WHO RINGS WHO FIRST, BRUCE HILL OR USAIA? Usaia Waqatairewa of the Australia-based Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement seems to get an extraordinary amount of time on Radio Australia. He is urging the Melanesian leaders to "open their eyes to the obvious divide and rule techniques Commodore Bainimarama is using to get the leadership of the sub-regional bloc" and deny Fiji the chairmanship. I thought it was Vanuatu's Natapei who was the odd man out. Read on ...
VANUATU NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE. Opposition leader, Maxime Carlot Korman, said he has the backing of 27 of the 52 MPs and is calling for PM Natapei to resign. Yesterday Carlot Korman accused Natapei of causing division in the Melanesian Spearhead Group by cancelling July's summit in Fiji. Korman says if the Speaker accepts his request, the vote could be taken as early as Monday.
YABAKI ON ID CARD. Radio Australia's Bruce Hill tried to get CCF's Rev Akuila Yabaki to condemn the proposed ID card. Click here. Yabaki's lack of concern is interesting because one would have thought he'd be among the first to express concern if he thought the card would be misused. Read on ...
OFFICIAL ID UPDATE RELEASE. The proposed national identification card is essential because it will provide and carry vital personal information. Ministry of Defence, National Security and Immigration official, Mr Joji Washington told a consultation forum the proposed national ID card was to help curb cases of false identification.
He said there had been cases of passports and birth certificate falsifications. “This is why the Ministry of Defence has taken this proactive approach to introduce the national ID card,” Mr Washington said. “Government will include a bio-metric feature, which will be encrypted into the card to add to its value otherwise it will be just an ordinary card.”
Mr Washington said most countries had adopted this concept because of its ability to interface with e-passports. He said the global approach was for Fiji to introduce a card which had bio-metric security features. “The project runs concurrently with the e-passport platform. Fiji needs to look at it holistically and each government department and ministry has its own input into the introduction of the card,” Mr Washington said. He said the project would benefit the Ministry of Education, Elections Office, Fiji Police Force, (BDM) Births, Deaths and Marriages, FIRCA, Immigration, FNPF, LTA and many more. -- 2010 No: 1712 /MOI.
COMPLAINTS AGAINST LAWYERS. The Independent Legal Services Commission (ILSC) was established under the Legal Practitioners Decree 2009 to hear complaints against lawywers, relieved the Fiji Law Society of this role following complaints that the FLS had not dealt effectively with complaints. The main purpose of the the ILSC, according to the Commmission Justice John Connors, is to protect the public from lawyers who misbehave, hear their complaints against lawyers and, where applicable, discipline the lawyers.
Justice Connors says having a transparent and an independent system in place to look into complaints against lawyers has been well received by the public and he is "hopeful that by dealing with complaints in a timely manner and the imposition of appropriate penalties will hopefully encourage more lawyers to behave appropriately," The ILSC has so far dealt with and handed out verdicts on seven complaints and another six cases are pending.-- Based on 2010 No:1678/AG.
RICE. Fiji used to grown much of its rice consumption, mainly in the Dreketi (Bua) and Navua areas. The removal of import duty on milled white rice in 2008 changed all this. Fiji Rice Company CEO Ram Bajekal hopes that with government now promoting more locally grown rice, rice production will increase and and its mill will be once again put to full use. FRC has been importing 30,000 tonnes of rice a year at a cost of about $40m.
ECONOMIC TIDBITS.
FMF Group announces $11.6M profit
Lautoka Sugar Mill kept like a junkyard, says PM
Acting CEO FSC recommends closure of Rarawai (Ba) mill
11 comments:
Bruce Hill and Radio Australia generally have deviated so far from conventional journalistic practice when it comes to Fiji that their chronic bias is no longer exceptional. There's never been any attempt on the part of ABC journalists to examine the nature of the so-called Fiji Democracy and Freedom movement and those people who lead it. If they did, they'd soon realise the truth: that this organisation is no broad-based movement for the restoration of democracy but a front for one of the protagonists in Fiji's ongoing political struggle - the SDL. The likes of Usaia Waqatairewa and the miserable Tui Savu are effectively dissidents in voluntary exile with no more status in Australia than dissidents from anywhere else. Yet they're feted by the Australian media in a way that would never happen for other, more worthy, exiled groups like the Free Papua Movement or those agitating for democracy in China. Waqatairewa is, in truth, an absurd viavialevu with zero credibility and no constituency beyond the narrow confines of the SDL and his fellow indigenous supremacists. He's also a Walter Mitty character capable of the most amazing self delusion. Witness his ridiculous proposal to have a pirate radio station anchored off the coast of Viti Levu pumping out anti-regime propaganda over the air waves. It was quite astonishing to me how this clown managed to persuade not just the ABC but The Australian and Britain's Independent newspaper that this was a sensible, viable option when it was an idea confined to the vacant space between his two ears. Have they since done their audience the service of following up what happened to this towering fantasy? Not on your nelly. Compared with most ABC journalists, Bruce Hill has spent quite a bit of time in Fiji so he ought to know better than to pass Waqatairewa off as a credible regional political player. Really, who cares what this guy thinks about the MSG? But, of course, this is a propaganda war in which the ABC blindly sides with anyone but the hated regime. Utterly gormless, the lot of them. This so-called Democracy and Freedom Movement doesn't want true democracy at all. It wants an immediate election based on the old racial model that would immediately return it to government to continue its program to marginalise Fiji's other races. An agenda unwittingly supported by the gullible band of scribes at the ABC.
@ Economic tidbits "Laotoka Sugar Mill kept like a junkyard" say PM.
Um, he's been in charge of the country for fours year and minister for sugar for most of that. If he is only now starting to see all the things wrong with the industry we have to really worry.
In normal circumstances if the boss had done nothing for four year you would sack him. Problem is this boss (PM) is immune from any responsibility.
@ ABC of..... FINALLY! A comment that is completely correct, Usaia Waqatairewa is an opportunist who should not be getting any airplay in Australia at all. He is in fact on the payroll for the SDL. He is a master of self delusion. He has no interest in Fiji apart from the money he can make out of shooting his mouth off as the puppet for SDL. Interesting to note that he is siding with Natapei who is about to be booted out. Poor Usaia always taking the wrong side.
Fijian refugees who are reported to be crowding out the asylum system in Australia should be asking themselves if they would be 'of interest' to the Fijian authorities for valid, criminal reasons? They need to know the provisions of the Crimes Decree #44 of 2009, law since 1 February 2010. They might well have associated with or themselves have indulged in corruption and abuse of office? A number of known such abusers are already in New Zealand. If they plan to "hole up" in either Australia or New Zealand then that should be investigated by Police in all three countries. Why would Fijian taxpayers choose to have such people return without proper investigations being made? Why would Australian or New Zealand taxpayers wish to keep people who may ultimately prove to be a long-term cost to them? All overstayers should have to complete mandatory declarations that they are not seeking asylum based on dishonest or corrupt activities perpetrated in their land of origin. Their past political affiliations should not alone count but their past criminal activities must. Too many Fijians have fled overseas owing large sums of money in Fiji; having paid no taxes for years, having defrauded their employers. One cannot imagine why Australia or New Zealand should host such people? Where their alleged affiliation with terrorist acts in 2000 and 2001 is concerned, they should be of interest in either New Zealand, Australia or Fiji. Terrorism under whatever guise is of interest globally, We do not wish to have terrorists returned without being assured they will be charged, tried and convicted. We do not wish to have those who aided and abetted them returned either to agitate and promote unrest. There can be little doubt now that this government will never permit this. No argument to be made anymore about that.
@ ILSC...
There can be nothing sadder or more nauseating than to be witness in a Fiji Courtroom to a lawyer abusing his position as an Officer of the Court and selling short not only his client but also his code of ethics. To what end? Often, it has appeared to me, in a profligate 'Show of Power'. In hundred of hours of observation, one has been witness to almost every abuse of legal conduct imaginable. Now Justice John Connors is able to take these people to task with his Commissioners in the ILSC. It is without doubt the best development to have taken place under the reforms. There are many, many more cases to be heard. Many lawyers will be obliged to face the Commission and not before time. Anyone who undermines the administration of Justice in Fiji in this cynical and often verging upon the criminal manner should be handled very severely indeed. The association with organised crime of a number of Fijian lawyers must never be overlooked. The Fiji Police have been far too lax until now. They need to put on their running shoes and adjust their focus. Organised crime is exploiting the legal profession: it is also associating with Real Estate Agents, bankers and illegal resort operators. Time to get smart and time to get harsh on all those who operate Organised Criminal Covens.
Hurrah for Pro Gov...nwhat we need to do is have a regime that is unaccountabe to anyone , lock up and intimidate or deport anyone that doens't agree loudly enough and ram through whatever we want without any consultation...while moaning about the lack of international support but holding out for money from Aus NZ EU and US to to make you feel legitimate and bankroll your plans. A bit rich isn't it?
Croz
How do you rate the comments made by the blogger calling him or herself The ABC of credulity?
From what we can see it's all attacks on the people who've made comments, nothing about the substance of the comments.
"The likes of Usaia Waqatairewa and the miserable Tui Savu" shouldn't be listened to because they are dissidents. No comments about anything they've said, only that they should not have their views reported. ""Waqatairewa is, in truth, an absurd viavialevu with zero credibility and no constituency beyond the narrow confines of the SDL" - "this clown".
Is there some comment on what Waqatairewa said and why is it untenable? No, only denigration of the person.
OK, "Fiji Democracy Now", what about Waqatairewa's comments to the ABC that thousands of Australian based Fijians fear returning to their homeland because of the political repression there? An outright lie. Or Waqatairewa and Tui Savu arranging a "pro-democracy " rally in Sydney to hear Simione Kaitani, one of the cheerleaders of the 2000 coup. OK, you could argue that all this is just part of the normal fisty-cuffs of political discourse. The problem is that these guys aren't just SDL stooges but actively working against the economic well being of their countrymen. Their calls for Australia to ban Air Pacific, for instance, are economic sabotage. This puts them in an entirely different league to most regime critics. My own view is that they're traitors who deserve the strongest punishment were they ever to return to Fiji. And I think a lot of people would agree with me.
So we should discount Waqatairewa and Tui Savu becuase they supported a coup and instead support another coup.
Civil or Military I do not support coups or coup leaders. Frank will never deserve any more respect than George.
@coup is a coup is a coup
I couldn't agree more , this blog appears to always be splitting hairs about the difference of this coup and previous coups. I will be facinated as to how they see the benefits of the next coup compared to this one, because none of the coup supporters appear to even inclined to address that very real possibility. Why is there this naive bleating about 2014 when that doesn't even begin to address the capacity of the next military thug and his cronies to have his own coup, for whatever reason.
Beyond the pale said that Usaia Waqatairewa shouldn't be listened to because something he said was false.
Do you agree with this Croz? Our question was directed to you.
Do you support the tactic of trying to stop someone from speaking or being heard because you think what they say is not true?
We happen to think that what Usaia said is true: there is repression in Fiji, and Amnesty International agree. Should AI not be heard because Beyond the pale doesn't agree with him?
Tell us Croz. We want to know what YOU say because one thing we thought we agreed with you on is that all views would be heard if they are not abusing or denigrating people.
Va'vei Croz - tell us what YOU think.
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