Read also the many informative comments on this post. Click on "Comment" at the end of the post.
To those making comments, another PLEASE. If yo wish to remain anonymous, sign off with a pseudonym and then click on Anonmous.
There's a background to this story. NZ website Guide2 thought (and many others agreed) Leweni's nomination was "provocative." I replied saying travel bans result in heavy reliance on military in Government. FijiToday, one of the very few reasoned anti-Government blogsites, said there were plenty of competent civilians who could have been nominated. I replied, then Scott MacWilliam sent this very perceptive comment. If anyone in a position to influence our Government reads this, please pass it on.
And over the Tasman, former Landforce Commander, Bainimarama critic and ANU scholarship holder Jone Baledrokadroka, was once again sought for his independent opinion on events.
Fiji-Australian Graham Davis emailed me saying: "It's extremely annoying how the NZ and Australian media keep using Jone Baledrokadroka as some kind of independent commentator on Fiji affairs. JB took on Frank at the camp on behalf of the Qarase government and lost. By Frank's account ( in my interview for Sky) he had to intervene to stop his supporters from shooting Baledrokdroka.
He's also closely aligned with one of the key figures of the 2000 coup, the Qaranivalu of Naitasiri, Ratu Inoke Takiveikata. In fact, JB's sister is Ratu Inoke's common law wife. So he's definitely a protagonist and how he can be regarded as an impartial observer of the Fiji scene within the comfortable confines of the ANU is quite beyond me."
So, for the collective reasons given, I hope my country rises above what some take as provocation, and accepts Leweni's nomination. Similarly, I hope Fiji will accept NZ's nomination, whoever than should be.
To those making comments, another PLEASE. If yo wish to remain anonymous, sign off with a pseudonym and then click on Anonmous.
There's a background to this story. NZ website Guide2 thought (and many others agreed) Leweni's nomination was "provocative." I replied saying travel bans result in heavy reliance on military in Government. FijiToday, one of the very few reasoned anti-Government blogsites, said there were plenty of competent civilians who could have been nominated. I replied, then Scott MacWilliam sent this very perceptive comment. If anyone in a position to influence our Government reads this, please pass it on.
Scott: "There are political reasons for NZ accepting the Fiji government's nomination of Lieutenant Colonel Neumi Leweni which also deserve consideration.
The first is that as one of the regime's most senior people, what he conveys to NZ and commits the Bainimarama government to, is most likely to represent the latter's actual position. There is little point in negotiating with a minor official who carries no weight and constantly has to refer back to Fiji for instructions.
The importance of this point was demonstrated recently at Copenhagen when the Chinese government sent a person/people of little substance to deal with US President Obama and other countries' leaders. These Presidents, Prime Ministers and others were continually frustrated when the Chinese official kept leaving negotiations to get instructions from Beijing. If Commodore Bainimarama sends one of the regime's senior people to NZ, it probably means he is serious about negotiating.
Secondly, any opportunity to influence one of the regime's most senior people should be taken. Let Lt Colonel Luweni live in NZ, see directly how much better things could be in Fiji if the process of democratisation is advanced more rapidly. Isolating one of the regime's top people will only feed paranoia and insularity. Show the Lt Col what the NZ government, administration and people have to offer and let the process of osmosis work on his attitudes to NZ. This applies particularly to letting him see first-hand the economic and political virtues of robust democratic processes.
Thirdly, South Pacific people regularly, and quite often justifiably, complain about the behaviour of ANZ governments when it infringes national sovereignty. 'Bullies of the South Pacific' is a commonly used expression. Why start serious negotiations by behaving in a manner which can only encourage this perception."
See also Scott's views on the travel bans on Pacific Scoop.
The first is that as one of the regime's most senior people, what he conveys to NZ and commits the Bainimarama government to, is most likely to represent the latter's actual position. There is little point in negotiating with a minor official who carries no weight and constantly has to refer back to Fiji for instructions.
The importance of this point was demonstrated recently at Copenhagen when the Chinese government sent a person/people of little substance to deal with US President Obama and other countries' leaders. These Presidents, Prime Ministers and others were continually frustrated when the Chinese official kept leaving negotiations to get instructions from Beijing. If Commodore Bainimarama sends one of the regime's senior people to NZ, it probably means he is serious about negotiating.
Secondly, any opportunity to influence one of the regime's most senior people should be taken. Let Lt Colonel Luweni live in NZ, see directly how much better things could be in Fiji if the process of democratisation is advanced more rapidly. Isolating one of the regime's top people will only feed paranoia and insularity. Show the Lt Col what the NZ government, administration and people have to offer and let the process of osmosis work on his attitudes to NZ. This applies particularly to letting him see first-hand the economic and political virtues of robust democratic processes.
Thirdly, South Pacific people regularly, and quite often justifiably, complain about the behaviour of ANZ governments when it infringes national sovereignty. 'Bullies of the South Pacific' is a commonly used expression. Why start serious negotiations by behaving in a manner which can only encourage this perception."
See also Scott's views on the travel bans on Pacific Scoop.
***
Meanwhile veteran NZ diplomat Terence O'Brien thought NZ should "keep its powder dry, no overreaction and quietly if necessary inform the Fijians the appointee is not acceptable to us." For the reasons spelt out, I hope we won't consider it "necessary".
And over the Tasman, former Landforce Commander, Bainimarama critic and ANU scholarship holder Jone Baledrokadroka, was once again sought for his independent opinion on events.
Fiji-Australian Graham Davis emailed me saying: "It's extremely annoying how the NZ and Australian media keep using Jone Baledrokadroka as some kind of independent commentator on Fiji affairs. JB took on Frank at the camp on behalf of the Qarase government and lost. By Frank's account ( in my interview for Sky) he had to intervene to stop his supporters from shooting Baledrokdroka.
He's also closely aligned with one of the key figures of the 2000 coup, the Qaranivalu of Naitasiri, Ratu Inoke Takiveikata. In fact, JB's sister is Ratu Inoke's common law wife. So he's definitely a protagonist and how he can be regarded as an impartial observer of the Fiji scene within the comfortable confines of the ANU is quite beyond me."
So, for the collective reasons given, I hope my country rises above what some take as provocation, and accepts Leweni's nomination. Similarly, I hope Fiji will accept NZ's nomination, whoever than should be.
Postscript: Congratulations to Fiji-Australian-New Zealander Peter Thomson on his (yet to be officially announced) appointment as Fiji's representative to the United Nations. The commendable absence of racism in this kaivalagi appointment just would not have happened under the Qarase regime.
13 comments:
Croz, i agree that by accepting Leweni, the NZ government will be talking more directly to Frank. They're practically inseparable and it's Frank direct patronage that has taken Leweni from military bandsman to Lt Colonel. However, your second point about exposing Leweni to NZ-style democracy is a tad naive. Perhaps you were joking. But I'd have thought that exposing anyone to the MMP electoral system would be a surefire way to entrench dictatorship anywhere. (Now I'm joking but only just). But I'll be amazed if the Kiwis say yes. On other matters, my heart also sinks when some credulous journalist introduces Jone Baledrokadroka as a Fiji commentator. What a joke. And, yes, appointing Peter Thomson to the UN is a masterstroke. Never mind being a kaivalagi, Frank must be pretty confident where this Fiji-New Zealander-Australian's loyalties ultimately lie. Anyone who's read Kava in the Blood will know the answer to that. How ironic that Thomson is going to New York at the very time the regime has stripped Sitiveni Rabuka of his pension and privileges as a former Prime Minister. If you've read Kava in the Blood, you'll know that it was Rabuka who held a gun to Thomson's head when he staged the 1987 coup and forced him to write the news release of the takeover. And it was Rabuka who locked Thomson up in a filthy jail cell along with the late Robert Keith Reid and several days later, had the gall to call them up to the officer's mess for a beer. What goes around comes around, as they say. Thomson in New York, Rabuka stripped of the 75 per cent of his final salary as PM and having the ignominy of soldiers coming to take his official four wheel drive. Who says there's no justice in the world? Vinaka!
It wasn't Croz but Scott MacWilliam who made the comment about Leweni learning more about democracy in NZ.
Especially after the recent Moti fiasco with the AFP and the Australian government.
Oh, my apologies Croz. That's what you get for skimming rather than taking in the details. I'll cut myself a big slice of humble pie.
Harken to Graham Davis' remarks and avoid anyone tainted by the 2000 Coup. This event was an Act of Terrorism and all those associated with it are accessories. Those who involved themselves later are still tarred with the same brush. Tarred and feathered?
...'He's also closely aligned with one of the key figures of the 2000 coup, the Qaranivalu of Naitasiri, Ratu Inoke Takiveikata. In fact, JB's sister is Ratu Inoke's common law wife. So he's definitely a protagonist and how he can be regarded as an impartial observer of the Fiji scene within the comfortable confines of the ANU is quite beyond me."...'
I doubt if anyone is acceptable to Davis, Walsh, orAnonymous(Snr, Jnr, and versions 1 to 50). I wonder when this blog will find the moral courage it accuses so many others of lacking and actually declare what so many realised some time ago - Crosbie Walsh is an unmitigated apologist for the regime. Have the grace to admit what is so obvious - at least Baledrokadroka, for all his alleged faults, actually says things some people consider worth listening to.
And on Leweni - an ignorant thug representing the Fiji government is actually quite apt for the times.
You're missing the point, Wellbuggermedays. Of course Jone Baledrokadroka is entitled to his opinion. The problem is that unlike Croz Walsh, he isn't transparent and neither is the ANU in allowing its name to be used in a very personal crusade. Baledrokadroka poses as a dispassionate observer when he is in fact - as Davis points out - a protagonist or central character in this saga. When journalists seeking commentary come to Croz Walsh, they know what they're getting, someone generally sympathetic to the regime. But when they go to Baledrokadroka, they have no idea that he was engaged in a personal power struggle with Bainimarama ( that he lost ) and therefore has every reason to be hostile. That does not make him a dispassionate commentator and the audience deserves to know that. It brings to mind that old Mandy Rice=Davies line from the Profumo scandal - "well he would say that wouldn't he?" As far as I can tell from an internet search, Baledrokadroka has done nothing to explain the details of what actually happened in his confrontation with Bainimarama. Frank has given his own account, claiming, amongst other things, that he intervened to save Baledrokadroka's life when his troops wanted to kill him for mutiny. But where is Baledrokadroka's account of what happened, including his links to the Qaranivalu and other anti-Bainimarama forces? We all deserve to know the full story so we can make personal judgments on the credibility of both accounts. Instead, Baledrokadroka remains silent and uses his position at the ANU to pose as an independent commentator while pursuing a highly personal agenda. The gullible journalists who interview him have no idea where he's coming from and neither does the listening public. Irrespective of your contention that Baledrokadroka "says things some people consider worth listening to", we all have a right to know from what perspective those things are being said. We don't. And while that continues, Baledrokadroka and the ANU fail a very basic test of transparency and credibility.
@ W,,,,,,,,,,,,,,days
This last post by its very heading betrays its untenable position. Who would wish to take anyone with such a view seriously or, further, allow such persons a hold on governance? This is what is faced by Fiji and Fijians. Be the judge of it. How to confront or to mitigate it, is the question? Not unlike facing off the Taliban elsewhere. Fight them or face them off or .....buy them off (with borrowed or overseas taxpayers' funds). It is all horrible to contemplate and scarcely in the public interest? We are proverbially between a rock and a hard place. However, 'representing the Fiji government is actually quite apt for the times'........
Well, yes, it is actually quite apt. The provocation lies here for all to see. Can New Zealand be adroit enough now to "get it" and to "go with it"? Face up to the devil in your backyard. It is back to haunt us all.
My sources indicate that the person discussed for the position during the discussions between Murray McCully and Ratu Inoke Kubuabola was Parmesh Chand. He was acceptable to both parties as NZ has dealt with him when he was previously posted to SPC in Wellington. He is a consumate Civil Servant/Politician and the PMs ex Private Secratary.
A word for Terence 0'Brien: his expected diplomatic fastidiousness is betrayed by his use of a military metaphor. Keeping the powder dry will not assist bi-lateral relations at this time. A cavalry charge is required: the courage of both sides is demanded and nothing less. Failing this, there will be more than 'nation building' required for Fiji medium to long term. A double dip in the World Economy will necessitate a rescue mission. On cost alone, that would be undesirable. Any prescriptions for Fiji should only be written by those prepared to live them out, on the ground, here where it matters most. Turning your backs - as so many have already done - is not only cowardly and unprincipled it is a recipe for throwing out your own self-interest. No more of the Qarase-wildly-trumpeted "Win Win" -there is, as we all well know, no such thing. Mere Samisoni and those of her train of thought will be washed away in a double dip recession. And what happens to the ordinary, innocent people of whom so little is always said? It was Mere Samisoni who advocated depriving them of the use of English in school. Now how clever was that? This demonstrated the level of thinking going on behind the Qarase-led Mad Hatter Machine. A ridiculous, destructive construct if ever there was one.
As much as I would love to believe it, I have seen nothing to indicate that Frank and the IG are any more willing to negotiate than on day 1.
I believe instead, that this is simply a manifestation of the long term tactic of stubborn insistence. Frank believes that if he can wait long enough, Aus / NZ will eventually come around, as a preference to perpetuating a stalemate.
I believe Leweni has been advocated for the position because he is able to state a position and blindly stand by it, no matter how indefensible it may be. It would appear that the IG is seeking to get NZ to make a small concession or 2 in the hope of progressing the situation. When Fiji then continues to insist on it's here-to-fore unacceptable agenda and NZ is forced to reject Fiji's envoy, NZ will be publicly painted as a neo-colonialist bully, and Frank as the defender of Fiji's interests... a classic tactic from the insurgency handbooks.
Aus/NZ need to quietly and firmly restate their positions and stand by them. As much as Frank would love to have it so, the situation in Fiji does not need neighbourly assistance to resolve. If all parties are ready to negotiate, it can be done. But I don't believe that time has come yet.
Hypocrisyhater, why should Bainimarama be prepared to negotiate? Over what? He's said there will be a return to democracy in September 2014. But no-one will be able to contest that election on a racial platform or representing one racial group. End of story. It's Australia and NZ who need to be prepared to negotiate. And they need to come to an urgent accommodation with Bainimarama for some critical strategic reasons. The Americans are extremely worried about recent Chinese behaviour on the global stage. They wrecked the Copenhagen climate summit and only today, President Obama has said China's cyber attacks are unacceptable. The US doesn't want any more Chinese infiltration in Fiji and has specifically told the Aussies and the Kiwis to back off. This standoff is also doing serious damage to regional relationships and groupings. And on top of that, there's ample evidence of widespread popular support in Fiji for the regime. That's why things are changing. So get over it.
Lt. Col. Leweni is the right and the best choice, and he does not need a lecture on democracy, or observation of any sort as to how it works. This govt is all about democracy in its true sense, not Qarase style. I am sure NZ will reject Leweni because he is on the travel ban list, and a very powerful military man. We shall soon find out whether NZ is genuine about diplomatic ties or this is another one of their ploys to dictate to us as to who should be appointed. I think this is a time wasting exercise, and as such, extra time should be added to the Sept 2014 deadline. I am sure the Fijian govt has better things to do than waste valuable time and resources on Mc Cully and his proposal
Should there be a call for restoration of diplomatic ties with Australia, Julian Moti should be the choice. Lets see what happens then.
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