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

Tuesday 20 August 2013

News and Comments Tuesday 20 August 2013

NZ POLICY NOT WORKING, SAYS POLITICAL ANALYST Julie Bishop, Gerald McGhie and I are not the only ones questioning the effectiveness of N Z policies on Fiji (see earlier postings).  We have been joined by Dr Paul Buchanan who told Radio New Zealand International the most obvious sign that the policy hasn’t worked is that the United Nations has welcomed Fijian peacekeepers in greater numbers since the 2006 coup, in defiance of requests from Australia and New Zealand that they not be used.

“The sanctions regime has not worked and the National government needs to admit that to itself, then admit it to its partners and finally admit it to the Fijians and from that, start anew with an approach that recognizes Fijian sovereignty, recognizes that the type of governance in Fiji is not ideal from our point of view but we need to engage them nevertheless.” Buchanan is principal and director of 36th Parallel Assessments, a New-Zealand-based Pacific-focused geopolitics and strategic assessment consultancy (www.http://36th-parallel.com) -- RNZI.
 

PM INTERVENES TO EXTEND INTERNET HOURS.  The PM  has directed police to reverse their decision to close internet shops in Suva before their normal closing hours. "We must allow all Fijians, and especially our young people, who want to access internet shops the ability to do so at every opportunity," Cde Bainimarama said.

LOAN AND SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME TO BE REVAMPED. Government's aim is to ensure that all Fijian young people with university entrance will be able to attend university. The right to education and the ambition to pursue it is not something that should depend on a family’s ability to pay tuition fees. The PM says the government will help poorer students who previously could not fulfill their dream with the new $2.2 million Tertiary Education Loan Scheme.

NEW CONSTITUTION OUT THIS WEEK. The A-G says the new constitution is likely to be made public by end of next week and definitely by the end of the month.He also said the Code of Conduct for public office holders and the Freedom of Information law will  be out soon.

FORMER FORUM LEADER SUPPORTS FORMATION OF PIDF.  A former Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Sir Noel Levi of Papua New Guinea, has come out in support of the newly established Pacific Islands Development Forum. Click here to listen to the video.

INSULTING AND UNBELIEVABLE. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo was asked to undergo an explosive body search by Australian Security Officers at Brisbane Airport, last Saturday. The PM is said to have had a 'stand-off' with security officers involving the Australian Federal Police (AFP) when he refused the search. "They told the Prime Minister that even Rudd and the Australian Governor-General must go through the same process- which is rubbish," said the eyewitness.  Sir Trevor Garland, Honorary Consul-General of the Solomon Islands in Sydney confirmed that the Solomon Islands' PM is exempt from such searches.  "So, what went wrong?" asked Sir Trevor? "The Solomon Islands' PM is afforded close personal protection by the Australian security agencies while in Brisbane," Sir Trevor remarked. "They must have known who he was." This latest airport stand-off recalls a similar incident in 2005 where Papua New Guinea's PM, Sir Michael Somare, was asked to remove his shoes at the same airport.  It prompted an insulted Sir Michael to suspend Australia's Aid programme in protest. -- Solomon Star, 19/8/13.

REAL 'RELLIES' OR MORE DISTANT KIN? Fiji’s Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola says Australia and NZ cannot consider themselves “relatives” because they do not share the development aspirations of the Pacific.

Responding to NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s comments, Kubuabola said a relative in the Pacific context implies a bond, a connection of culture and trust, a connection with respect and a connection of being equal partners in the region.  
“If Australia and NZ really consider themselves to be a “relative” or a "part' of the Pacific, then why is it that the Pacific Islanders are still required to obtain a visa to enter Australia and New Zealand...why is it that in the international arena, for instance in the United Nations, Australia and NZ are not with the Pacific grouping but under another umbrella group of countries when it comes to consultative discussions?”  Kubuabola said that if Australia and New Zealand were really relatives of the Pacific, then they would have consulted the Pacific at large on their Asylum Seeker Policy without trying to dump the solution in the Melanesia Group.   “Now then, McCully, how do you define the term 'relative'? Is it one who is your close neighbor and is selfish, or is it one who has an altruistic outlook? I say it’s the latter.” -- based on Fijilive, August 18, 2013.

FRENCH FUNDING FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION. A funding agreement signed last week in Noumea between the French Development Agency (AFD), the French Fund for the Global Environment (FFEM) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) will see four Pacific countries, including Fiji, host pilot sites for the regional cooperation project in the South Pacific - Restoration of Ecosystems Services against Climate Change Unfavourable Effects (RESCCUE).

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Croz
Why do you keep recycling the same old junta slurpers? Is the illegal human rights abusing regime they support that desperate for recognition or are you and your missus looking for another free holiday to thugland at the expense of the Fijian poor who have been not allowed democracy and a vote for years?

A Grubby Greeting said...

The Solomon Islands PM given a recent 'rough ride' in Australia at Border Control is understandably aggrieved. Certain courtesies and protocols ought universally to apply to any elected Head of State or Chief Minister of State. The first and only words of greeting upon arriving in Sydney for the first time, were these: "You carry your own bloody bag here, Sheila". This, in reply to an innocent request for the services of a porter. No trolleys around then. Even today, forty-six years later, it is hard to conceive how anyone in a uniform might conduct themselves in such a gratuitously grubby way to another person in uniform. The suitcase in question was a vulcanised Globetrotter packed for all climates.

Crosbie Walsh said...

@ Anonymous ... You are the recycler. You posted this exact comment some weeks ago, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the people mentioned in this posting. Unless you can make some worthwhile contribution to this blog, go back to Coup4.5 where you obviously belong.

People who think DIFFERENTLY said...



The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, visited the Dachau Concentration Cam, Tuesday 20 August 2013. "She said she wanted her visit to be "A bridge from history to the present and into the future. The site was a warning, she said, to never again let indifference allow people who think differently to be victimised or murdered". (Damien McGuiness - BBC NEWS Europe - DACHAU, Germany).

It is interesting to note the German Chancellor's use of the word 'indifference' because it is greatly relevant to Fiji. Indifference has brought Fiji to where we are now. Our current 'impasse' has evolved from it. Note Mrs Merkel's words carefully, one by one, if we care about a future worth having in the 21st century. Germany is now the most economically powerful nation in the European Union. Mrs Merkel wields great power yet her message is clear and simple. Indifference under Adolf Hitler brought Germany to her knees and brought about the deaths of at least 6million Jews and Others 'who were different'.