[Flashback: New Zealand and Fiji lost out in the Wellington Rugby Sevens last weekend. John Key and Voqere Bainimarama declined to comment. But these are not the times for political humour.The kerfuffle over the Elections Office's possibly humourous but unwise video skit on democracy in Fiji, major headlines last weekend, with Elections Supervisor Felicity Heffernan's job reportedly at stake, appears, thankfully, to have blown over.]
* Check Out Three Major Posts during the Week
Bainimarama's about-face on wages and bus fares
Qarase's abuse of office charges
Facts and opinions on the 1997 Constitution
A Letter from a Friend. "The UN/Comsec team of four officials are here this week to talk to the regime and other worthies about the President's forum and the process of political engagement. This is probably the best opportunity we have for a dialogue. The regime 's attitude will be critical because the political parties are waiting on it to take matters forward. The Commander has said he wishes to consult the political parties and the chiefs further on the draft agenda put forward by the two independent interlocutors (Messrs Nair and Halapua). It seems to me that this will take yet more time. The lack of urgency on the part of the regime is a matter for concern, because it raises questions of their motives and their commitment.
"Our economic situation cannot have been improved by the floods. I think that losses probably are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Add to that the global financial crisis and our own circumstances, and you have a sense of our plight. But if it causes us to grow more in our backyards then it might have had some benefit. I do not mean to sound negative but cannot quite bring myself either to agree with Aiyaz Saiyed Khaiyum there is no crisis (told to the media in Port Moresby). It all depends on which side one takes."
The visiting UN/Commonwealth joint technical team, that will facilitate the President's Political Dialogue Forum, met all interested parties during the week, and left on Saturday. The Attorney-General expects the Forum will be held in the first or second week of March, and Interim PM Voqere Bainimarama hopes more sections of civil society, including churches, will join those already involved.
(-)Two worrying events occurred the week that bring no credit on the Interim Government: the reversal of the minimum wage rates and bus fares decisions (see separate posting) and the dismissal of municipal mayors (see below).
(-) Citizens' Constitutional Forum chairperson Rev. Akuila Yabaki says municipal reform did not require the dismissal of municipal mayors. Calling the decision "undemocratic", he asked Government for a firm timetable to return to democratically elected councils.
(-) The Military Involvement: One View.... Former military second-in-command Lt Col. Jone Baledrokadroka, dismissed before the 2006 coup for "subordination" or opposition to the pending coup, depending on your viewpoint, said in a FijiLive interview on Thursday that the "military (could) be part of our political landscape for some time."
The "military exit strategy is based on the implementation of the Charter”, he said, but "what happens when the Charter is not implemented or not implemented fully according to their wishes? Government militarization at all levels, from ministerial down to the permanent secretaries and even in all departments, adds to this fear. Perversely, a statement from Bainimarama adds weight to this claim.' He told visiting Vice President PRC Xi Jinping that the military will only stay in power until all its objectives are achieved.
.... And (+) Another. “The military", said Bainimarama, "essentially assumed control of the Government with clear objectives to eliminate corruption, racial discrimination policies and practices, and to bring about necessary reforms in the area of public service, governance as well as the electoral system in an effort to build a better and more progressive Fiji ... (it) did not intervene for the purpose of remaining in control and power beyond a reasonable time than what would be required to achieve the above objectives.” FijiLive 12 February 2009.
(B) Methodist Church to Decide on Annual Fundraising. The church's annual choir competitions, fundraising and two-week round of meetings has been a major event for the past 40 years. This year's meeting will be hosted by Roko Tui Dreketi Ro Teimumu Kepa in Rewa in August but whether it will include fundraising (at least on the scale of former years) will be decided by divisional heads in March. Fundraising, in which from village to province, participants seek to outbid each other, has, on the one hand, been criticized as imposing an excessive burden on poorer Fijians, and, on the other hand, as evidence of the unity of lotu (church), vanua (land) and matanitu (state) in Fijian thinking.
[I was once called all sorts of names -- a fly-by-night expert, ignorant, insensitive, offensive, communist, atheist -- by church minister and senator Tomasi Kanailagi (Fiji Daily Post 27 July 2002) for supporting MP Mike Beddoes who'd said church fundraising greatly added to the burdens of the poor.]
(B) Traditional Fishing Grounds. Fiji Police are monitoring Navala and Nanoko villages in the interior of Ba following a dispute over traditional fishing grounds. A Police spokesman said a bure had been torched and a man hospitalised following a fight involving knives, spears and stones. Land, inland waters and sea ownership boundaries are disputed in many parts of Fiji. One of the reasons Bainimarama gave for the 2006 Coup was to stop the SDL Government's Qoliqoli Bill (on Fijian mataqali [clan] foreshore and coastal rights), saying it would turn Fijian against Fijian in many parts of the country News item: Fijilive 12 February 2009.
(G) Raising the Flag. Interim Education Minister Filipe Bole has instructed schools to conduct a weekly flag-raising ceremony and sing the national anthem to instill patriotism. This is one of the recommendations of the People's Charter.
Media Council Review. A media review team comprising Australian Press Council executive secretary Jack Herman, senior lawyer Barrie Sweetman and community activist Suliana Siwatibau will address problems of funding the council (presently largely funded by the media owners), complaints procedures, the media code of ethics, and improving media standards. While funding is the most immediate problem, Council chairman Daryl Tarte also hopes the review will help improve the sorely-tested relationship between the interim government and the media industry.Condensed from http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=114147 Comment on this item http://www.pacificmediacentre.blogspot.com/
NZAID offers $2 million. Sugar Cane Growers Council (SCGC) CEO Surendra Sharma confirmed to Fijilive (13 February 2009) that NZAID is preparing a $2 million relief package to assist the sugar industry. Australia has declined help (it is also a sugar producer) and the EU has not yet responded.The SCGC hopes the interim Government will also help more. “Sugar needs a lot of assistance and the sooner the key decision makers acknowledge this fact, the better,” Sharma said. The sugar industry needs $60 million to salvage a potentially bankrupt industry. [Good on you, NZAID]
NZ Waitangi Day and Fiji. The Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 established relations between the British Crown and Maori, something similar to Fiji's Deed of Cession. The Treaty, celebrated on Febuary 6, is the topic for Thakur Ranjit Singh's weekly column in the Fiji Times. For the full column, see http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=114159
This is his conclusion:
"The message coming out of Waitangi Day celebrations is that visionary selfless leaders with an abundance of goodwill and humility can overcome insurmountable racial and ethnic problems besetting a country, and all gets achieved by the Pacific way of talking and dialogue that we call talanoa.It is time for a change in political leadership in Fiji.
'I note Biman Prasad in his opinion article just days ago called for Chaudhry and Qarase to change their visions and agenda and join in dialogues of the President's forum. I disagree. You do not teach old dogs new tricks. They do not need to change; we need to change them, out with the old, in with the new. We can overcome our problems by rejecting divisive leaders and their narrow visions. Throw those out who have failed Fiji and get leaders of the new generation to make a difference."
(B+-) Issues Raised in Old Debate on People's Charter Still Valid. In April last year a public debate was held on the pros and cons of the People's Charter. Things have moved on but the issues they raised still need to be addressed if Fiji is to "move forward". Text and video may be accessed on http://www.fijitimes.com/peoples-charter-debate.aspx Affirmative speakers were Joseva Serulangilagi, then Chair of the Tailevu Provincial Council; Lorine Tevi, President of the NGO FCOSS, and Pundit Kamlesh Arya, Nat. Pres. of Arya Pratinidhi Sabha. Negative speakers were Dr Waden Narsey, Prof. of Economics at USP; Richard Naidu, a prominent Suva lawyer, and Tupou Draunidalo, a former V-Pres. of the Fiji Law Society.
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