(-+)The Leweni Nomination, Fiji after 2014, and Fiji's Poor PR.

Having spend 20 minutes on RadioNZ last night arguing a case that the Leweni (Photo FBC) nomination is not provocative, I read that Brig.Gen.Pita Driti says Fiji is "testing" New Zealand's sincerity. This is provocative. If NZ also decides to "test" Fiji's sincerity, the good work of the countries' Foreign Ministers will have come to nothing.

Meanwhile, PM Bainimarama has again said the proposed regional trade agreement PACER Plus, advocated by Australia and New Zealand, will not benefit Fiji. He may be right but this is not the time to say it.

His speech in Kadavu (see previous post) was also not helpful, leaving the impression of the military leaning on any future government not toeing the line. He presumably meant if it departed from the principles of the People's Charter (that few can disagree with, and which will will provide the framework for the new Constitution) but this was not made clear.

Diplomacy is about building bridges, not threatening them when construction has hardly begun. It is also about tact, timing, keeping your eye on the long term goals, and good PR, and being misunderstood only when intended.

I can't see how Fiji can possibly benefit if NZ does not accept LtCol Leweni as Fiji's senior representative in Wellington, good man that he might be.

Driti was right in one thing, though. He said Jone Baledrokadroka's claim on Radio NZ that Leweni was to go to Wellington to "spy ...is childish."

(o+) Leweni's Nomination: Why NZ Should Accept

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.

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.

*** 

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.

What's New? Imode and Pacific Scoop

Readers may be interested in two new on-line publications on the Pacific. Both have sections on Fiji.

Imode (Island Mode ) is an incredibly sophisticated "glossy" with a wide range of topics on the arts, culture, fashion, jewellery and modern lifestyles of Island people in Australia and the Islands written and edited by an Australian-based team including Fijians. It also has news and opinion sections. Its coverage of environmental decisions made at the Cairns Forum meeting is worth reading. Its Fiji political coverage less so -- the Sydney pro-democracy march, and Jone Baledrokadroka ... again! The Pacific needs a glossy to challenge Westerners' Island stereotypes, but if there's to be Fiji political coverage, it needs to do more than echo what can be read in the mainstream media. If it doesn't, it will merely be confirming another type of stereotype.

The other publication is Pacific Scoop (AUT's Pacific Media Centre's page on the NZ independent on-line paper Scoop) that has tabs to items on all Pacific islands. Today's Fiji post is an item on Samoan PM Tuilaepa's (photo) invitation to Bainimarama to visit Samoa for dialogue, when less than two months ago he had only insulting things to say about him. But read on, you'll see Tuilaepa's attitudes are unchanged, and somewhat condescendingly, he seems to believe Fiji has something to learn from Samoan-style democacy (and Samoa nothing to learn about Fiji's problems with "democracy") . But then he also believes the matai system was in place 3,000 years ago. Malie toa!

P.S. David Robie writes about Pacific Scoop.

(B) Two "On the Eve of the 2006 Coup" Articles are Well Worth Reading

Steven Ratuva on "The Politics of Preference (Voting)"
"The popular political myth is that democratic elections are won and lost on the basis of people’s direct choices.What we forget is that people’s choices have to go through the complex mechanics of the electoral process, endorsed by some ambitious politicians and drafted by some overpaid lawyers, which become the vehicle through which our democratic choices are legitimized." So wrote USP political scientist and commentator Steven Ratuva in the Fiji Times (May 1, 2006) just before the 2006 election. The election, using the contentious Alternative Voting system, hinged on six key Open seats in Greater Suva. The result saw Qarase's SDL party (with extreme Fijian nationalists and Speight 2000 Coup supporters as part of his team) returned to power. The slide towards December's Coup had begun. To read the whole article, click here.

Steven Ratuva on "Officers, Gentlemen and Coups" (On the Role of the Military in Civil Affairs)
[Former senior army officer] "John (Baledrokadroka) had a very deep commitment towards values of good governance, apolitical military and professionalism which I believe would have been the biggest ideological and intellectual force behind his resolve. Both Frank (Bainimarama) and John believed deeply in the reprofessionalisation of the military, re-democratisation of the country and the rounding up and punishment of the 2000 coup perpetrators but their differences revolved around their different approaches." [Bainimarama stood Baledrokadroka down in January 2006 probably because of his opposition to a coup as the means to bring about change.] To read the whole article, Click here.

(-) More on Baledrokadroka's Claim

... of the Military's Political Involvement in the 2006 Coup. In an interview with Fijilive, former Land Force Commander Lt Col. Baledrokadroka revealed that "a lot of politicians were going up to the camp prior to the December 5, 2006 coup and were colluding with the army". FLP Leader and deposed PM Mahendra Chaudhry said Baledrokadroka should produce proof and name them. [See last week's post, noting this correction: Allegations that Baledrokadroka conspired against Cdre Bainimarama were dropped. He was suspended in January 2006 and resigned in May 2007.]