My thanks to Coup4.5 for republishing this artice. Frankly, I'm surprised they published it because it adds further evidence to the view that the Lowy/Tebbutt poll and its report, that Victor Lal refers to as the "paper," is a reasonably acceptable statment on what a cross-section of urban Fijians think about the political situation.
Email claims Lowy Institute’s policy paper was designed to unmask Frank Bainimarama as Fiji’s dictator
By VICTOR LAL
An e-mail allegedly written by Jenny Hayward-Jones, Program Director of the Myer Foundation Melanesia Program at the Lowy Institute, suggests a recent paper on Fiji was a strategy designed to expose Frank Bainimarama as the dictator he is to an international community that has lost the conviction held by Australia.
Hayward-Jones, responding to a Fiji democracy campaigner, allegedly writes as follows: “The Fiji regime would reject the multilateral package of assistance for elections I have proposed but this will give Australia the clear evidence it needs to show Bainimarama will never restore democracy in Fiji and solidify crumbling international opinion against him.
"Sanctio[n]s don't have a happy history of convincing bad regimes to resign. They have even less chance of working when they are not universal. I abhor what the Fiji regime is doing.
"I'm also appalled by the damage they have been able to inflict on Australia's regional leadership and I wrote this paper because I think Australian policy can be more effective in helping restore democracy to Fiji over a few years. What is clear from the evidence is that current policy is not helping to restore democracy and may perversely be serving to entrench Bainimarama. But you don't need to worry about what I say.
"The foreign ministers of both countries have made it clear there will be no shift on either side, making it certain that there will be no improvements in Fiji and there will be be further undermining of Australia's interests. Kind regards Jenny Hayward-Jones.”
"Sanctio[n]s don't have a happy history of convincing bad regimes to resign. They have even less chance of working when they are not universal. I abhor what the Fiji regime is doing.
"I'm also appalled by the damage they have been able to inflict on Australia's regional leadership and I wrote this paper because I think Australian policy can be more effective in helping restore democracy to Fiji over a few years. What is clear from the evidence is that current policy is not helping to restore democracy and may perversely be serving to entrench Bainimarama. But you don't need to worry about what I say.
"The foreign ministers of both countries have made it clear there will be no shift on either side, making it certain that there will be no improvements in Fiji and there will be be further undermining of Australia's interests. Kind regards Jenny Hayward-Jones.”
Hayward-Jones was allegedly responding to the Lowry Institute’s paper “Fiji at Home and in the World”. The democracy campaigner had enquired from her: “I'm surprised that you think that John Howard and Kevin Rudd and now Julia Gillard, are all wrong in their approach to Fiji and have to ask why you have taken this stand! It's a ludicrous concept to suggest that anyone can reason with an alleged murderer and a man who has committed High Treason, let alone somebody who continues to have his own Citizens and fellow countrymen, tortured, detained and falsely accused of crimes to suit his own purposes. You of all people should be encouraging the Australian Government to do more to bring Frank Bainimarama to Justice and not be undermining the efforts our Governments have made.”
Prior to joining the Lowy Institute Hayward-Jones was an officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for 13 years, serving in the Australian missions in Port Vila and in Ankara (Turkey), where she was Deputy Head of Mission from 2004 to 2007. She worked as Policy Advisor to the Special Coordinator of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands from its inception in July 2003 and in 2004 and was a member of the election monitoring delegation in Solomon Islands in 2001.
Read her article Don't Ignore the Voice of Fiji's People by clicking on the following link, where she admits she was 'personally dismayed' to see so much support for Bainimarama in what appears to be an explanation, if not justification, for why the Lowy Institute published the controversial poll. Remember, the results of the Tebutt Research have been challenged by several quarters, including this blog, since its release last week at the Pacific Islands Forum.
http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2011/09/12/Dont-ignore-the-voice-of-the-Fijian-people.aspx
posted by Pacific in the Media
11 comments:
Croz
The Lowy poll is irrelevant. Like the MSG it has had no impact. About as successful as the Lowy led attempt to get the soccer WC to Oz. And about as much integrity if one listened to ABC Four Corners?
It is obvious that she is the master of double speak. I am confused. She obvioulsy can talk out of both sides of her mouth at the same time.
$150 million Qarase-SDL debt paid off.
FNP Natadola revalued 23% up. All due to tourism increasing and values of hotel back on the up and cash flow better.
Canadian Investors like the infrastructure in Fiji. Fiji's economic situation improves when most countries have negative reserves. Fiji's Foreign reserves increases again.
Go Fiji Go. And who knows to top it off we beat South Africa. Now that's just the icing we already have the cake.
It's not double-speak but some people prefer to delude themselves, as truth hurts - sometimes badly. To such people, 66percent disapproval of FB would have made them endorse the Tebbutt Research. Selectively, they ignore the fact that 98 percent would like people to have the right to vote at national elections and 96 percent are not in favor of media censorship. These two facts dispel the oft-promoted belief that people could not respond freely due to the pervasive fear of the army. Professor Wadan Narsey went to great length in dismissing the poll result and in the process lampooned the people who participated in the poll as those simpletons who could not comprehend the complex questionaire. Professor, accept the verdict of the people and show wisdom and maturity. It is simply criminal for the educated to manipulate academic processes to give vent to their prejudices and to demean the ordinary people is indicative of unjustified hysteria.
Condescension and naivety or, much worse, deliberate obfuscation, are strange attributes. Why were they not deployed when the two Qarase Administrations were holding sway? Or before they even got going? It is tempting to suggest that dollar bills and lucrative consulting contracts got in the way of wanting to know just how truly destructive these two governments had become. A kind of tearing at the entrails of existence for many. Yet the Lowy Institute and all who sailed in her, apparently were happy to......sail on? No attempted seeking of views then. Not even the time of day for those who might have looked askance at the early release of those who had soiled their reputations with hostage-taking and terror?
Somehow, there is an imbalance of attention and focus? As though none of us were to care about such matters and we had washed our hands and let them simply float away?
THe Lowy Institute needs to talk to Father Michael Lapsley and his Institute for the Healing of Memories in South Africa. There is much that can be done by South Africans whose history has a resonance with ours. The fact that Father Lapsley is also a New Zealander by birth adds a further helpful dimension.
the point is that had the poll gone the other way, no-one would have heard about it all would they??
@ sara'ssista
had the poll gone the other way, the advocates of "foreign flower" like Waqatairewa, Soli-arse etc would have made the loudest noise, claiming to be the legit voice of the people of Fiji. They have egg on their faces now.
I have always maintained that Bainimarama has the support of the people and this is evident in this latest research.
Fo my part I place his support roughly at 98.6% but the figure could be higher with those dissenting at about 1.4% give or take .5 of a percent.
The numbers of those dissenting is dwindling radiply this is due in part to the ever ineffectiveness of the domocracy movement they support.
Most supporters of this ineffective movement are beginning to see these blighters for what they are and that is of course their inability to gain any form of traction in unsetting the persom they despise.
Long Live Bai.
@ sara'ssista
Maybe not but memories NEVER go away, sara'ssista. It is the memories that linger on and which even in a culture of silence will eventually 'out'. We need to take memories seriously. We need to cast our mind's eye back and never under-estimate the sheer power of memory. Even today, the memories of those who escaped Auschwitz are testimony to all who were rubbed out, obliterated by racial animosity and hatred. Our memories are with us still - powerful for good or ill?
There are many Temm's pontificating with their heads in the sand. Fiji has endured the propaganda war waged relentlessly by Australia and New Zealand and it is now emerging victorious. Nine of the fourteen PIF members (excluding bullies Australia and New Zealand) were favourable towards Fiji's inclusion in the PIF. Where is democracy in the PIF? What kind of democracy Australia and New Zealand are talking about. It is nothing but neocolonoliasm mindset of these Pacific bullies who think that the islanders cannnot govern without their wisdom, guidance and assistance. In a true democracy, the PIF should have freely canvassed the views of the members, allowed free flow of views and taken a majority decision. But no, there are many ways to skin the cat and PIF just did not allow Fiji to come on the agenda, yet a majority had indicated support for inclusion of Fiji in the PIF. Democracy has always been hijacked, using devious tactics and John Key played similar tricks, aware that Fiji had a majority support. If PIF is not a democratic body itself, as every such body should prove itself through its actions, what right has it got to dictate on Fiji?
'Fiji is emerging victorious' well then why the continual beating about it's treatment. Why is it not aus and nz using the famous 'pacific way' of having our cake, eating it and having someone else pay. If you have a gripe, let it be with your brothers the region who speak out of both sides of their mouths and appear gutless in the presence of their big brothers. The 'support' is all well and good until you ask them to speak up and pay for it themselves. Perhaps u see opening an embassy in south America a victory, perhaps to assist all those fiji tourists and facilitate all that trade? Perhaps brazil can pay for the faux elections.
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