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.

Janus* Complex

We delude ourselves if we think the rest of the world really cares about what happens to Fiji.The only time the country warrants any attention is if the strategic interests of the Western world are at risk.

 This is the thought that went through my mind as I watched televised news of an array of current and former global leaders as they hemmed and hummed in response to a journalist’s question about boycotting the Olympics over China’s human rights violations in Tibet.It wasn’t even a question about imposing economic sanctions.

But here was the centre left in glorious display at the Progressive Governance Summit in London – Bill Clinton, Gordon Brown, Kevin Rudd, Helen Clark (normally a good bloke, as the Australians gleefully attest), Thabo Mbeki, as well as the presidents of Liberia and Chile.And not one of them could string together a coherent reply.

In the end, the sum of their responses was this: Boycotting the Olympics would be counterproductive because it would affect ordinary Chinese and not the ruling Communist Party.

What does this tell the ordinary person in Fiji? “Sorry sonny, but in the eyes of the international community, your life has less value than an ordinary person in China."This kind of hypocrisy is galling, particularly when you have lived through successive periods of economic sanctions and witnessed the effect it has on everyday people.

The absence of an effective stance against China’s actions to preserve economic arrangements, weakens the argument that harsh action is needed against Fiji to maintain democracy.

But why should we be surprised?

* The Roman god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces pointing in opposite directions.

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.

Boneless Sausages

I usually buy sausages from the various butchers around town. There have been several times when we have found bone or very hard flesh in them.

Some sausages are sold very cheap. In this day and age things that are cheap are just that – cheap. I've spoken to many people who work in the butchers and they say they never buy their own sausages. I wonder why.

I wonder also whether television could screen a short  documentary so that we can see what is being put into these cheap sausages. Some cheap sausages have very fancy names and funny tastes.  If one day I find part of a cow's hoof in a sausage, I won't be surprised.

A man selling curry and roti in town told me that it was boneless sausage curry. How about that! He must have de-boned the sausage first.

Fiji Assassination Plot: Photos of Those Found Guilty

Naitasiri high chief Ratu Inkoke Takiveikata is escorted to the police bus after receiving a jail sentence of 7 years. The other seven accused also got jail time by Justice Paul Madigan. (1. Sivianiolo Naulago- 7 years, 2. Faeko Gadekibau-5.5 years, 3. Kaminieli Vosavere- 4 years, 4.Eparama Waqatairewa-3 years, 5.Pauliasi Namulo-3 years, 6.Barbados Mills-6.5 years,7. Metuisela Mua-3.5 years. --Fiji Live.

Lawyers for the eight men sentenced today for conspiring to kill Fiji’s Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said they will appeal the prison terms dished out today by Fiji’s High Court.Suva lawyer Akuila Naco told Fijilive they will take a two-week break after a hectic four weeks of court appearances.“We will appeal to the Court of Appeal after two weeks,”

It would appear from this statement  that the verdict will not be appealed, which I find surprising.

(o) Breaking News: Guilty Sentenced to 3 to 7 Years

Guilty sentenced to between three to seven years. It seems likely they will appeal.

Ban on Dancer "Appalling," Australian Rules, Fiji Times Reports, Tourism, Provincial Development

Short Briefs

Vou dance groups' principal dancer has been refused a entry permit to perform in Auckland Pacific Festival.  This is an international festival organized by our Pacific Islands community and should be exempt from the bans.

Photo: Fiji Times.

NZ readers are urged to write, email and  otherwise contact their MPs and any others, including the festival organizers,  who may help to reverse this appalling decision, and if this is too late, to record their protest.  We note that often-quoted Nik Naidu of the Auckland-based Coalition for Democracy is reported by RadioNZ to have said the decision is "fair."  Does anyone know how many members Nik's group has, and how representative it is of the Auckland Fiji  community?  I continue to press for more flexibility in the bans, which most  informed observers now agree have been ineffective and counter-productive. The festival starts tomorrow March 6.

No vote, we're playing Australian Rules. Jenny Hayward-Jones seems to think Australian aid gives it a claim to lead Pacific nations. "This is the only region," she says,  "that Australia - which is giving more than $1 billion of development assistance this year - can reasonably claim to lead." Well, I never!

Assassination trial

The Fiji Times reported "a charged silence followed by outpourings of disbelief" when the assessors' verdicts were read in the High Court on Wednesday, while "Ratu Inoke was a picture of stoic acceptance and so were the other accused, politely nodding while dealing with apologetic handshakes and embraces."  

The Times, that has until now been rather sparse with its court coverage,  did, however, have the good grace to note that the jam-packed courtroom included family members of the accused, a following from the legal fraternity, and members of SDL party. But I wonder: if censors were responsible for its earlier lack of coverage, why did they allow this? 

One anti-government blog  chose to report what Ballu Khan had to say (but not Judge Madigan) while another called it a kangaroo court, despite the fact that the decision of  all five Assessors was unamimous, and all five had been accepted by both prosecution and defence lawyers. I fear that dialogue with such bloggers, and the people they speak for, is pointless. Their minds are set in concrete. Perhaps more generally this is what Bainimarama has already decided. There' s little point asking a  concrete or brick wall  for an opinion.

Tourism. There were Some 45,362  visitor arrival in January, an increase of 38% on January last year, despite negative publicity in the main source countries. Australia still topped the list (up 65%) ; New Zealand was up 50%, UK/Europe  up 22%, USA up 4%, Taiwan up 219% percent from a small base, and several other Asian countries showed increases. Visitors from Japan, Canada and the Pacific Island countries declined 13%.  The figures indicate a welcome return to normal after 2009, that had the "worst figures in recent years."  Jetstar will  soon join other airlines (Air Pacific, Air NZ, Qantas, V Australia and Pacific Blue) flying into Nadi. 

Modest economic recovery. Fiji’s economy is expected to make a modest 1.9 percent recovery in 2010. The positive outlook fis supported by economic recovery in selected trading partner countries, with an expected pick up in export demand and higher visitor arrivals.

The Ministry of Provincial Development is seeking to complete major projects -- better roads, water, electricity supply and farming assistance -- some of which were promised by previous governments. This is part of the Roadmap.

Free advertising? Many blogs, including some anti-government blogs, include advertising for which blog their publishers are paid. I am considering including non-obtrusive free advertising for companies that help the Fiji economy. What do readers think?

(o) Assassination Plot: Who were the Assessors?

With so much depending on the public and overseas reception of the guilty verdict against the eight men charged with plotting to assassinate Bainimarama, it is important readers know more about the Assessors who brought down this verdict. 

Some 600 people applied to serve on a panel of assessors. The panel is approved yearly by the Chief Justice  and the list is gazetted. The assessors in the Assassination plot trial were picked by the High Court Registry and their names were given to lawyers on both sides who had the right to object. Where there are objections they are normally replaced. In this case defence and prosecution agreed to each of the assessors. For further information, look at the Criminal Procedure Decree on assessors and the right of objection.

Related items

New Zealand "utterly rejects" the claim by one of the defendants that it was in any way involved in the assassination plot.

Defence lawyers have applied for non-custodial sentences for all  eight to be sentenced on varied grounds: minimal involvement, good character, first offenders, second chance, age, sole breadwinner, ill health, treatment while in detention, and entrapment (the argument that they were talked into the plot by undercover soldier Kuli).

Ballu Khan, although deeply implicated, cannot be charged because  he won  a permanent stay of proceedings against him. Khan now lives in Auckland.

Justice Madigan will announce sentences at 3:30 pm today.

(+) Michael Field: Another Blogger Who Gets it Wrong

Michael Field is a NZ journalist with many years Pacific reporting experience.  He was fearless in his coverage of the pro-democracy movement in Tonga and in his condemnation of the 1987, 2000 and 2006 Fiji coups -- between which he can see no difference.

Following a succession of negative reports on Fiji (and a rebuke from the NZ Broadcasting Standards Authority for his libellous comments on a former Fiji Attorney-General) Field was declared persona non grata and denied entry to Fiji. He continues to write short, essentially "copy and paste" articles on Fiji for the mainstream media, and he also has a blog where he so departs from normal journalistic standards that his mainstream colleagues must be embarrassed. He has been especially harsh in his treatment of former Fiji High Court judge Nazhat Shameem, the subject of this posting.

In a recent blog posting headed "Fiji Media Joins the Coup" he called Nazhat a "coup perpetrators ... a key player in the judicial coup that sacked a chief justice and ... a close adviser of Bainimarama."

And then went on to write,"Without even the vaguest nod of consultation with the public, Shameem and Bainimarama have come up with some kind of decree defining crime."

IN FACT, the Crimes Decree was essentially the Qarase government draft completed by the Law Reform commission in 2006 before the coup. It is not a creature of this government in substance although it was passed by this government. All relevant bodies were consulted during the drafting process including the judiciary, the Law Society and all the women's groups pre-2006. The 2006 draft also included the treason offences now in the Crimes Decree and none of this was drafted or changed by Nazhat Shameem.

Field then wrote that "subtle changes" were made in defining treason in order to  protect ..those who purported to draft this decree from the very charge itself." These changes, he said, were such that overthrowing the Constitution or the government of Fiji is no longer an offence.

IN FACT, the law on treason is a refection of the law as defined in the Silatolu and Nata cases by Justice Wilson and by the common law, and overthrowing the Constitution or the lawful authority of the Government of Fiji are certainly criminal offences under section 65. Treason is an enactment of the common law on treason about which Field seems to be unaware. It was set out in the Silatolu case and is summarised as an act of levying war against the State. This is still a type of treason.

Changes made to the Decree were not in relation to treason. Section 64, on treason, remained unchanged from the Qarase government draft.  But the offence of inciting communal antagonism with violence (section 65 (2) of the Decree) that formerly  existed as a type of sedition in the old Penal Code, was more clearly defined, and other offences of sedition retained.

However, the point is that the treason definition was drafted not by this government, or Shameem,  but by the Qarase government. And it was drafted after a full consultation process.

Field then went on to attack The Fiji Times and the media for providing "its training facilities to the regime for an Education Camp on Military Decrees" before awarding the "prize for the idiot remark of the day" to Fiji Times managing director Anne Fussell for saying “the media workshop has been invaluable in helping our journalists have a better understanding of the intricacies of the judicial system.”

IN FACT, Field's "camp" was a "workshop", organized by Fussell and Fiji Broadcasting Corp's news editor Stanley Simpson and conducted by Shameem, on court reporting  by the media, although I have no doubt the Criminal Procedure Decree (note, Michael, not the Crimes Decree!) was discussed because it limits what the media may report before cases are transferred to the High Court without risking contempt of court charges.

Field's remarks on the media are incorrect. They are also very unfair. One might have thought that as a fellow journalist he would have recognized just how difficult it is for Fiji journalists to write stories in the present circumstances --  and just how important it is that they get things right.

If it did nothing else, the workshop would have provided an opportunity to discuss matters of concern and interest on the relationship between the media and the law, with Shameem, and with Justice Madigan who, I understand, was also present for one session.

Finally, he asked, "Why didn’t Fiji journalists simply choose not to go to Shemeem’s School of Indoctrination. They’ve done sweet all else."

IN FACT, Michael, it's Shameem (not Shemeem); it was a workshop, not a school of indoctrination,  and the two journalists you named organized it, not Shameem. It's important to get these little things right before you attempt bigger stories.

(0) Assassination Plot: Judge Madigan's Summation in Full

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI

AT SUVA

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. HAC 009/2008

THE STATE

Applicant

vs

1. 
   
   FEOKO GADEKIBUA
2. 
   
   BARBADOS MILLS
3. 
   
   SIVANIOLO NAULAGO
4. 
   
   METUISELA MUA
5. 
   
   EPARAMA WAQATAIREWA
6. 
   
   KAMINIELI VOSAVERE
7. PAULIASI NAMULO

Respondents

Mr D. Toganivalu for the State

Mr A. Naco for 1^st Accused

Mr. I.Khan for for 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th – 8^th Accused

Mr. M. Raza for 4^th Accused

Summing Up

Ladies and Gentlemen assessors; we have now come to the stage in the trial where it is my duty to sum up the evidence to you; and to direct you on the law. You will then be required to deliberate together and each of you must give a separate opinion whether each accused is guilty or not guilty of the charge.

2. Our functions in this trial have been quite different throughout this trial. The law has been, and remains, my area of responsibility and I must now give you directions as to the law which applies in this case. When I do so, you must accept those directions and follow them.

3. The facts of this case are your responsibility. All of the Counsel have made very strong speeches to you and you will wish to take into account the arguments advanced in those speeches you have heard but you are not bound to accept them. What counsel say in their closing addresses is not evidence. You may accept what they say or you may reject what they say: it is entirely a matter for you.[Click to read more]

Bainimarama on Elections, ABC's Bias, NZ Sanctions Against Dancers ....

Short Briefs 3.3.10
Scroll down to Assassination verdict.
NZ Travel Ban Continues. Two Fiji performers to the Pasifika Festival in Auckland have been denied visas by the New Zealand Government. The two performers, Patricia Naisara and Samu Cama, were rejected because their fathers are in the Fiji Military Forces. That means the Vou Dance group will only have nine members instead of the regular 11 to perform on the closing day on March 13. The festival starts on March 6 and is an annual celebration of Pacific peoples in New Zealand. The Vou Dance group will be the only Fiji representatives there. (See comment by Kiwi Injustice in the "A Close Examination of Some Anti-Government Blog Postings.") Photo: Fiji Times.

Bainimarama's "Good" and "Bad" Ideas on the 2014 Elections

 Bainimarama wants to see new young faces, "with new ideas to be running the government," for the 2014 elections.

In a FijLive interview, the PM urged the younger generation not to shy away from politics but rather be a part of it. “What we want is young people to be involved in the National Dialogue Forum and be part of the government. They need to change their mentality about leaving the country in the hands of older politicians."

He also said Government is going over the names of people who had applied to be a part of the National Dialogue Forum, which had been expected to begin a month ago, following numerous applications from former politicians. This seems to mean that although the former political parties, based on race-defined electorates, will not be invited to the Forum, selected individual politicians, who may form new non-race bound parties, will be welcome. This is good news.

Later. however, Bainimarama is reported to have said no person who has been a politician since the 1987 coup will be allow to be a politician again.  This is bad news.

"Balanced" Reporting, Yet Again. RadioAustralia reported something of this Bainimarama's position when ABC radio journalist Campbell Cooney, provided short extracts from Ted Young, former SDL politician and strategist now living in Australia, Brij Lal and Cde Voqere Bainimarama. Former FCBBF technical head John Samy was also mentioned but was not interviewed.

In the interests of unbiased journalism and with an eye on Australia fair play, I decided to timed them. For those against the Government: Brij had 64 seconds in two bursts, Ted 33 seconds; while for those for the Government, Voqere had 14, and John apparently had 0.

New Water Supply to Rural Areas. People in rural areas will no longer be required to pay one-third of the costs of piped water installation while the State pays the other two-thirds. PM Bainimarama says the traditional system is unfair when those living in urban areas don’t pay a single cent. The one-third requirement caused delays of several years as rural communities sought to save the necessary money.

The Native Land Trust Board has ruled that "goodwill" payments made to landowners before leases are confirmed are illegal.

Homosexuality Decriminalised. The Pacific Coordinator of UNAIDS, Stuart Watson, says in dealing with HIV Aids and other sexually transmitted infections, Fiji's Crimes Decree, that has decriminalised homosexuality, is a huge step forward.

Miners at Vatukoula gold mine who were laid off in 2007 and continue to remain unemployed will receive a $1.6 million payout next week.  Link.

Fiji has kicked off 2010 with a 37.6% jump in international visitor arrivals – the best figures the destination has recorded for the start to a new year’s business since 2008.

(o) Assassination Plot Update 3.3.10: Guilty

UPDATE 7:00pm. Justice Paul Madigan said he is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the men are guilty of conspiracy to murder.  He said he was also satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the men conspired with Ballu Khan and others to commit the felony. Sentences will be made tomorrow. 

Those found guilty are Naitasiri high chief, Inoke Takiveikata, former spy chief Metuisela Mua, businessman Sivaniolo Naulago, and five former Counter Revolutionary Warfare soldiers who had all been Mr Khan's bodyguards. A week ago Justice Madigan dismissed charges against the accused that they conspired also to murder the attorney-general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, and the former finance minister, Mahendra Chaudhry. 

Eight found guilty in kill plot trial

March 03, 2010 01:22:01 PM

Fiji high chief Ratu Inoke Takiveikata and seven others have been found guilty on charges of plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and other senior members of government in 2007. The unanimous decision was delivered by a five-member team of assessors in the High Court in Suva moments ago. Assessors are advisers to the Court whose decision can be ovrruled by the judge. The verdict came after several hours of closed door deliberations. According to one source, Justice Paul Madigan will deliver his judgment at 4.30pm today, while another says 9:00am tomorrow. 

Tuesday's hearings
 The former director of the Fiji Intelligence Service, Colonel Metuisela Mua, said military state witness's allegations against him and others were fabricated
and indicated that someone was lying. Mua said: the military intelligence unit who gave evidence against them did not have any legal mandate; did not properly analyse the information; there were inconsistencies in State witness Lance Corporal Peniasi Kuli's report claiming they plotted to assassinate Commodore Bainimarama; the 14 secret meetings alleged by Lance Cpl Kuli were not properly graded; Major Isireli Narawa's statement that he met with Inoke Takiveikata at the Sofitel Hotel in Nadi was false, and that only the police were permitted to do this in accordance with the Police Act.The Prosecution’s case in the trial of eight men accused of trying to kill the Prime Minister, has been likened to the US case against the late Iraq president Saddam Hussein.

Defense lawyer Iqbal Khan likened the  claims against his clients to the US case against Saddam when intelligence reports that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction turned out to be false. He said the prosecution's case was similarly built on false information. Khan said military intelligence officers Corporal Peniasi Kuli and Major Isireli Narawa should also be in the dock alongside the accused because they too conspired to kill the PM, as they tried to get the accused involved. The case has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt.Countering this claim  Director of Public Prosecutions lawyer David Toganivalu said inconsistencies by prosecution witnesses are not unusual. There doesn’t need to be direct evidence to convict someone in the court of law. All prosecution witnesses had placed the accused  at the scene of the 14 meetings that were allegedly held to discuss the assassination plot. And it was no coincidence that all the former CRW soldiers were working for Ballu Khan and that they had motive to try to kill Commodore Bainimarama because they tried it once in the year 2000.

Judge sums up
Link  one. Link two. Justice Paul Madigan urged assessors to put aside their political views and any feelings of sympathy or prejudice, and arrive at their opinions calmly.The assessors have retired behind closed doors to come to a verdict.  FijiVillage has a fuller  posting

(+) A Close Examination of Some Anti-Government Blog Postings

Sometimes it is necessary to expose the unreasoned bias, viciousness, inaccuracies and deliberate misrepresentations published in the anti-government blogs, most of which not not allow comments on their blogs from anyone critical of their postings, and whose answers to their detractors attack the critic and not the argument. Thus, to many of these bloggers, I am a "coup apologist" who writes  "bullshit."

Today I look at three examples (and the dissemination of one by RadioNZ International). Tomorrow, or the next day, I'll examine their mischevious postings on former Judge Nazhaat Shameem, the publisher of the Fiji Times, and the Crimes Decree.

Fiji Democracy Now
Fiji Democracy Now has a feature "Father Barr makes more empty promises to the poor" in which it makes several claims:

Claim One. "Fiji’s most disgraceful hypocrite, Father Kevin Barr, has promised he’ll soon award wage increases to the low paid workers of Fiji." 

Fact. Fr Barr has promised nothing on what he will do. He speaks as the chairperson of the Wages Council. For those who do not know of Fr Barr, he has championed -- and sought to empower -- Fiji's underprivileged for over two decades, and for this work he is widely respected in Fiji and overseas.

Claim Two. "Poverty has exploded under the illegal regime which he supports, so his conscience must be pricking him." 

Fact. Poverty has increased, but poverty is not of this government's making. In the 1990s some 25 percent of Fiji's population were below the "poverty line." Today's situation is exacerbated by the the world recession and the isolationist policies of Fiji's neighbours. Its economic options are limited but it has sought to assist the poor in several ways, including the  removal of VAT on basic food items, and not increasing VAT as the Qarase government intended to do. The infrastructual actions in Government's Roadmap should help reduce rural poverty, and measures taken should see a sharp reduction in overall poverty in the middle- to long-term.

Claim Three. "What this foolish priest doesn’t seem to understand is that a wage increase across the board which he’s promising will simply lead to more devaluation which will further push up the price of imported food." 

Fact. The wage increases are not "across the board." They are industry-specific and concern minimum wages only. They are also being  introduced progressively to assist employers. The ultimate aim is to increase the minimum wage to the "poverty line" that currently stands at $175 a week. Some 60 percent of workers now earn less than this.

The wage increases could lead to inflation (not devaluation!) but the poor spend all their money in the local economy which should prove a stimulus in some areas. Meanwhile, government's Roadmap includes measures to increase local food production and reduce dependence on imported food.

Does FDN think there should be no minimum wage and no wage increases, even when 60 percent of Fiji's population is living below the poverty line?

Claim Four. "This self-appointed expert of electoral systems knows nothing about economics." 

Fact. Fr Barr has never made any claim to expertise on electoral systems -- but he does have a Masters degree in Economics!

FijiCoup2006
Sai Lealea's blog FijiCoup2006 reports that a "drunk military goon squad" arrested a number of people, including two former MPs, who were drinking grog (yaqona/kava) at the SDL Party office last Friday night. They were allegedly taken to QEB, insulted, demeaned and eventually released.

The incident, censored by media watchdogs, although not particularly important in itself, does no credit to the RFMF, the Military Council or Government, who need to show that the RFMF is a "disciplined force" not a capricious rabble.

But why do the blogs only publish negative news?  In "Write your letters to the Editor here" I have invited Sai to respond properly to another reader who did not agree with his comments, and to reply to my invitation to show a "way forward."

Fiji News Uncensored
Another anti-government blog, FijiNewsUncensored, citing "very reliable source within the Fiji's Prime Ministers office,"  claims that Bainimarama was so fazed that the army intelligence did not pick up the planning of the "600,000 petition" (mostly organized from overseas) that he is "overcome by fear knowing that his end is near... The madman is breaking loose once more. We will continue to keep you up to date as our people on the ground are completely on red alert. Fiji is in a very dangerous situation right now."

The reality, as explained in earlier postings, is that this totally unreliable petition was a fiction of the political parties deposed by the 2006 Coup and was certainly not signed by a fraction of the 680,000 claimed. Bainimarama saw it for what it was immediately. As for the "red alert," I suspect this is the latest in a sequence of  threats, none of which eventuated, intended to destabilise government and keep its opponents happy. 

RadioNZ International

I see from FijiDemocracyNow that  RadioNZ International is still giving credit to the petition by citing its organizer.  No mention is made of this blog that exposed the petition (see link above)  for what it was. In the interests of informed and unbiased journalism RadioNZI should always cite sources. This it seldom does, leaving this writer to believe it is often "fed" news items by anti-government people and organizations. If it carries on  like this, there'll soon be a case to take to the NZ Broadcasting Standards Authority.

P.S. I should have added two other blogs, one that inferred Bainimarama's visit to Ra province was somehow connected with the increase of typhoid; the other claiming that the Muslims had taken over government.  What caused the Muslim accusation? President Epeli speaking on the Prophet's birthday. Earlier, it was the Catholics and the Hindus.

Cartoon: Pacific Media Centre/Cafe Pacific

The colours of Holi showers a new Key of hope for Fiji

Pacific.scoop.co.nz � The colours of Holi showers a new Key of hope for Fiji

Short Briefs Mon 1.3.10

Today, Muslims celebrate the Prophet's Birthday and Hindus Holi. President Ratu Epeli Nailalatikau stresses the importance of religion in nation building and taking Fiji to a better future.

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, but "Ratu Inoke was doing the talking on Fiji’s behalf." Good. One spokesman. One voice.

PM Bainimarama has again stated the SDL, NFP, FLP parties will not participate in the forthcoming National Dialogue or be allowed to return to power in 2014. He claims ther parties are holding secret meetings and were behind the "600,000" petition.

Wages Council chair Fr Kevin Barr  expects wage increases from July 1 2010, saying the Council is trying to be fair to employers and workers. The People's Charter sought a national minimum wage in accordance with the poverty line, at present $175 a week. Some 60 percent of workers are below that. The increases will be introduced gradually.

The new $8m bridge at Naqali  opened by the PM last week will enable the eleven tikina (districts) of Naitasiri who live past Naqali to get their produce to the markets in time and also transport those who are sick to the hospital and the struggle they used to face in the old bridge will now be a thing of the past. The villages will also soon have access to electricity.

Government is exploring ways to upgrade Nadi International Airport.

The new US Embassy at Tamavua, Suva, to open next year will have cost $100 million, about one-half of which feed back into the local economy. The US Embassy is accredited to Fiji, Tonga,  Kiribati, Tuvalu and Nauru, and is the largest US consul district in the world which includes French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna.

(o) Assassination Plot Update 1.3.10

Last week closed with the last witnesses called. Tomorrow Tuesday defence or prosecution defence lawyers will make their concluding remarks.The following reports were published late last week.

David Robie's blog Cafe Pacific, reporting the dropping of charges of conspiracy to murder Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and Mahendra Chaudhry because of "ambiguous" evidence, writes:

"Ironically, the Citizens’ Constitutional Forum today also issued a statement calling on the regime to take urgent action over the independence of the judiciary. Reverend Akuila Yabaki, director of the CCF, called on the government to invite the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers to visit Fiji as soon as possible." 

The charge of conspiracy to murder Bainimarama still stands.

Ratu Inoke takes the witness stand.

Accused Barbados Mills gives evidence
Former Counter Revolutionary Warfare soldier Barbados Mills  said his involvement in the alleged assassination plot against Army Commander Voreqe Bainimarama was because he was under threat from the military, “whether we took part or not, we’d face the full brunt of the military”. Mills today told the court that State witness Corporal Peniasi Kuli initiated the plot to kill the PM and members of his Cabinet, not his group.

Mills said in one of their meetings, he asked Kuli what weapons they were going to use in the assassination and Kuli gave a verbal list. “I was at the meeting because I wanted to see what he was up to. I wanted to see what was going to happen. “It was never my intention to join him in his plan,” Mills told the court. He said he never once called Corporal Kuli. “Kuli was always calling me. He was harassing me, pushing me for this execution plan to go ahead,” he said.

Mills said he never trained with Kuli and his group at Wailase, Naitasiri. State prosecutor David Toganivalu suggested that Mills had trained Kuli and his men to take over the 3FIR, to which he said, no.“Thirteen skilled CRW tried to take over the army camp but couldn’t. These guys are not skilled, it would be a bloodbath,” he said. He added that the 3FIR was the most dangerous place in the military, the most populated and well-armed and it would not be possible for a small group to do it.  Mills said that even though he was only 15 metres away he could not kill the Commodore because "it was not his orders." He was ordered to secure the Officer’s Mess [and] "when orders are given, we follow them. The legality of orders are the responsibility of my superiors."

Mills also claimed the assassination plot came within the Military Council because they "didn’t like the way Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama was running the government, as he was taking it in a direction different from what the Council wanted." He was told this by Kuli who mentioned Major Isireli Narawa. Mills also denied all allegations that he called Kuli up to hold the 14 meetings to discuss about the plot.

He told the court the only reason he was tolerating Kuli was because he was trying to find a solution to try and diffuse the situation because the former CRW soldiers were being watched and threatened by the Military. He has not reported the meetings "because he had lost faith in the Police Force."

Sivaniolo Naulago gives evidence
Naulago, the General Manager of Ballu Khan's Pacific Connex, claimed military officers who assaulted them during their arrest were making racist comments against Ballu Khan and claimed in court of constant harassment by the Fiji Military Forces after the events of December 5th 2006.His co-accused were hired to work as Security guards for Ballu Khan.