Resign if you can't perform. PM told Ra public servants to go outside their "comfort zone and reach out to the people."  Link.

Poverty and Development.The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) has set a National Financial Inclusion Taskforce that will guide and monitor the development of greater financial inclusion in Fiji. The 11-member Taskforce, to include at least four private sector representatives,will address poverty alleviation and economic development issues. Link.


Congratulations to CoupFourPointFive (the "mildly" anti-government blog) for passing the 100,000 reader mark. I don't know how they do it. In recent months they've only published one post every 3-4 days and it's usually a straight lift from another source. I sweat over my usually daily postings that involve a wide search of sources, and there's analysis and comment galore. But I've not yet reached half their total.

Dial the PM. Text 01 on the Fiji Vodafone network and your message goes straight the the PM's office, where he will attend to it ASAP.Link. Grassroots democracy, PMs Key and Rudd?

The new Crime Decree makes prostitution illegal for both parties. Shamima Ali of the Women's Crisis Centre says this will make it hard for sex workers.  “Nowhere in  the world where prostitution has been criminalised in this manner has prostitution gone away. I believe that we’d be better served if we address the issue of gender inequalities, looked at women’s education, looked at women’s economic empowerment. I believe those are things that will help get rid of prostitution.” Link.


Government cars are soon likely to be equipped with GPS, a move that would prevent misuse and save many thousands of dollars.