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

Monday 30 May 2011

Ratu Tevita and the Gullible Media

Photo credit: Coup 4.5
This case also exposed New Zealand main­stream media’s blind depen­dency on a polit­i­cal blogsite, Coup Four Point Five, which hardly resem­bles a respectable, free and inde­pen­dent media. This site has anony­mous and face­less pub­lish­ers and edi­tors whose cred­i­bil­ity has been under scrutiny by var­i­ous aca­d­e­mics and this author because of their selec­tive, unsub­stan­ti­ated and unbal­anced news-postings. This is Qarase’s SDL Party site tasked with get­ting the racist régime back into power under the sham of democ­racy. It is such ques­tion­able blogsite that the main­stream New Zealand media, includ­ing NZ Her­ald and TVNZ, have relied upon as a source.


The Indo-Fijian bash­ing angle is used once again. With Tonga’s his­tory of racially humil­i­at­ing Indo-Fijians in 1988 with ban on entry, it is no won­der Ratu Ului had a field day in using the race card as well, where he said that Aiyaz Saiyed Khaiyum, Fiji’s Indo-Fijian Attor­ney Gen­eral was solely call­ing the shots in Fiji.
 
What a gullible media fails to realise is that Fiji’s mil­i­tary is 99.95 per cent indige­nous Fijians. Of the 21 Per­ma­nent Sec­re­taries, only three are Indo-Fijians, only two min­is­ters are Indo-Fijians and other top ech­e­lons of the civil ser­vice com­prise of some 80 per cent indige­nous Fijians. 

Yet, Ratu Ului, sup­ported by NZ media, wishes us to believe that one Indo-Fijian had Frank Bain­i­marama in a trance. Ratu Ului is degrad­ing and sham­ing his own race by say­ing that Khaiyum single-handedly manip­u­lates Fiji’s admin­is­tra­tive, polit­i­cal and mil­i­tary machin­ery dom­i­nated by indige­nous peo­ple.

This is the biggest insult hurled on indige­nous Fijians since the uncer­e­mo­ni­ous flight of Ratu Ului’s’ father from the Gov­ern­ment house.
 
Ratu Ului’s defence of the Great Coun­cil of Chiefs (GCC) and the Methodist Church as sav­iours of democ­racy is highly laugh­able. These two insti­tu­tions have been the biggest threat to democ­racy, human rights and social jus­tice in Fiji. 

To read the full article by Thakur Ranjit Singh, click here.

8 comments:

sara'ssista said...

'Fiji’s mil­i­tary is 99.95 per cent indige­nous Fijians. Of the 21 Per­ma­nent Sec­re­taries, only three are Indo-Fijians, only two min­is­ters are Indo-Fijians and other top ech­e­lons of the civil ser­vice com­prise of some 80 per cent indige­nous Fijians'...oh dear...onwards to a mulitracial fiji....five years on ???

Facts ? said...

Since we are talking about facts what evidence do you have that C4.5 is a SDL website ?

Anonymous said...

Assuming this is a SDL website it raises a interesting question. What would you do if you where the deposed government ? They went hrough the courts and WON but that only led to the throwing out of the constitution by the military. They can't speak up publicly (they can't even meet publicly). They have efectively been silenced and that was the intention of Frank.
I don't like c4.5's approach and it is sloppy and grubby but SDL and anyone opposed to the military rule are not playing on a level playing field. In many ways Frank has asked for this type of response.

Anonymous said...

With so few indo Fijian's in government, military and the public service after nearly 5 years in power how can Frank still claim to be against racism. It seems he still wants Fijians running the majority of the show....just not the old one who dared to investigate him ?

What alternatives said...

Croz
What alternatives do we have to get reliable information on what is really happening in our beloved land? Surely you are not suggesting reliable sources are the regime Ministry of Information, the regime supporter Fiji Sun, or people such as Thakur Ranji Singh?
Without people like Michael Field and pro democracy blogs like Coup 4.5 - continually providing up to date and informative news, we would have nothing but draconian censorship?

Gutter press said...

Crosbie

Your blog started out being even handed yet over the past two years is heading the way of becoming as one eyed as those which you castigate.

You’ve said this is to ‘balance’ the information on anti government blogs, yet by publishing scurrilous articles by Mr Singh you do neither your credibility, nor his, any favours. You’re merely falling into the same trap that you condemn Michael Field and the NZ media for. That of relying on (in this case) a bigoted viewpoint with no alternative article or editorial comment as a balance.

Phrases such as “Ratu Ului is degrad¬ing and sham¬ing his own race...” are very telling about Mr Singh’s state of mind and are unworthy of being published on your blog which laudably promotes the idea of multi racialism in Fiji.

Sara’ssista notes the preponderance of iTaukei ministers, permanent secretaries etc in this ‘government’, implying that one of the coup aims (of ‘racial balance’) has not been achieved.

Whilst I understand that viewpoint, I believe it’s fair to say that in the utopian Fiji that this coup purported to want to create nobody would refer to ministers etc by racial group but only by ability.

Therefore it’s unedifying to have Mr Singh write in terms precisely the opposite of what the coup set out to achieve and for you to compound that error by publishing his diatribe.

Crosbie Walsh said...

@ What Alternatives ... I also read the anti-govt blogs but I'm wary of what they write because events have so often proved them wrong. I'd recommend you read them with the same scepticism as when you read pro-government articles.

@ Gutter Press ... There's no secret in my stance. See the Aims/Principles tag under the blog heading. I publish or provide links to articles from both sides. Can you think of another blog that does this? Would Coup4.5, for example, have published Ranjit's article, or for that matter any article that is pro-govt? You must also have noticed that I have repeatedly criticised Govt on a number of issues, notably PER, police and military abuses, insufficient civilian presence in admin and decision-making, poor PR, and not bringing the dialogue forward. Should you wish to write something substantial on a particular issue, that respects normal ethical requirements, I'd be pleased to publish it. The last week has been unusual because of Ratu Tevita's flurry of releases. As these diminish, more "balance" will be evident again.

@ Sarass'ista ... There have been many steps towards multi-culturalism. Over-representation of itaukei arises from several causes, not least of which are that it has always been the way, in the military and in the civil service, travel bans, and the need to appoint trustworthy and efficient people to key jobs.

# Facts ... This is Ranjit's opinion. If you believe that "by their deeds you shall know them", it's hard to see what the SDL would write that Coup4.5 has not already written. But I doubt he has factual evidence. The media distinquish been news and opinion pieces. Ranjit's article is an opinion piece.

pasifika said...

@ Sara'ssita

You continue to promote narrow-minded views and ignore what's plain to see.

Indo Fijians hold key positions in the current government. These are the positions of the Attorney General and Minister for Justice and Tourism, Permanent Secretary for the Public Service Commission, Minister for Health and Vice Chancellor of the Fiji National University. The Vice Chancellors of all three universities in Fiji - USP, FNU,and University of Fiji are all Indo Fijians. While the numbers are small the overriding factor is that the current government has the political will to promote multiracialism and that's the huge difference between them and the SDL government. For Government PSC scholarships I believe Indo Fijians
still outnumber the rest. Recently, at the CWM Hospital I've seen more Indo Fijians behind desks than other races. The CWM Dental Clinic is almost 100 per cent manned by Indo Fijians. Sara'ssista , would that be a reason why not more Indo Fijians are placed in Government positions ?