N0129. RATU ILOILO PRACTISED WHAT HE PREACHED. Man of all people has left a new comment on your post "Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda 1920 - 2011":
Croz, It's interesting to see the outpouring of genuine sadness and fulsome tributes from the Indo-Fijian community at the death of the Tui Vuda. I don't think anyone realised the extent to which Ratu Iloilo not only engaged that community but stood alongside it.
I was struck by the tribute made by the Rev William Lucas, the head of the Indian division of the Methodist Church. He disclosed that when Ratu Iloilo was a teacher in Labasa, he chose to worship at the local Indo-Fijian church and was a lay preacher there. This is almost unheard of in the local context and speaks volumes for Ratu Iloilo's belief in a multiracial Fiji.
I agree with "What Matters Most?" that the Tui Vuda's more vocal critics need to have a good look at themselves. At the very least, anyone who practises what they preach when it comes to racial tolerance in Fiji is worthy of our collective respect. God knows there are precious few of them and until that changes, nothing else will. (See other comments by clicking 'Comments" at the end of the posting.)
N0130. WHAT AUSTRALIA WILL AND WILL NOT ACCEPT. Last year PM Bainimarama withdrew his invitation for the Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group to visit Fiji and see for themselves after NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, on leaving the Auckland meeting, told a TV audience exactly what he thought about all the bad things happening in Fiji. Bainimarama countered by saying if his mind was made up, there was no point in coming to see for himself.
Now Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles seems intent on doing the same thing. Speaking from Vila where the MCG is meeting, he has reaffirmed Australia's demand for elections before 2014, asked what concrete steps the Fiji government is taking "towards a return to democracy", and demanded Fiji re-establish "human rights and freedom of the press." He has even pre-empted Fiji's question on easing foreign sanctions by saying "Australia would not consider that at the moment."
Marles also seeks an invitation to MCG members to visit Fiji and has laid down the conditions for their visit. They must "have complete access to the political parties in Fiji, to the civil society in Fiji and to the church leaders in Fiji, so that we can have a really good understanding of where the country's at and where all opinions are at in Fiji about its future."
That sounds reasonable except, by singling out the political parties and church leaders (read Methodist Church leaders) he seems to want to talk most to people known to oppose the Bainimarama Government and, most importantly, to oppose the People's Charter that forms the basis of all Government reforms.
I doubt Bainimarama will agree. He has repeated said political parties based on race will not be allowed to stand in the 2014 election, and his stance on de-politicising the Methodist Church is well known. The most Marles can hope for is an agreed list; not one that would breathe new life into Qarase's SDL party whose racist policies while in government were a major cause of the 2006 Bainimarama Coup.
The purpose of the MCG meetings is to maintain dialogue with Fiji. It seems a strange way to start. But perhaps some progress can be made on Fiji’s participation in regional trade and economic deliberations, including PACER Plus negotiations. The Group will report to their respective leaders in preparation for the next Forum Leaders’ meeting in Auckland from 6-9 September.
Australia and New Zealand would win back some of the respect they have lost if, at this time when Fiji grieves the passing of its former president, they had the common courtesy to publicly express their condolences. So far I have seen no mention of his passing in the NZ media.
Fiji has invited the MCG to visit Fiji.
15 comments:
Australia and New Zealand were very clear cut when the initial coup took place in 2006. "No coup that removes a democratically elected government is justified" and so they immediately slapped sanctions and travel restrictions on those in any way part of the coup. The Aust/NZ press also followed exactly the same line. The latest comments show that they are following on the same line.
However, what about what has just happened in Egypt? Mubarak was ELECTED as recently as 2005 into his position as President. The army has now deposed him in a COUP and suspended the constitution (sound familiar). What is the response of the press and foreign governments (inc Aust/NZ), outrage and sanctions like for Fiji, no they are instead heroes. There are no sanctions or travel restrictions on the Egyptian military. I assume the son of some private in the army would have no trouble playing for Egypt in a junior side in NZ.
Why the is this coup treated differently to the one in Fiji? I assume because everyone thinks that Mubarak was not elected fairly, and his government is oppressive to certain groups and has a poor human rights record. But I don't remember anyone doing a similar assessment of the Fiji situation. It can be argued that Qarase was also not fairly elected, due to a biased system as well as vote buying and rigging. The human rights record of the Qarase government was also poor. His government included supporters and those implicated in two previous coups against Indo-Fijian governments (which included looting, murder, beatings etc). If this is not systematic human rights abuse against a specific group I don't know what is.
Croz, it would be great if you could do a more detailed analysis between these two coups and the response to them.
Croz
I am confused by your comments? Are you saying a return to democracy and freedom in Fiji ASAP is not a good thing? Do you not think a restablishment of human rights in Fiji is not a good thing? It is becoming increasingly alarming that you seem to believe a continuing of a dictatorship and an illegal repressive regime in Fiji is of benefit to the long term prosperity of the nation and the future for its children?
presumably if Bainamarams's mind is made up as well and he always appears intransigent, there is no point having a dialogue with him either.
It is unfortunate there has been no progress towards the return of democracy and the rule of law in Fiji. As in all dictatorships the economy is declining as investment falls away and poverty is increasing. The fact tht the PER is still in place and military censors remain in media offices says it all. Sadly, it appears Fiji is on a roadmap backwards for some time until democracym freedom and prosperity can be restored?
@Double Standards ...
I have made no reference to Egypt because the background and situations are totally different. The similarity is superficial.
@ Goodbye Murabak, You have no good reason to be confused with my position. I do not accept what you call a "return to democracy and the rule of law" as being in the best interest of Fiji at this present time. The democracy you espouse was undemocratic and the law did not treat all citizens equally.
@ No Progress ... The progress is in the Roadmap. As I've written many times, infrastructural and institutional reforms are proceeding as planned, and the constitutional and electoral reforms will commence next year. Do not mistake labels for contents. Democracy is more than a label and more than elections. Hitler was elected! I doubt 2014 will see a perfect democracy (whatever that may mean) but getting rid of race-based parties, electorates and policies must be an improvement on Qarase's tenure between 2001 and 2006.
Croz
Do you actually believe the bullshit you just wrote? If so, you really are delusional.
As the MCG has concluded. Just to remind you again. There has been NO progress AND sanctions will remain. I can't say it any simpler?
Once again we have Fiji and Australia talking about different things.
Both are again correct.
Fiji points to progress on the decree's, civil service, economy (questionable other than tourism?), roads, work in villages, bus fares etc - ALL CORRECT & MOSTLY TRUE
Australia points to the fact no progress has been made in returning Fiji to democracy. THIS IS ALSO CORRECT & MOSTLY TRUE. No draft constitution, no published roadmap etc. In fact Fiji has said it does not even plan on starting this work until 2012.
As many who have commented on this blog have said before Fiji's governent would do well to start work on returning Fiji to democracy NOW and not wait until 2012. This would show they are genuine to the World and indeed us here in Fiji. They can still not have the election till 2014 but for goodness sake start - its a big task and bost don't beleive it can be done in 12months !
Still on about the great Roadmap. So grand is the roadmap that no one is aloud to see it. I wonder what it holds that is such a secret. Maybe it spells out the ongoing role of the Military in everyday life and it remaining above and beyond the law ? Maybe it details how Frank will hand pick who is allowed to be elected ?
Maybe it talks about alternative dates to 2014.....like never. And just maybe they haven't got around to creating any real roadmap to democracy other than a promise in a speech that they would think about it in 2014. And we all know how the PM sticks to promises in speeches don't we....think about no one in the military benefiting from the coup as a starting point but also read his first roadmap on this site.
Here, here, Croz, it's "Total BS" who's covered in ordure, figuratively speaking. Why should there be any deviation from the timetables already announced? The regime has laid out what it will do and when and no amount of finger waving from outside will change anything. And, yes. ANYTHING, even a continuing dictatorship, would be better than the racist farce the country had to endure under Qarase. If you don't like that, stay in Australia or NZ or join the queues to go there. No democracy is perfect and when it comes, Fiji's won't be any different. But if there's true racial equality, it will have been worth the upheaval of the past couple of decades. Vaka malua is the way we want it now and, frankly, many of us like Fiji just the way it is under Frank. A BS-free zone where if you incite racial hatred, prepare for a buturaki up at the camp. Qori.
Croz
The MCG has told the dictator what he has to do. It should be clear even to him. The MCG will visit ON THEIR TERMS and see for themselves. If Bainimarama changes his mind and stops them visiting it is a WIN for the MCG. If the planned visit ON MCG TERMS goes ahead it is also a WIN for the MCG. It is what we call a WIN-WIN. Hope this helps any confusion you might have?
Croz, Radio Fiji deserves a rocket for its appalling coverage of the funeral of the Tui Vuda. Given the amount of time the national broadcaster had to prepare for the broadcast, its incompetence beggars belief. There were constant drop-outs, a long period of disconnection altogether in which we were taken back to the studio and an overall sound quality that was astonishingly bad. It seems as if they were doing the whole thing with one microphone and one telephone line. Indescribably terrible and a searing indictment of the FBC and its CEO Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. If I was Frank, I'd sack the lot of them. There's just no excuse for this kind of performance in the digital age. Truly, a national disgrace.
@Croz
I totally agree. The background and situations in almost all coups are different. The problem is that the Aust/NZ governments and criticts of Bainimarama have always tried to argue that "no coup is justified" and that is why we appose what Bainimarama did and applied immediate sanctions. The response to Egypt shows that maybe some coups are justified. However, Aust/NZ (or the press) never debated or analysed whether Bainimaramas actions were justified, so the whole stand against Fiji based on "principles" seems hollow to me, I beleive it is rather based on self-interest.
Yes, we tuned in for the funeral of the Tui Vuda and were also upset at not being able to hear it properly.
Radio Fiji owes the country an explanation. If it was a technical problem, fine. But we should be told what happened to make it such a disaster.
If they can't do this properly, how will they handle TV?
Io, the Fiji One TV News tonight was also a dog's breakfast, so maybe the media covering the funeral was jinxed. Stories all over the place, funeral packages obviously not ready on time, the reader looking like a frightened rabbit. Not their finest hour.They'll probably blame it all on the funeral happening in the west and putting strain on their resources in Lautoka. But they had plenty of time to organise it properly. Slack.
Radio fiji and fiji one ...I say blame the journalists...
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