Auckland and former USP political sociologist Dr Sitiveni Ratuva says NZ's response to Fiji's appointment of a military officer to a diplomatic position at the Fiji High Commission in Wellington will determine the future of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He hopes the NZ response will be "innovative and sensitive enough to salvage a diplomatic process that now has the potential to fail." Link.
Fiji, NZ and Australian Foreign Ministers met again in Canberra yesterday. Link.
Pressure mounts for Australian rapprochement with Fiji. Link.
The United Arab Emirates Foreign Affairs Minister arrived in Nadi last night for talks with Fiji's Foreign Minister. Link.
Regional and Other Development:
Roadmap Issues
PM Bainimarama is reported to have told villagers in Ra province he will retire after the 2014 elections. He also thanked them for changing their position to support Government. The retirement story is unconfirmed. RadioFiji Link. Recalling how the military was stopped from entering the province two years ago, he said he was glad that Ra had changed its stance and expressed support for him. Fiji Times link.
The Housing Authority's $70million Chinese loan should be finalized this week. Link.
Rent charged for Crown land is as low as 10-cents a year! Corruption implications? Link.
PM talks about regional development. Link.
The first Rotuma exports to Tuvalu, comprising dalo, kumala and tavioka, is expected on March 22. Link.
El Nino. Farmers inland from Sigatoka are feeling the severe wrath of the current El Nino phenomena that may extend into April. Ram Sami, one of the farmers affected, reported the "green vegetarian environment has completely disappeared." Creeks, wells and livestock are also affected. Link.
Announcement to Aucklanders
Auckland will be hosting "Fiji Festival 2010" from noon to 9pm on Saturday 20 Februry. Link.
4 comments:
Dr Steve Ratuva has come up with a radical solention to the Fiji/ANZ impasse - a new fandangled thing called "innovative diplomacy".
Basically what this involves is the complete absence of rhetoric. Silence is golden. Sign language and facial expressions are the only forms of communication. No writing, no computers. Nothing.
Apparently the learned academic picked up this unique form of diplomacy whilst living for ten years in a commune of wild gorillas at the foothills of Kilimanjaro.
It is good to see the PM getting his priorities right by visiting the rural areas, speaking first hand to the villages and giving them the confidence that the government cares about their concerns. This is unlike other visits by vote-buying politicians in the past.
Bainimarama did not come bearing gifts - rather a message that people should be open and resourceful, progress with change and don't expect handouts.
He has taken a page out of Ratu Sukuna's book when the young man was District Officer - he travelled vast distances throughout Viti Levu on horseback visiting remote villages, listening, listening, listening...He had a grasp of what the people were about and they in turn gave him the respect for coming down to their level, understanding their concerns and above all else making things happen.
Since announced that the PM will only retire as PM but remain as RFMF Commander. Playing God behind the scenes.
Basa
"Playing God behind the scenes"
I thought he was a god? :p
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