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

Monday 28 February 2011

Ovalau Villages Welcome Developments/Charter, Police Up the Ante, Yellow Ribbon Successes

There will be special posting on the Sam Speight detention and the role of Amnesty International NZ tomorrow.

Photo: Lovoni village, Ovalau. Tannis McCartny.
N0165. OVALAU TURAGA-NI-KORO WELCOME DEVELOPMENTS. Village chiefs told visiting  Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation Minister, Dr Jiko Luveni, last week of the positive impact government activities were having on their communities.

Usaia Delai of Vuma village said
,  “We appreciate what Government is doing in terms of empowering the people in the rural and outer islands through the free text books and bus fares for the school children. This is something we had been hoping for years until now and we thank the Prime Minister and Dr Luveni for the support shown for children’s education and the financial empowerment of women through income generating programmes.”

Vagadaci village chief Isoa Saqacala echoed similar sentiments, saying that their village has descendants of Solomon islands and part Europeans but they all lived together as a family and assist each other. The Vagadaci and Wailailai communities were very pleased with government efforts to assist the poor and vulnerable in the society.

“We are really happy with the efforts and initiatives of the Government to assist the poor and disabled in the community through the bus fare subsidy and food voucher programme." He also thanked Dr Luveni the sewing machines that will enable them to make school uniforms.

Lovoni village chief Vatusaiuasi Rokoyawa recognised the genuineness of the Bainimarama government from day one when it introduced the Peoples Charter document. “ We were confident they would serve us well and that they were results based,” he said.

“ The people of Lovoni support the People's Charter for we are now seeing the developments around the country. Better services, equal opportunities created for all and initiatives by Prime Minister in terms of education for our children, bus fare subsidy for the children and now for the elderly and disabled will surely go a long way in assisting people improve their living standards. These changes speak of the commitment the Government has for its people.” -- Based on No: 499/MSWWPA.

N0166. POLICE UP THE ANTE. Former Prisons Commissioner and new Police Commissioner Brigadier General Ioane Naivalurua does not mince words. Speaking at a police parade in Labasa last week he told the police officers to give of their best or find alternative employment.

"The best has yet to be seen and I have a simple definition for the word 'best' and that is honest, hard work. That's what 'best' means so if you can't give it, then you better find an alternative or some other form of employment. The people have yet to see the best of the men and women serving the force in the North."

"Fiji deserves the best from you and me. Fiji wants the best from you and me and Fiji demands the best from you and me. I have received queries from some officers asking me when we will slow down. I told them and I am telling you now that there is no slowing down for the force.

"The force is driven by a different kind of vehicle that has a 24/7 fuel with no reverse gear.The force is driven by the fourth and fifth gears only. It is the running gear, so do know there is no slowing down for us like what happens with other vehicles."

In drawing my attention to this article a reader wrote:

"Bula Croz
This guy is the real deal. A Sandhurst lad and, a true Officer and a Gentleman. The changes he made in the prison system are outstanding - wish he could have stayed on for a few more years. Next time you in Fiji visit Naboro prison and learn firsthand from the inmates. The prison officers are very customer service oriented and efficient as well. But don't let me tell you, find out for yourself the changes Naivalurua has made as Prisons Commissioner under the illegal Government, as the Kiwis and Aussies like to refer to us."

N0167. YELLOW RIBBON PROGRAMME STORY. by Sera Whippy (abbreviated).
New lives have evolved through the Yellow Ribbon awareness campaign. One such case is Jone Calevu of Viseisei Village in Vuda who was a proud supporter of the Western Division's first YR campaign in Lautoka.The Divine Security Firm and taxi owner turned a new leaf in life two years ago after living it hard for seven years. He has five children.

"It is very hard when you come out of prison. Facing society is very difficult because they normally treat us differently. With the inception of the Yellow Ribbon project in 2008 many of us re-offenders saw it as an opportunity to gain a second-chance," said Mr Calevu.

"I know what it feels like to be fresh out of prison with no one there and everyone judging you. I know this and I have felt it and I do not want this to be experienced by those who will soon be released," said Mr Calevu.

He and a few other have formed a group called the Lautoka Yellow Ribbon Association which will be jointly aiding the prison authorities in monitoring newly released inmates. "We want to grab these young people and encourage and empower them to turn a new leaf. There is a chance out there for everyone to make a change for the better," he said.

FDN Blog Tale, FT Blog Misrepresents Choices, Minimum Wages, Aussie Travel Ban

See new QUOTE FOR THE WEEK in the right sidebar, and scroll down to the WEEKEND READINGS.

Readers' experiences and opinions on my special Sunday posting N0160  "Too Timid to Speak Out"
are especially welcome.

ANNOUNCEMENT DAYLIGHT SAVING.
The Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, Mr. Filipe Bole confirmed that Fiji will end daylight saving at 3 am on Sunday 6th March 2011, after it started on Sunday 24th October 2010.   This decision by the Cabinet means that the nation will have to switch time back from 3am (03:00) to 2am (02:00) normal time in the first Sunday next March, 2011.

N0161. FDN CAUGHT BY  ITS OWN TALE. The anti-government blog FijiDemocracyNow wrote: "Croz caught out again." They were referring to my correction of a RadioNZ report about Prof Brij Lal.   It was RadioNZ that was caught out.  I relied on them for my report, and corrected their error immediately after Brij assured me by email that he had not said what RadioNZ said he had said.

I can't recall any anti-government blog ever correcting an error.

I acknowledge sources; distinguish between news and opinion; try to check out possibly doubtful stories before publication; correct errors when they are know to me; welcome reasoned comments on my postings, irrespective of their viewpoint, and I endeavour to keep close to the standards one should expect in the mainstream media.  This speaks volumes for the differences between us.

N0162. CHARTER BASIS FOR FUTURE.  Strategic Framework for Change director Joeli Besetimoala says the People's Charter is here to stay and political parties or groups will have to base their manifesto around it in preparation for the 2014 elections and "any elected government will have to align their manifesto to the People’s Charter and continue with the current government’s development corporate plan.

The anti-government blog FijiToday  this means the people will have "No Freedom of Choice in future political manifestos. The Peoples Charter is the new law in Fiji."  Their report is based on this release by Radio Fiji.

This is a misrepresentation. The Charter spells out broad principles that few would deny. They are principles the citizens of any democratic state would proudly adopt, and at least one-half of the adult population of Fiji has already agreed to them.  But for principles to become practice, they have to be operationalised.  This will be done through a series of dialogues that will commence late this year on constitutional reforms and later on electoral reform. The Charter is not the new law as FijiToday states, and its implementation will provide many choices. It is for this reason that the dialogue must be as representative and as inclusive as possible . FijiToday would be better advised to focus on this part of the process.

P.S.  See comments for FijiToday response.  I still do not see how they can claim the Charter is anything more than a founding guideline.

N0163. EMPLOYERS UP WAGES A LITTLE. Garment factory owners have upped their previous offer of a minimum wage increase of 7% to 10% but this is still only  one-half of the Wages Council recommendation and far less than the Basic Needs Poverty Line (see my earlier extensive post). The extra 3% increase represents an extra $1.50-$1.80 a week, and 10% an extra $6.00-$7.30, or 13-16 cents an hour.  The Wages Council was asking for an extra $11.25 - $14.40 or 25-32 cents an hour.

Labour Minister, Filipe Bole, welcomed the employers' new offer, saying the garment factory owners had improved their 'ability to pay' position, and shown a sense of "corporate social responsibility to both the workers and the nation as a whole towards our collective efforts to alleviate poverty."

He said while the Government will continue to provide an enabling policy environment and incentives to boost investment, productivity and profitability of companies, it also has the social responsibility to alleviate poverty amongst the marginalized sectors of our society.

He has appealed to all employers to be fair and just in distributing their profits and productivity gains not only to their shareholders, but especially to the workers, who are the most important assets in their organizations.

N0164. AUSSIE TRAVEL BAN: Comment from a Reader.
  "I was told that a coup sympathizer's Australian visa was rejected. I don't want to face the same restriction. I am not in the military and at first opposed the coup. However, when I actually see the developments and hear people voice their appreciation and, not wanting elections based on what has previously transpired, I have to agree that not all democracy through the ballot box has merits. This government have not aligned themselves with the powerful and rich but turned to help the poor and marginalized but not forgetting big business who provide tax for government coffers."

Sunday 27 February 2011

Too Timid to Speak Out (and a Note on the Recent Detentions)

N0160. My article on refugee applications by Fijians to remain in Australia (N0146) brought a sharp response from Too Timid.  Here is his response and the slightly edited comments of three others on what he had to say.

Saturday 26 February 2011

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

WEEKEND READING. Scroll down to   
♦ The PM's Visit to Rakiraki: Ceremonies, Civics and Elections by Dr Chris Griffin 
♦ A Cautionary Look at Micro-Finance in Papua New Guinea by Ben Havenga and Scott MacWilliam 
♦ and Friday's two postings. 

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in Fiji. I thank Allen 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.

Commercialisation

The PM's Visit to Rakiraki: Ceremonies, Civics and Elections by Dr Chris Griffin

Former USP and Edith Cowan University social anthropologist Dr Chris Griffin explores the cultural intricacies of PM Bainimarama's visits last year to Rakiraki in Ra province, and in doing so sheds a useful light on ethnic Fijian ritual, ceremony and custom, race relations, the causes of coups, and Bainimarama's strategies to end them.

A Cautionary Look at Micro-Finance

Public Probity, Private Penury: 
Micro-Finance in Papua New Guinea
by
Ben Havenga and Scott MacWilliam

Friday 25 February 2011

More Detentions? Fewer Potato Imports, Language Commission, Typhoid Update

WEEKEND READING  ♦ Allen Lockington column  ♦ The PM's Visit to Rakiraki: Ceremonies, Civics and Elections by Dr Chris Griffin ♦ A Cautionary Look at Micro-Finance in Papua New Guinea by Ben Havenga and Scott MacWilliam.

N0155. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL claims there has an increase in the number of detentions by the military  in the last week.  I would be grateful if readers would provide some hard facts (who, when, for how long, why, and why now) on the brief detention of journalist Felix Chaudhry, the arrest of Sam Speight and of other unnamed trade unionists and politicians who have been critical of government. Please distinguish between hard facts, if possible with sources acknowledged, presumed facts based on hearsay, and your opinions.    You may reply by commenting on this post N0155 or directly to my email address croz.walsh@xtra.co.nz   Please use N0155 in your comment.

N0156. BENEFITS FROM LAND BANK.
Five landowning units in Bua Province will receive more than $986,000 in lease money today from the new Bauxite Mine lease in Nawailevu. Lessee Aurum Exploration has agreed that landowners will be given the first preference on unskilled and skilled employment provided they meet the criteria required.  Naiwailevu is an example of where the use of the Government's Land Bank brings unused land into production while giving lessors guaranteed rents (and possible employment) and lessees assured long-term tenure.

N0157. IMPROVING POTATO SELF-SUFFICIENCY. Representatives of some 300 potato farmers met in Sigatoka on Wednesday to discuss how to reduce Fiji's import of $19 million worth of potatoes a year to $16 million by next year. Minister for Primary Industries, Joketani Cokanasiga, said: "In order to achieve this goal set in the Strategic Development Plan, 442 hectares will be planted in year one producing 5,300 tonnes. A target of 884 hectares yielding 10,600 tonnes is being earmarked for year two and 1326 hectares producing 15,900 tonnes for year three.”  Last year was a trial year. Two varieties were planted on 58 hectares. Some 66 tonnes of Ilam Hardy and 34 tonnes of Red Rascal planted and about 500 tonnes were harvested.

Government has allocated $260,000 under the Food Security Program to plant 133 hectares with an expected yield of 1066 tonnes.Farmers are expected to earn $1.1m from that production level. -- Based on No. 0477/MOI and No.0481/MOI.

N0158. LANGUAGE COMMISSION SUGGESTED. President of the Fijian Teachers Association Tevita Koroi has called for the establishment of an itaukei language commission to help safeguard the itaukei language and the proper usage of its different dialects. He said the media and younger people sometimes mix formal and informal words and expressions that should be used separately for formal and informal occasions.

USP Language professor Dr Paul Geraghty agreed thought a language commission would be useful but the commissioners should be itaukei langauge experts who would suggest and share ideas on ways the itaukei language can be better maintained or promoted.” He also supported Koroi on the idea of setting up a data base to help programming the language into the Microsoft computer system like other vernacular languages in countries overseas. -- Based on 2011, No: 480/MOI.

N0159.TYPHOID UPDATE. Deputy Secretary for Public Health Dr Joe Koroivueta said there was a total of 43 suspected cases from the eight upper Naitasiri villages. "There are no links to any other place in Fiji and the 10 hospitalised cases have been treated and are now at home.  -- Fiji Times.

Australian's What Ifs, Christchurch Earthquake, USP's Confucius Institute, Yabaki in NZ, Treason Trail Continues


N0150. AUSTRALIA'S SPINNING JENNY. I suppose it was inevitable that someone would look for parallels between events in Egypt and Fiji and I shouldn't be too surprised that Lowy Institute's Jenny Hayward-Jones has taken the bait.

 She has the good sense to note that the two countries have "little in common" other than the role of the military but then couldn't stop herself from wondering about  the possibility of "a similar popular protest in Fiji." She  went on to wonder why there hasn't been a popular uprising, and then wondered what would have happened if there was.

She doubted the army would "fire on the people" but they could use "intimidatory tactics."  And if the protest persisted, she wondered whether Cde Bainimarama "would attempt to stare the people down and assure them that he, and he alone, can maintain stability in the country and must be allowed time to enact his reforms to build a better Fiji."

This is all wonder-full poppycock and nonsense that displays how little the Lowy Institute's Melanesian expert knows about Fiji but she does provide one interesting insight, and theree's no more wondering:"The Australian Government would find it all but impossible to restrain from encouraging the demands of the Fiji people for democracy." But she offers little light on what Australia might do that it is not already doing. 

How any intelligent, responsible person can possibly think such outpourings are helpful to the Fiji situation at this time defies explanation.  But they will be lapped up anti-government people and splashed all over their blogs.

More importantly, it may also influence those in the Bainimarama government who want to maintain the Public Emergency Regulations (PER) to extend them further.  With an already hypersensitive military-led government reacting too often to any suggestion of opposition, Hayward-Jones's wonderings can only make life more difficult for those seeking to make helpful criticisms and an accelerated agenda leading to constitutional and electoral reforms, and elections no later than 2014. She should wonder on that.  -- Crosbie Walsh.

N0151. CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE.
Fiji has joined other countries in expressing support for NZ in the wake of Christchuch's second devastating earthquake. In letter the NZ Prime Minister John Key, Cde Bainimarama  said he was "shocked and saddened at the loss of precious lives and damage to property caused by the disastrous earthquake that struck Christchurch again. Our hearts go out to the affected people. We share with the Government and the people of New Zealand, the distress and sorrow, in these challenging times.”

“On behalf of the people and the Government of Fiji and on my own behalf, I would like to convey our heartfelt condolence to the bereaved families and all those who have been affected by the terrible natural calamity.”   He has offered Fiji's help in any way NZ thinks appropriate. -- Based on No:0463/MOI.

N0152. ANOTHER CHINA LINK
. USP has signed an MOU to establish a Confucius Institute that will teach Mandarin and Chinese culture.  It is expected to be operational by the end of the year.

N0153. CITIZENS' CONSTUTIONAL FORUM CEO Rev Akuila Yabaki was in Wellington and Auckland during the week, when he held talks with interested groups. I hope to publish his paper "Fiji 2011: Critical Engagement and Future Scenarios" soon.

N0154. TREASON TRIAL CONTINUES
. This is the link to Wednesday's and Thursday's proceedings. And Friday's. Mutiny leader can't remember.

Wednesday 23 February 2011

NZ Paints Itself into Corner, Fijian 'Refugees', Taxi Union, Typhoid, Empowering Rural Women

N0145. NZ PAINTS  ITSELF INTO A CORNER.  This note from a reader:

"Why on earth we have allowed ourselves to be painted into a corner on Fiji I have no idea.  It would be naive to assume that when some sort of accommodation is reached and the rhetoric has it that we can return to 'normal' relations that relations will return to normal. 

It seems to me that both Fijians and a number of Pacific Islands governments and peoples will have watched the reaction to Fiji with a certain unease.  New Zealand realises that it gets huge support from the 14 Pacific Islands votes in the United Nations.  At the moment Fiji will be absent.  Who knows how PNG would vote and there will be one of two others perhaps who may fall into the 'false friends' camp.  That is, as I see it."



N0146. FIJIAN 'REFUGEES' SHOULD BE ASHAMED. Fijians who have been rejected as refugees to Australia are now appealing against rulings at a rate second only to Chinese citizens, 11% compared with 29%. Some 243 Fijians applied for review last financial year, compared with 59 the previous year.The number has fallen this year. Of course, the number of appeals is related to the number that have been refused refugee status, and it would seem Australia refuses most Fiji applications.

One wonders why we hear nothing about Fijian refugee applications, refusal and appeals in NZ. One wonders also whether the activities in Australia of Tui Savu and the Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement have scared Australia's ethnic Fijians into really believing their lives would be at risk if they returned to Fiji, or whether the appeals are a last ditch attempt to stay in the land of Oz.

Anti-Government blogs hold the Fiji military responsible for nine deaths, five following the mutiny in 2000 (six years before the Bainimarama coup); the remainder quite unrelated to political activities. Those seeking asylum should note that three former prime ministers, all hostile to the Bainimarama government, walk freely in Fiji. They should pluck up courage and return to Fiji — or at least be honest. Life in Australia is easier. And as one appeal fails, they can appeal again, and again, and their stay is extended for many more months.

N0147. PM ADVISES TAXI UNION. Speaking at the Fiji Taxi Union's AGM, the PM  has urged members to come up with a unified position -—like their counterparts in the Fiji Bus Operators Association— to facilitate solutions.

He said Government measures to assist the industry such as concessions on the import of LPG/CNG vehicles, the reduction in duty of vehicles up to 2500cc and the increased focused and resourcing of the Fiji police force, and longer term, policies to increase wages, to grow the economy by way of tourism and robust economic activity will all directly contribute towards increased business activity for taxi operators. Government recognizes the importance of the taxi sector and looks to the Fiji taxi union to co-operate with all the stakeholders to ensure a new look and viable taxi industry that has modern cars and has operators and drivers who are Fiji and customer focused. Bainimarama assured members that Government will work with the union to find fair and creative solutions to address the industry's problems.

N0148. TYPHOID.
To put the record straight, The "outbreak" claimed by one anti-Govt blog is confined to the villages of Nasava, Narokorokoyawa, Korovou and Sawanikula in Wainimala, inland Naitasiri. The villages were placed under curfew after ten villagers were hospitalised. The number  remains at ten. A major vaccination  programme was conducted last year in high risk outbreak areas but villagers still need to practise better hygiene. Health Ministry spokesman Peni Namotu said clinical, environmental and awareness approaches are being used to tackle the problem. Fiji has one of the highest rates of typhoid fever in the region with regular outbreaks occurring mainly in remote areas.

N0149. EMPOWERING RURAL WOMEN. Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation Minister Dr Jiko Luveni is on the island of Ovalau this week visiting ten villages where she will listen to women's difficulties and the ways Government can help them. She will inform them of Government’s plans and achievements especially those that relate to them as outlined in the Roadmap for Democracy Sustainable Socio-Economic Development (2009 to 2014).

Her trip is part of Government's  outreach programme that is aimed at empowering rural women financially and socially.  -- Based on 2011, No:0449/MWSPA.

Brij Misreported, Fiji's Poor Children, Fiji Economy Upgraded, Mutiny Trial Continues

N0141. TVNZ  STANDS ACCUSED.  Late last week I published an item (N0138) that criticised TVNZ for choosing Prof Brij Lal to comment on Fiji's tourism upsurge. I thought a tourism specialist would have been more appropriate. TVNZ reported Brij as saying there were several causes, including publicity gained from the Fiji Water incident and Oprah Winfrey's visit.  For the record, Brij has assured me by email:

" I did not ever utter a word about Fiji Water or Oprah Winfrey. That is the honest truth, the factual record. As I recall, I was asked about why tourist numbers to Fiji were increasing. I said that it could be because of the strong Aussie dollar, the threat of violence and instability in places like Bali and a certain 'fatigue factor' about coups in Fiji.That is all that I said." 

TVNZ  reported this also, but they seem to have made up the rest.  When dishonesty or sheer fabrication is added to incompetence in their reporting on Fiji, we must ask why the NZ taxpayer is funding this media outlet. I had presumed TVNZ is commissioned to disseminate news and does not have a political agenda. Now I  am not too sure. And the same can be said of RadioNZ International.

N0141.WHILE THE POLITICIANS PLAY. This note from a reader:"We asked why they had not taken him to hospital and were told the family was poor and did not have enough money to take him to hospital.  The funeral was a sad occasion. The little fellow had only begun school this year. In the grave on top of his coffin they placed his school bag."   This happened in Fiji last week.

USA Philanthropists help Fiji's poor children. Nuskin, a US-based philanthropic organization will be supplying free vita-meal to children in Fiji, From next month some 3,300kg of the vitamin-fortified rice and lentils will be supplied to Fiji on a quarterly basis. The Ministry of Health says the food, which will do much to help our malnourished and undernourished children, will be distributed to health centres and hospitals around the country.  Fiji is the first Pacific country to be included in Nuskin distributions.-- Based on No:0447/MOH.

N0143. FIJI UPGRADED. Standard and Poor, the company that grades countries on their investment risk, has upgraded Fiji from stable to positive. The announcement said the upgrade ‘reflects the improvement in Fiji’s external position, including in the level of foreign exchange reserves’. The PM welcomed the new rating, saying it is "expected to strengthen investor confidence and attract investment, which will enhance economic growth prospects ...[the improved ratings] ‘reflects well on government’s policy objectives which include prudent management of Government finances and a transparent and accurate recording system.’

The PM said the new ratings coupled with government’s reform agenda would inter alia improve ‘Fiji’s external position and Fiji’s ability to raise funds in the international financial markets. [The government will] ‘continue to improve financial discipline, focus on further facilitating private sector investment and continue with the necessary and targeted capital expenditure and policies to provide economic stimulus.’ 

N0144. TRIAL OF RATU TAKIVEIKATA
. Ratu Takiveikata is charged with one count of inciting to mutiny between 6th August and 24th September 2000 where it is alleged that he knowingly incited Captain Shane Stephens and Sergeant Manoa Bolafasio to unlawfully take over the Queen Elizabeth Barracks where an attempt was also made to kill Cde Bainimarama. This is a link to Monday's court proceedings — and to Tuesday's. CRW refers to the Counter Revolutionary Warfare unit that staged the mutiny. Sections had previously actively supported the 2000 Speight coup. The unit was disbanded in 2000.

Monday 21 February 2011

Squatters Initiate Eviction of Criminals, Australian and NZ Aid Continues

No139. MORE SQUATTERS EVICTED. The anti-government blogs have been keen to publish stories of urban squatter evictions.  No background or explanation is given other than the evictions are further evidence of  government inhumanity.

The blogs  have not reported government explanations about development, the provision of alternative sites and serious efforts to provide new housing for poor people, and they have disbelieved that particular squatters were evicted to prevent crime. 

Recently some squatters in Wailea settlement off Fletcher Road in Vatuwaqa were evicted who were suspected of trading marijuana. And now, seven household in the  Fiji Muslim League Estate off Ratu Mara Road in Nabua have received eviction and demolition notices, but the initiative has come from the squatters themselves. One resident, Alumita Rabele, said the whole settlement had initially been told to go but now only seven people are involved. She said this was initiated by the community because they felt the settlement would be safer without the people suspected to be involved in illegal activities.

"The people from the Lands Department gave the notice to these people selling marijuana from their homes after we resolved the first issue which was for us to move out," she said.

N0140. AUSTRALIAN AND NZ AID CONTINUES.  Aid to Fiji from both countries continues despite the political standoff.  The amounts involved are smaller than formerly, they are targeted towards specific activities, and they generally bypass government preferring NGOs as intermediaries.

Recently, AusAID donated $100,000 worth of obstetric training models to the Ministry so that pregnant mothers can be assured of quality services while in hospital. And the New Zealand High Commission has donated $15,000 to Leadership Fiji for its 2011 training programme that will focus on developing and enhancing the skills of future Fiji leaders.

Leadership Fiji Chair William Parkinson says they aim to expose participants to leaders from across the society in a structured manner, providing them with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of their country.The programme that starts next month allows members to explore their own values, philosophies, prejudices and beliefs through a variety of issues.

Rugby Accord, Brij Lal Expert on Tourism

See new QUOTE OF THE WEEK in the right sidebar. Ideas on FAQ and timeline still welcomed.

No137.  CONVERTED TRY. After all the kerfuffle, it's difficult to remember what it was all about. The FRU mucks up it's lottery; Government asks for the Board to resign or it will withhold its F$3m contribution for the World Cup team; someone in the FRU cried "Government interference; the IRB world body believed this and is thought to have threatened to prevent Fiji from playing in the World Cup. The IRB visit Fiji to talk with all concerned. And following its visit last week, chief exec Mike Miller has these words to say:

"The government's commitment to significant investment in Fiji's Rugby World Cup 2011 campaign (will) go ahead as previously planned.  All three parties want ...the Fiji national team to perform to the best of its abilities in New Zealand and it is encouraging that we now have an agreement in place that underscores this objective."

Now, hold it. Mike Miller continues: "The government's financial support is both generous and unprecedented."  Generous? Unprecedented? Is this the same government that was supposedly trying to take over the FRU?

No138. IS NZ REALLY SO LACKING IN EXPERTISE?  Fiji has been picked as the best place in the world to honeymoon, after Hawaii and French Polynesia. They are apparently flocking to Fiji and overall tourist numbers are up. TVNZ reports that "this is despite the presence of a military regime which has been in power since a 2006 coup." Similar negative comment follows.

Then TVNZ ask "South Pacific specialist Professor Brij Lal"  what he thought. Prof Lal is an historian who is yet to say one complimentary word about the Baininamara government. He lives in Australia. He has no specialist knowledge of tourism.  And this shows. He said Fiji was a popular destination worldwide,  thanks [among other things] to marketing of the bottle brand Fiji Water and Oprah Winfrey's visit.  What utter .....!  Fiji has been a popular tourist destination from Australia and NZ well before there was a Fiji Water brand or an Oprah Winfrey show.

This is not the first time NZTV and RNZI have sought inappropriate (but politically correct) information from Australian sources. Tourism is taught and researched in Fiji and almost all NZ universities. Why did our media not ask an expert in Fiji or New Zealand, rather than a person resident overseas with no tourism expertise? Someone with fewer negative vibes on Fiji?

One suspects these journalists have an address book of  preferred sources. [Sorry, Brij.  This is not a personal attack.  Surely you'd agree there are more appropriate sources than you on this issue.]

If you missed them, check out the Weekend Readings and comments on postings from last week.

NZ Parliamentary Report on the Pacific by Gerald McGhie

 
Gerald McGhie is a former diplomat with substantial experience in the Pacific. His Blog is External40.Blogspot.com  A slightly revised copy of this article was published by the DominionPost on Friday 18 February.

Saturday 19 February 2011

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

WEEKEND READING. Scroll down to  ♦ Gujerati: Wealth and Poverty  ♦ Britain to Deport Fijian War Hero by Christopher Booker, Sunday Telegraph  ♦ Friday's postings. It is also a good time to read last week's comments on the postings by clicking on "Comment" at the bottom of each post.

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in Fiji. I thank Allen 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.
 

                                      Going to Church

There are so many churches in Fiji now and this includes the little breakaway denominations. Often when I ask a friend how he met someone, he or she would say, “Oh we go to the same church.” When I was growing up we never said that we went to the same church, we usually said that we went to the same school, worked together or someone introduced us.  Today the church is in the forefront of almost everything, although one can go to church but not with undivided commitment.

Here's  is a little story I thought that you the reader would enjoy.


Gujarati: Wealth and Poverty

Thoughts from a Reader

During the days of girmit, Gujarati from northwest India came to Fiji as free settlers as  they were British subjects. They came as small traders and craftsmen dealing in jewellery, clothing, shoes and laundry work and many, to set themselves up, borrowed from kin in Gujerat and other Gujerati already in Fiji. Imported articles from India, costing a rupee were sold for a dollar in Fiji, making twenty-fold profits. Within two generations, some once “poor” Gujarati became multi-millionaires. Most other Indo-Fijians arrived in Fiji as indentured or contract labourers (girmiti) and while some of their descendants have done well, many are among the ranks of the poorest people in Fiji.

Britain to Deport Fijian War Hero

This is a disgusting story of the way Britain has treated and is treating a Fijian war hero. Britain has a long history of using up colonial peoples in its service and then casting them aside. Modern Fiji is an example of that, writ large. This story is the fine print.  -- Roderick Ewins.

Friday 18 February 2011

Your Help Please, Labour Mediation and Social Justice, Land Bank Progress

N0134. AN APPEAL TO READERS. My youngest daughter (who had most of her primary and secondary school education in Fiji) has been pestered by friends and colleagues to explain what is happening in Fiji.  She has suggested the blog would be improved with tabs to FAQ and a timeline.  I would be most grateful if readers would share this work with me by suggesting Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) and parts of a timeline from, say, 1999.

I would also be grateful if readers would suggest topics for publication, especially if they provided all or some of the material.  Without this input, all topics chosen are mine and I have no way of knowing whether my selection is the most appropriate. 

N0135. LABOUR MEDIATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. The Ministry of Labour’s mediation service performed strongly throughout 2010, resolving 79% of all employment grievances referred to it by individual workers, most of whom are not members of any trade union and recovered $411,979 for the workers. Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, Filipe Bole (photo)  said the service had proven to be an effective social justice institution.  It also stabilises the labour market, effectively resolves potential strikes, heals impaired employment relationships and promotes peace, boost productivity including the wellbeing of workers.

The Minister  said that for the first time in Fiji’s history the vulnerable non-unionised workers (comprising 70% of the employment sector) were empowered under the new labour laws to access the Ministry’s mediation service, free of charge and seek redress for their grievances arising out of unfair dismissal, being disadvantaged, discrimination, sexual harassment and cases of duress.

This is by far the single most important social justice provision affecting the most vulnerable workers in our society, which is designed to restore their dignity in workplaces. 

In this regard, the mediation service promotes the principles of good faith, common citizenship, fairness, equity, justice and good governance which are the hallmarks of Government’s Peoples Charter for Change, Peace and Progress. -- Based in 0386/MOL.

N0136. LAND BANK GAINS MOMENTUM. Cabinet has approved the Land Use Regulations 2011 which will see the establishment of a Land Use Unit within the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources. The unit will be responsible for creating a land bank,  issuing leases over all designated lands, and collect and distributing rentals. The Regulations will provide the legal framework for issuance of leases under the Land Use Decree 2010.

The key provisions of the regulations include consent of native land owning units prior to depositing their land in the Land Use Bank including those under reserves; election of trustees as legal representatives of the land owning units whose role will be limited to matters relating to leasing of lands, the collection and fair distribution of rentals and premiums.

The provisions also include designation of land to be included in the Land Use Bank; the formulation of the State lease and forms for usage by the Land Use Unit; distribution of rentals; leasing on the market value of designated land, and valuation of designated native land by the State, government agencies and statutory authority.

The purpose of the land bank is to bring more Native and State land into production by providing security of tenure to leasees and assured rents to itaukei owners.

WEEKEND READING 
♦ Allen Lockington Column                                                                                   
♦ Gujerati: Wealth and Poverty                       
♦ Britain to Deport Fijian War Hero by Christopher Booker, Sunday Telegraph.

Ratu Iloilo Laid to Rest

 N0132.
In the face of death we are all equal. We are human and mortal. And things that divide us are put aside as we remember the life of the deceased and the sorrow of those close to him. And so it was in Fiji. 

The i-reguregu (tradional presentations) were made by all 14 provinces, by the high chiefs of the three confederacies,  by numerous vanua, by religious and public institutions, by business, by members of the diplomatic community, by government, and by people of all races. 

For a short time Fiji stood still and remembered what its people have in common and what makes Fiji so special.

The former President and late Tui Vuda Ratu Josefa Iloilo has been laid to rest in an historic state funeral at Viseisei.

Thousands of people from all walks of life attended the church service and entombment ceremony in Vuda, with masi and black cloth covering the chiefly village grounds. The Tui Vuda was accorded the highest military honour, the 21 gun salute, during the ceremony.

His casket was carried by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces from the Jone Wesele Memorial church to the entrance of the Naburenivalu, the chiefly burial ground, where it was handed over to the Tokatoka o Nakelo, then finally to sixty men of the Yavusa o Natububere who are traditionally obligated to bury the Turaga na Tui Vuda.

The area surrounding the Naburenivalu was filled to capacity as the people of Fiji witnessed Ratu Iloilo’s final journey. Naburenivalu is decorated with brown masi tied in huge bows, as if to welcome the Turaga na Tui Vuda home.

May he rest in peace. May the example of his life's work be not in vain.

N0133. WHO ON EARTH WROTE THIS? Associated Press (Suva).  "A traditional high chief and former teacher, Iloilo became a key ally of armed forces chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama who overthrew the elected government in a December 2006 coup amid rising tensions between indigenous Fijians and the country's large ethnic Indian minority." Rising ethnic tensions in 2006? 
 

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Minerva Reef: Media and Expert's Unbelievable Nonsense

N0131. MINERVA REEF.  If you've read Olaf Ruhen's book by the same name you'll know that 40 years ago a Tongan boat, the Tuaikapau on the way to Gisborne, NZ, was wrecked on the reef.

The crew spent over a year living (and some died)  in a wrecked Japanese fishing boat, the only area above sea level at high tide. They waited for rescue that never came and their families in Tonga, believing them dead, held funeral services for each of them.

Giving up hope of rescue the crew built a small outrigger canoe from timbers in the wreck, named it Malo e Lelei, and three of them — the captain, his son, and a crew member —  sailed it to Kadavu, south of Viti Levu,  where they had to abandon it and swim for shore. Inside the reef the son told his father he could go no further. They held each other, prayed, and the son drowned.

Theirs is the  incredible story of courage, survival and faith that is echoed many times over in stories of how Pacific Islanders have survived in what to others would seem impossible circumstances.

I was living in Tonga when a RNZAF flying boat brought the survivors home. Almost everyone on Tongatapu turned out to welcome them. Some had to be carried ashore and most were skin and bones. They were taken to Vaiola Hospital to recover and, I suspect, to delay the feasts that their stomachs could not handle after a year eating only what they could gather on the reef.  These days, when up to 400 yachts visit or pass close to the reef every year,  they would have rescued more quickly.

Minerva Reef is in the news again because both Fiji and Tonga claim ownership and, predictably, the media and blogs have used the claims to build imaginary tensions between the two countries.  Dr Rod Alley from Wellington's  Centre for Strategic Studies  claimed Fiji was using this dispute to “flex their muscles” and “to show their neighbours… that Fiji can stand in its own corner and declare its interests.” 

This really is unbelievable nonsense denied by both countries. Samiu Vaipulu, Tonga's Deputy PM, has advised yachties to avoid the reef until the ownership situation is resolved. Solo Mara, Fiji's Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, says "there is no ‘conflict’ between Tonga and Fiji as alluded to in media reports overseas.”

“What we have are overlapping claims in our maritime boundaries in the South, which is now a subject of negotiation after both countries have submitted claims for an extended continental shelf beyond the 200 mile Exclusive Economy Zone (as provided for under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS].” 

Mr Mara went on to say that this is not an extra-ordinary event as we also have overlapping claims with New Zealand in the same area in our Southern waters.


 He said situation was nothing as reported in the media and Fiji and Tongan officials will meet later this year to negotiate the delimitation of our maritime boundaries as mandated by UNCLOS.

 “We will be doing the same with Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu,” Mr Mara said. -- Based partly on No:0366/MFA.

Ratu Iloilo: Man for All the People; Australia Repeats Itself

The casket of the late president, Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda leaves the Government House. PHOTO: Jonacani Lalakobau, Fiji Times.

N0129. RATU ILOILO PRACTISED WHAT HE PREACHED. Man of all people has left a new comment on your post "Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda 1920 - 2011":

Croz, It's interesting to see the outpouring of genuine sadness and fulsome tributes from the Indo-Fijian community at the death of the Tui Vuda. I don't think anyone realised the extent to which Ratu Iloilo not only engaged that community but stood alongside it.

I was struck by the tribute made by the Rev William Lucas, the head of the Indian division of the Methodist Church. He disclosed that when Ratu Iloilo was a teacher in Labasa, he chose to worship at the local Indo-Fijian church and was a lay preacher there. This is almost unheard of in the local context and speaks volumes for Ratu Iloilo's belief in a multiracial Fiji.

I agree with "What Matters Most?" that the Tui Vuda's more vocal critics need to have a good look at themselves. At the very least, anyone who practises what they preach when it comes to racial tolerance in Fiji is worthy of our collective respect. God knows there are precious few of them and until that changes, nothing else will. (See other comments by clicking 'Comments" at the end of the posting.)

N0130. WHAT AUSTRALIA WILL AND WILL NOT ACCEPT. Last year PM Bainimarama withdrew his invitation for the Pacific Islands Forum  Ministerial Contact Group to visit Fiji and see for themselves after NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, on leaving the Auckland meeting, told a TV audience exactly what he thought about all the bad things happening in Fiji. Bainimarama countered by saying if his mind was made up, there was no point in coming to see for himself.

Now Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles seems intent on doing the same thing. Speaking from Vila where the MCG is meeting, he has reaffirmed Australia's demand for elections before 2014, asked what concrete steps the Fiji government is taking "towards a return to democracy", and demanded Fiji re-establish "human rights and freedom of the press." He has even pre-empted Fiji's question on easing foreign sanctions by saying "Australia would not consider that at the moment."

Marles also seeks an invitation to MCG members to visit Fiji and has laid down the conditions for their visit. They must "have complete access to the political parties in Fiji, to the civil society in Fiji and to the church leaders in Fiji, so that we can have a really good understanding of where the country's at and where all opinions are at in Fiji about its future."

That sounds reasonable except, by singling out the political parties and church leaders (read Methodist Church leaders) he seems to want to talk most to people known to oppose the Bainimarama Government and, most importantly, to oppose the People's Charter that forms the basis of all Government reforms.

I doubt Bainimarama will agree. He has repeated said political parties based on race will not be allowed to stand in the 2014 election, and his stance on de-politicising the Methodist Church is well known. The most Marles can hope for is an agreed list; not one that would breathe new life into Qarase's SDL party whose racist policies while in government were a major cause of the 2006 Bainimarama Coup.

The purpose of the MCG meetings is to maintain dialogue with Fiji. It seems a strange way to start.  But perhaps some progress can be made on Fiji’s participation in regional trade and economic deliberations, including PACER Plus negotiations. The Group will report to their respective leaders in preparation for the next Forum Leaders’ meeting in Auckland from 6-9 September.

Australia and New Zealand would win back some of the respect they have lost if, at this time when Fiji grieves the passing of its former president, they had the common courtesy to publicly express their condolences.  So far I have seen no mention of his passing in the NZ media.

Fiji has invited the MCG to visit Fiji. 

Monday 14 February 2011

Blog Reports on Typhoid and the Denarau Decree

NEW QUOTE FOR THE WEEK in the right sidebar.
N0128.
Photo: Denarau Marina.
Line up of three Blogs. Thank goodness for FijiToday.It is now the only reasonable anti-government blog.  Coupfourpointfive once shared this honour before it became a factory for churning out venom and false rumours.

The typical FijiToday article contains its political message in the title; the article itself is usually published unedited and the source acknowledged. My typical article relies less on the heading for its political message which is embedded in a precis of the original article, with source acknowledged. Both approaches are honest in that they are clearly opinions and not news.  This was my gripe with a recent Michael Field article on the FRU crisis (see N0116). Opinion masqueraded as news, and was therefore dishonest.

Typhoid Outbreak — Remember Michael Field

A recent article by FijiToday complained about the delayed information on a typhoid outbreak in Upper Naitasiri. I find nothing unusual about this. There are typhoid cases and minor localised outbreaks every year in Fiji and I do not recall much prominence being given to them when I lived in Fiji in the 1970s and 1990s. But if things have changed FijiToday has a point.  FijiToday's political point was the delay in confirming the rumour.  But the blog hastened to add: "FijiToday wishes to point out that the reported outbreak is well outside the normal tourist area and unless it spreads is no threat to tourists." Compare this with Michael Field and Barbara Dreavers' coverage of last year's outbreak in inland Navosa where they had tourists believing the outbreak was in the main tourist area and it was unsafe to visit Fiji.   Who says blogs are less reliable than the mainstream media!

The Denarau Decree

However,  FijiToday is not quite as honest in an article on the The Denarau (Nadi River) Development Decree 2011.  But it erred with a sin of omission, not commission.  It was not what they said, but what they left out.

Denarau is without doubt the most developed of the tourist attractions in the West. Built on a large area of reclaimed and channelised mangrove swamp, it is close to Nadi International Airport, has a mix of luxurious to not quite so luxurious accommodation (Hilton, Westin, Sheraton,Sofitel, and more), swimming pools galore, a world class golf course, massage facilities and spas, and an extensive shopping complex.  But the area that is the concern of the Decree involve the marina, that provides services to visiting yachtsmen and transfers to tourist island in the Mamanuca and Yawasa Islands to the north of Nadi. 

FijiToday reported that one company, Ports Denarau Marina Limited, had been given a 20 year exclusive licence in 2000 of about 26 hectares for an annual rental of $400 "in return for extensive dredging and development of what was then a swamp. The licence was cancelled without warning or compensation. No legal challenge was allowed. Announced today but came into force yesterday. The Decree vests absolutely in the Director of Lands any existing interest in the channel. Any person who obstructs or prevents any person from accessing or using the channel, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine and/or imprisonment.

What FijiToday did not report, that was also in  the Government release was that the purpose of the decree was "to liberalise access to and use of the Nadi River channel for the public of Fiji for the purposes of tourism, recreation or personal as well as commercial use," and that the Company had been demanding that all persons, including all owners and operators of vessels, payment for access and use of the channel. Complaints from other users and the importance of the channel for the tourism industry were the reasons for the Decree. I presume the fees collected by the company since 2000 was considered sufficient compensation.

Foreshore for All

Readers will remember Bainimarama's opposition to the Qoliqoli Bill that would have given individual vanua exclusive rights over the foreshore was a major reason for the Coup. Free access to the Denarau Channel is entirely consistent with opposition to the Qoliqoli Bill and the liberalisation of all surfing areas by the Regulation of Surfing Areas Decree last year.  FijiToday focused on the loss to the Company and gave no reason for Government's action.
-- Crosbie Walsh

Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda 1920 - 2011


Of the many messages of condolence received,  I have selected a few extracts to show something of the qualities of the man whom Government opponents claimed was feeble, ailing and rubber stamping Government actions.

TONGA

“Ratu Josefa will always be renowned and remembered with great respect in our region’s history for the many accomplishments he achieved in his country and for the Pacific. He was one of the great statesmen of Fiji.

“In all his endeavours, whether as Head of State, as a politician, or as a paramount traditional chief and leader of Vuda, he was characterised by the traits of his loyal, firm, polite and humble demeanour – a true gentlemen of the Pacific.

“May God Bless Ratu Josefa’s family, the Government and people of Fiji during this difficult and trying time.” –  Lord Tu’ivakano, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga.

UNITED NATIONS

“Fiji, and indeed, the world, has lost an extraordinary leader whose commitment to the progress of his country and the betterment of all its citizens was total. We will miss Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda’s diplomatic skills, vision and his humanity. May his soul rest in peace.” – United Nations Resident Coordinator Knut Ostby.

ASIA DEVELOPMENT BANK


“The ADB joins the international community in grieving the loss of a man who has been the voice of reconciliation and an advocate for a harmonious society in Fiji during difficult times. He stood for stability and traditional values while championing the cause for development for all Fijians.”

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

“In his message, President Hu calls Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda a senior statesman of Fiji and an old friend of the Chinese people, who made significant contributions to the development of China-Fiji relations by promoting friendly exchanges and cooperation in all fields between the two countries.


Ratu Iloilo's first career was as a teacher.  Here is what two eduationalists who knew him well had to say:

"As we mourn the passing away of a great man, we remember him as a great and progressive leader of very wide experience, a school teacher, a Roko Tui of a number of provinces, a parliamentarian, president of the Senate and the president of the country. His primary preoccupation was to encourage and bring peace and harmony among the different communities and groups in Fiji. Thus, one of his first actions when he became the president of the country was to proclaim the adoption of the Peoples Charter." – Filipe Bole, Minister of Education.

The former president was a "man endowed with great wisdom and leadership attributes. He was a humble and approachable leader who was looked upon by people of all ethnicities and backgrounds ... he had a great healing touch for the people. I had the privilege of sharing many conversations with the former president in which he shared a deep commitment to the education of his vanua, and for all the people of Fiji." – Prof Rajesh Chandra, Vice-Chancellor, University of the South Pacific, and former Vice-Chancellor, University of Fiji. 

Saturday 12 February 2011

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in Fiji. I thank Allen 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.

Alimony Problems

I was up at the magistrate’s court last week and noticed the many women who were milling around there. I spotted a lady I knew and asked her what they were all waiting for. She said that they had come to collect their child maintenance cheques. But she said that many of them were disappointed because theirs had not arrived.

Just Wages? 'Just' Flies Away

by Crosbie Walsh

Government sets up the Wages Councils, accepts its method of determining a just minimum wage based on the Poverty Line, accepts its recommendations for wage increases for some industries, announces when the increases will be paid, and then backtracks on everything because there's a global crisis, some employers say they can't afford to pay — and they need to remain competitive with Bangladesh!

Employers did not direct these concerns at the Wages Council and earlier some employers had refused to co-operate with the Council to determine what they could afford. They bypassed the Council and went directly to Government, and Government did not refer them back to the Wages Council. Instead, it heeded the employers' concerns and ignored the Wages Council.

Friday 11 February 2011

Give Bainimarama a Chance; Educating the Media, PI Forum Group Meet on Fiji, Audit Reveals Irregularities

WEEKEND READING.  ♦ Allen Lockington column  ♦ Croz Walsh on Just Wages ♦ Wadan Narsey on the Wages Councils.

N0124. LETTER TO THE FIJITODAY BLOG. To its credit, FijiToday, the only moderate and reasoned anti-government blog, published this letter from a reader.

"I support what is happening in Fiji. Let’s see how open your Blog is. I don’t see anything positive on your site so here goes.

A Minibus Owner's Story; Tonga Warns AustNZ Over Fiji

N0122. CANCELLED LICENCES PROOF OF 'JUNTA CORRUPTION'. I was alerted to the public transport situation by a letter in FijiToday by a minivan driver who warned all of the blog's readers not to "do any business in Fiji at present" because "justice in business depends on who you know in the right place."

The writer said he had been issued a permit to run a minibus service between Lautoka and Ba but after two weeks the licence was revoked along with the licences of ten others. A Ministry of Transport official told him he and other minivan owners "were causing bus companies to go broke." He thought complaints by the bus companies were the cause of the revoked licences, adding "Surely this is part of the corruption that this government was going to wipe out."

I commented on Peter Firkin's FijiToday blog sympathising with his position and advised him to complain through the Chamber of Commerce and contact me if he thought I could help.

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Words by Dallas Swinstead (on Swinstead), Wadan Narsey (on Itaukei), Brij Lal (on Ratu Iloilo) and Mason Smith (on Itaukei Agriculture)

NOTE THE NEW FEATURE at the top of the right sidebar.

N0117. A DELETED COMMENT, published to remind ourselves just who we are dealing with. Joe has left a new comment on your post "Telling the PM ..." (edited): Just butt out croz mother f*****r. Leave us Fijians alone d***head. We could do without you white trashes supporting the treasonous lot. Just F*** OFF.

N0118.ABOUT FACE (AMBIGUITY INTENDED). What on earth is outgoing Fiji Times publisher Dallas Swinstead trying to say? In an open letter on Cafe Pacific he makes six comments on why he left so soon after taking up the job.
1 and 2.  The owners Motibhai couldn't organize insurance or medical evacuation (Why not? Why didn't he organize his own?).
3. He was tremendously proud of what he achieved (This is not a reason for leaving and to be honest I didn't notice any difference).
4. He supported the People's Charter and said so but would not be "kissing arses." (You'd think this would be a reason to stay, not leave.)
5. "The government continues to subsidise the opposition newspaper ... In return it publishes verbatim, mostly, all government releases. It is a shameless, even dangerous, publication."(Okay. He did not like the opposition but how again is this a reason for his departure?).
6. "Depending on what happens in Fiji in the weeks ahead, I may, or may not, fill in the details..." (What details? We don't even have the reasons  All we have are problems with his insurances and a hint that things were not as he expected. For a newspaper publisher this is very wishy-washy.

N0119. FIJIANS AND OR ITAUKEI, INDIANS OR ... For all Prof Wadan Narsey's myopia that sees him analysing almost everything in Fiji in terms of race, his article  'I-Taukei’ or ‘Fijian”? Name change by decree can’t change ethnic mind-set is well worth reading. It makes some very valid (and only a few not very valid) points.

Among the former, two are critical: 1) "without widespread indigenous Fijian consultation and approval, this attempted name change will make little real difference to the social and political realities of Fiji, while it may make racial antagonisms worse." 2) it will be "a nightmare for statisticians and demographers" because a very important demographic characteristic will be removed, and make analyses on a host of social and economic issues that much less useful. He also has useful things to say on the racial marginalising of Indo-Fijians by previous regimes. 

N0120. RATU ILOILO. I find it strange that Radio NZ International had to ring Prof Brij Lal in Australia for his comments on the death of Ratu Iloilo.  A person's death is not the time to make derogatory political observations, and coming from an Indo-Fijian in exile makes it even more inappropriate. See the comments on this blog under "Ratu Iloilo Passes Away" which showed Ratu Iloilo in a very different light.

Condolence messages can be emailed to news@info.gov.fj. These messages will  be posted on a comprehensive website of Ratu Ilioilo's life accessed through www.fiji.gov.fj .

N0121. ASSISTANCE IS NOT SPOON FEEDING. The criteria for the Agriculture Department's Demand Driven Approach programmes that provide assistance to mainly itaukei farmers are being reviewed. The review will that farmers are held accountable for what they undertake to do and take greater ownership of projects.

Agriculture Permanent Secretary Col. Mason Smith says, "It is fundamental for our people to understand that the programmes are not meant for spoon feeding people. They are meant to give them a boost so that they can stand on their own two feet and survive at a semi-commercial level.” By November the Department expects to be able to identify the type of farmers it is going to help in the future, what their contributions will be, and what Government will be responsible for.

[To readers unfamiliar with Fiji, this may seem too obvious to report, but unaccountability and lack of a sense of ownership in the past has seen many million of dollars wasted on rural itaukei development of one kind or another.] -- Based on 2011, No:0312/MOI.

Re-Ploughing the Muck in the Same Field

N0116.
By Crosbie Walsh

What veteran journalist Michael Field (photo) can't teach you about reporting on Fiji isn't worth knowing. Take his latest Sunday Star-Times article on the Fiji Rugby Union crisis, Fiji Leader Doesn't Care for NZ. It's 282 words long and has 82 words of new information. Most of the rest was published last week by the the same journalist in the same weekly paper.

First, we need to look at the heading because it gets the message across even to those who don't read the article. It says Bainimarama doesn't like us and we reply: Up yours! We don't like you either. It's a good way to get readers tuned in to what you want them to believe, even if it was not quite what Bainimarama said. 
 
Then, it's important to typecast the main actors so that readers are left in no doubt about who the baddies are. Bainimarama, of course, is the “Fiji coup leader.” He's the guy we usually see on TV in his unchanged military uniform. And another key actor is “his brother-in-law Francis Kean, a convicted killer.” No explanation, just a convicted killer which would leave readers unfamiliar with the case wondering whether it was a brutal and gruesome murder or an unintentional manslaughter. It was the latter. Kean was convicted by the court and served part of his prison sentence. I agree with others that he should have served all his sentence, but a “convicted killer” of the type wishfully projected by Field he was not.
 
Now, having got the readers well primed, we can start on the supposed scheming by these villains. Bainimarama and Kean are “taking over the union to secure VIP access [to the Rugby World Cup in NZ], guaranteed under the hosting agreement.” 
 
Actually, Kean's name has been put forward unopposed for chairman of the union and it is possible that Bainimarama, a former president, may again become president, but this has nothing to do with supposed freebees to the World Cup. Both are military men on the NZ travel bans and, as Minister McCully repeated, they will not be allowed to come to NZ. Bainimarama and Kean would not be seeking freebees they knew they could not collect. 
 
McCully had been sought out by the media to comment on the story the media had created: that Bainimarama wanted to come to NZ. And Bainimarama's response was a reaction to this story. So the media got two for the price of one. A sort of double negative where no news plus no news equals news. A mountain had been made out of two non-existent molehills. 
 
Finally, all we need to do now is to stretch a fact or two. So, the two International Rugby Board representatives were in Suva last week to tell Fiji its membership “would be further at risk if the union bowed to the regime and dumped its board for state-supported appointees.”

This is what Field said, not the IRB men. Government had said it would not release $3 million of government funding for Fiji's participation in the World Cup if the FRU Board did not resign. Government wanted their resignation because of alleged misuse of funds and a botched lottery. For Field's “state-supported appointees,” read people who were unlikely to flog further funds. For the IRB statement, read: We must be convinced the new Board is not subject to government political influence and is freely elected by the FRU's constituent members.

Stretch number two: “Bainimarama is refusing to rule out taking key union positions and his bid to get Suva Rugby Union boss Kean into the top post continues.” What this means is that Bainimarama refused to comment to a media enquiry: I don't want to say anything more at this stage. It was Field who was doing the not “ruling out.”

And stretch number three, totally unrelated the the FRU situation: “The coup leader's control over his country's sporting groups (why on earth would he want control over sporting bodies?) strengthened last month when he made his daughter the head of the state-funded Sports Council.” He did not make his daughter the head of the Sports Council. The position was advertised and the Council, not Bainimarama, decided she was the best applicant. It is, of course, possible the Council could have been influenced by the fact that she is Bainimarama's daughter, but he had no direct part in her appointment, and her qualifications for the position, which I have seen, look very credible. See my posting on this (N0097). As far as one can reasonably tell, her appointment was completely above board. 
 
The only new news in Field's re-ploughed article is that IRB-Government discussions were fruitful, that a way out of the dilemma may be to appoint a temporary administrator for Fiji, and that Fiji and Namibia's World Cup participation may also be in doubt. 
 
It seem ironic the two countries should be put together. The IRB has taken over the administration of the Namibia union amid allegations of corruption and members not being paid. In Namibia it's the union that stands accused of corruption and the IRB that's seeking a way out. In Fiji, it's also the union, or more precisely senior executives on the FRU Board, that stands accused, but it is the Bainimarama government (whose actions the IRB is questioning because of complains from those accused) that is trying to stop the corruption. Had he chosen, Field could have explored this irony. 
 
When a journalist writes a news article that so clearly intends to persuade a reader to form opinions that are propped up by leading headlines, typecasting, and unsupported and misleading “facts”, this is not news; it is opinion that editors should not allow to masquerade as news. What is admissible in an opinion piece is not admissible in a news item. My heading gives you my opinion of Michael Field's coverage of news from Fiji. He is a journalist who is now so partisan that he seems unable to report news to the standard normally considered acceptable in the industry. It is time the industry woke up.
Earlier comment on the FRU situation was made in N0069 and N0078.

Monday 7 February 2011

Rumours, the Shopkeeper and Mary Bainimarama's One Million Dollars

N0115.
The latest story from CoupFourPointFive (citing a "source that has been reliable from the outset and is from within the military ranks") is that Renee Lal, a female lawyer accused of fraud, was "beaten about her head with a full bottle of water and that her beating was apparently organised by an army officer by the name of Ben Naliva.

"The officer is believed to be part of the illegal leader Frank Bainimarama's personal security detail. And it's claimed, as we said, that he was given $10,000 to ensure Lal got beaten.".

Saras'sista, a  commentator only too well known to readers of my blog, had this to say on CoupFourPointFive (I leave it unedited) :
"of course Croz would see nothing contradictory in the police commish demanding that police know the 2009 domestic violence decree by April, but the governments own thugs beating upa woman. No sir. For all the bleatings about how we should be nice, polite, positive and constructive, Croz is never keen to decry the appalling treatment handed out by the military before some has even been charged. Credibility anyone ??"
I'm not sure how or why  I should decry something before it is known to have happened but it should go without saying that such behaviour, if it did happen, is to be condemned, but until we have some reliable report on the incident I'll go along with the following letter about Renee Lal and rumours that was published by Fiji Today, another —but more reasonable and reliable—  anti-Government blog.

Letter to Fiji Today
"Sir, When the mainstream media cease to report or investigate anything controversial the rumour mill winds up and goes into overdrive. It is a quirk of our Fijian nature that rumours are treated as fact and passed on and added to with relish. Recently we have been hearing new rumours of beatings and unreported detentions under PER.

"One story had a shop owner at Nine Mile detained and beaten for being vocal in his opposition to the “Bainimarama Junta”.  I admit he was never slow at letting his opinion be known and his customers were under no illusions as to his opinions.  In fact I was leaning towards believing this story as he was suddenly not serving in his store and his wife was evasive on his whereabouts. 

"This story was in my mind as a fact when I ran into the gentleman concerned in Lami yesterday in the Hot Bread Shop.  He looked unmarked and greeted me effusively. I raised the story of the beating with him and he sheepishly told me he had been caught out with a neighbour’s wife and had been kicked out of home. As his wife’s relatives had financed the store he had lost that also.  His wife was obviously embarrassed and this showed as being evasive and helping the rumour along. Small facts apparently confirming the rumours become proof. No investigative reporting by the media is making “facts” out of any and all claims that manage to get into the public arena.

"We have a recent Coup 4.5 story claiming that Renee Lai was beaten by the military. While we all accept beatings have happened in the past I have problems with the idea of paying a soldier $10,000 to beat someone up. This to me sounds far fetched.

"But the part of the story that is believable to me is the use of a bottle of water as a club to beat her. This is a tactic first used in the Sinai to extract confessions without leaving visible marks on the prisoner.  Our boys from the Sinai would know of this. Small facts apparently confirming the rumours.

"We urgently need the news media to step up and investigate such rumours even if they have to report that the military refuses to answer the queries. Find the person concerned. Ask them what happened. I believe most of the rumours would go down the path of the Nine Mile shop owner and have a more mundane and  logical answer."
 Last Year's Prize Rumours

Small "facts", of course, only apparently "confirm" rumours.  Readers may  remember the rumours last year that the PM was dead (Rumours of my death are greatly exaggerated) or seriously ill, and that Public Service Permanent Secretary Parmesh Chand had resigned and Solitor-General Christopher Pryde had been sacked. I didn't comment on these rumours either, until I'd checked them out. The Permanent Secretary was still in his office and the S-G told me he was going on a short overseas trip. Yet all these rumours had been "reliably" reported by CoupFourPointFive.

But last year's top prize must surely go to another anti-government blog, Solivakasama, that reported on September 20th that PM Bainimarama and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum had been arrested by "some senior military officers."  They told their readers to "Watch this space."  We're still watching.

Rumours Serve Political Purpose, Need Oxygen to Live and Multiply

I agree rumours abound partly because of PER (that I also would like to see lifted) and I agree the media should verify the more serious and credible rumours, but rumours of this particular type also abound because they serve an important political purpose.

Those inventing and spreading these rumours believe the old saying: Thrown enough mud at the wall and some of it is sure to stick. They seek to distract and destabilise government, and keep alive the dwindling hopes of the government's opponents, most especially the SDL supporters of Laisenia Qarase, Ratu Naiqama and others like them.

Giving such rumours unnecessary publicity is to give them the oxygen they need to live and multiply.  So I'm no more likely to rush in to publish them than I am to publish the "reliable" rumour that Mary Bainimarama recently won a UK $1,000,000 lottery.   -- Crosbie Walsh

Twittering on Egypt, Kai Solomoni Organize, Minerals to Pass Tourism, Govt Looks Silly

Check out the new Quote for the Week in the right sidebar and the Weekend Reading and 
late Friday postings  (and comments) by scrolling down.

N0110. I DON'T GET IT. Perennial anti-government agitator, Peter Waqavonovono, president of the Fiji Young People's Concerned Network that appears to have no other members, has told ABC's Bruce Hill that many Fiji youth are using Twitter and Facebook to get information about the political unrest in Cairo. He says this is because the Fiji media is self-censoring news on Egypt. A quick survey by ABC, however, found that the Fiji Times and Fijilive have both carried comprehensive and balanced reports on the events in Egypt. So why, ABC, did you give this Peter Pan, who incredibly sees parallels between Fiji and Egypt, this free air time? When is no news news?  My source: via www.pacmediawatch.aut.ac.nz

N0111.BETTER THINGS TO DO.
The news that the PM may tour Russia later in the year to boost tourism and trade makes incredible reading. The PM is critical to what is happening in Fiji and the less time he spends out of the country the better. Each overseas trip offers opportunities for rumour and speculation. Someone should go to Russia and other new countries where Fiji's interests can be advanced, but not the PM. -- Based on 2011 No:0305/MOI.

N0112. KAI SOLOMONI ORGANIZE
. One of Fiji's most disadvantaged groups, the 35,000 plus descendants of Solomon Islander indentured labourers who worked the European copra plantations in the late 19th century, have formed the Solomon Islands Descendants Association to protect their interests. The Kai Solomoni married Fijian women and today they are all but Fijian except in name.  But the name is very important. Among some Fijian tribes, inheritance was only through the male line and this practice was adopted by the British for all Fijians. The result, for Kai Solomoni, is that they have no rights to Fijian-owned land. Had their fathers been Fijian, it would have been another story.

N0113. MINERALS TO PASS TOURISM. Lands and Mineral Resources Minister Netani Sukanaivalu  predicts that the booming mineral resources industry will earn billions of dollars annually for the next 20 to 30 years, and will overtake tourism as Fiji's biggest income earner.  Besides the Namosi gold-copper mine and the Vatukoula gold mine, the Tuvatu Gold Mine and the black sand in the Ba delta will soon be operating, and oil and gas exploration will commence in five months."We have three companies that are applying for an exploration licence to mine our deep sea and we have the oil exploration right now and they will start drilling in June or July at Naselai," the Minisster said.  Bauxite in Bua and a re-opened Mt Kasi gold mine are only a little further down the road.

N0114.GOVERNMENT MADE TO LOOK SILLY
. Former PM and FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry  was charged for breaking the Public Emergency Regulations and detained for three days last October. He claimed at the time that the charges were baseless, as he was meeting with sugar cane farmers in his capacity as general secretary of the National Farmers Union. But he was charged nonetheless.  After several delays in bringing the charge to court,

Government withdrew the charges last week. What a waste of everyone's time and money. Chaudhry is right. PER should be lifted. Other laws exist for those who seek to break the peace.