Why Fiji First May Lose the Next Election if it Doesn't Do Something Soon

The image: Puppet and Puppet Master. pn245

UPDATE. See 'A Good Start' at the end.
I was going to write a response to Rajendra Prasad's second article (pn219) in which he suggested Rabuka and Bainimarama shake hands over a bowl of grog and engage in consensual politics but events have overtaken my intention. 

PM's New Year Message

Pn7. Bula Vinaka and a very Happy New Year to you all.

As we end the past year and celebrate the coming of 2016, I hope you are all able to take the time to reflect on what we have been able to achieve and focus on the path ahead of us–a path that will take Fiji and all Fijians to even greater levels of success and prosperity.

In 2015, we completed our first full year as a true democracy, and the Fijian people had the opportunity to see their votes and their voices become actions.

2015 was indeed a year of action. It was a year of achievement and it was a year in which Fiji truly came into its own as a model Pacific Island country. 

We witnessed how successful a Government can be when it remains untainted by ethnic considerations and division. How effective it can be when it awards on the basis of merit. How fair it can be when it embraces common and equal citizenry for all Fijians. And how successful the country can be when we focus on growing the economy for the well-being and prosperity for all. These values have led us to become a more unified country, and the world has taken notice.

This year, I had the opportunity to visit the Fijian diaspora around the globe and tell them what we have been able to accomplish as a new Fiji. I let them know that Fiji is back, better than ever before, and that we are open for business.  

The changes that we have implemented were long-awaited by many of our Fijian brothers and sisters overseas -- and it was an emotional time, as we reconciled with many people who were told that Fiji was no longer home for them. They recognised the progress we’ve made, and many committed themselves to walk side by side with us towards an even more prosperous and united future for our country.

As we recapture what we lost, and rebuild relationships with many Fijians who were driven away, we will strengthen our global presence. And with their knowledge and investment, and together with our home-grown talent, we will take our economy to even greater heights. That is why reconnecting with our people living abroad is so important.

My fellow Fijians,

Last year I asked you all to capitalise on our transition into democracy, and I am proud to say we are meeting that challenge every day. In 2015, we built upon our education revolution, we continued to improve and modernise our infrastructure – connecting more and more Fijians to roads, water and electricity - and we logged our sixth consecutive year of economic growth.

Our schools continue to equip our children with new technology in the classroom that will keep our students, and future workforce, competitive on the regional and global stage. Our infrastructure continues to develop, bringing essential services to every corner of the country. Our economy is improving every day, and my Government will remain committed to making sure that the benefits reach every level of our society. All of this was made possible because the vast majority of Fijians are focused on the future, they don’t live in the past, and they don’t want to go back to the politics and ways of the old. They have stood as one people, together, to confront the obstacles that came our way and now step into the future confidently. 

My fellow Fijians,

To strengthen our stand as one modern nation, free from its colonial past and to give ample opportunity to Fijians of all ages, and in particular our youth, to further contribute and consider what symbols most rightly represent our wonderful nation; my Government has decided to further extend the feedback period for designs for the new national flag to 29 February, 2016. The Government has received a number of new submissions since the 23 designs were published earlier this year.

The new time frame will be as follows: From 1^st to the 19^th of March 2016, 5 designs will be chosen, through the PM’s Office, for you all to vote on. Members of the public will have 3 months to vote on the 5 designs through public consultations, social media and text messaging. It is expected that the design with the most votes will be announced on 1 July to be our new national flag. The new national flag will be raised on Constitution Day which is on September 7.

I urge you all to join our pursuit for a flag that represents who we are today, rather than our past and one we can fly proudly into the future.

With that said, my fellow Fijians, our work can’t stop here. There is much that is left to be done, not only to reach our potential in the short-term, but also to pass on better opportunities to our future generations. That means leaving our children and grandchildren a world, and environment, that we can be proud of. 

Recently, I was in Paris at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change advocating a strong deal that addressed the threat climate change poses to our region and demanded real action on the part of developed countries.

At the start of this month, the UN laid out the Paris Agreement. It’s not everything we asked for, but it is still a step in the right direction. But now, more than ever, our commitment will be tested as we continue to fight to make sure the strong words printed on the agreement take the form of real, binding cuts on emissions through the developed world.

I am counting on other small island Leaders to stand fast, as we have in the months leading up to the Conference, and on our development partners to continue collaborating with us as we push forward in mitigating the effects of climate change. By having a national co-ordinated approach, we will mainstream climate change issues to all the Government Ministries and ensure that we are able to source the right levels of financial support and allocations.

My fellow Fijians,

I hope that you have been able to spend quality time with your families and loved ones this holiday season. Families are the backbone of our country, and we must do what we can to protect the sacred bonds of trust that hold our families together. That is why I have committed to using every available opportunity I have to condemn domestic violence and sexual assault that plague our society.

The law punishes these crimes severely, but we need to create a culture that disgraces anyone who even thinks about abusing or assaulting our women and children. And people who commit these atrocities should be mortified to show their faces in our communities and in our society.

When we allow violence to persist in our most private settings, when we have such a fundamental breach of trust, it creates an epidemic of destructive and immoral behaviour that spreads throughout our society, and it is our collective responsibility to prevent that from happening. As Fijians, we should be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and know that we are doing our utmost to protect those who cannot always protect themselves. So, I call on all of you to join me in this mission to ensure that every Fijian woman and child lives a fulfilling life that is free from violence and abuse. 

As we close out 2015, let us, above all, thank God for the many blessings, and let’s resolve to do our best to keep building a better Fiji.

Wherever you are on this New Year’s Day, I wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2016.

Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.

_________________

Twittering on Egypt, Kai Solomoni Organize, Minerals to Pass Tourism, Govt Looks Silly

Check out the new Quote for the Week in the right sidebar and the Weekend Reading and 

late Friday postings  (and comments) by scrolling down.

N0110. I DON'T GET IT. Perennial anti-government agitator, Peter Waqavonovono, president of the Fiji Young People's Concerned Network that appears to have no other members, has told ABC's Bruce Hill that many Fiji youth are using Twitter and Facebook to get information about the political unrest in Cairo. He says this is because the Fiji media is self-censoring news on Egypt. A quick survey by ABC, however, found that the Fiji Times and Fijilive have both carried comprehensive and balanced reports on the events in Egypt. So why, ABC, did you give this Peter Pan, who incredibly sees parallels between Fiji and Egypt, this free air time? When is no news news?  My source: via www.pacmediawatch.aut.ac.nz

N0111.BETTER THINGS TO DO. The news that the PM may tour Russia later in the year to boost tourism and trade makes incredible reading. The PM is critical to what is happening in Fiji and the less time he spends out of the country the better. Each overseas trip offers opportunities for rumour and speculation. Someone should go to Russia and other new countries where Fiji's interests can be advanced, but not the PM. -- Based on 2011 No:0305/MOI.

N0112. KAI SOLOMONI ORGANIZE. One of Fiji's most disadvantaged groups, the 35,000 plus descendants of Solomon Islander indentured labourers who worked the European copra plantations in the late 19th century, have formed the Solomon Islands Descendants Association to protect their interests. The Kai Solomoni married Fijian women and today they are all but Fijian except in name.  But the name is very important. Among some Fijian tribes, inheritance was only through the male line and this practice was adopted by the British for all Fijians. The result, for Kai Solomoni, is that they have no rights to Fijian-owned land. Had their fathers been Fijian, it would have been another story.

N0113. MINERALS TO PASS TOURISM. Lands and Mineral Resources Minister Netani Sukanaivalu  predicts that the booming mineral resources industry will earn billions of dollars annually for the next 20 to 30 years, and will overtake tourism as Fiji's biggest income earner.  Besides the Namosi gold-copper mine and the Vatukoula gold mine, the Tuvatu Gold Mine and the black sand in the Ba delta will soon be operating, and oil and gas exploration will commence in five months."We have three companies that are applying for an exploration licence to mine our deep sea and we have the oil exploration right now and they will start drilling in June or July at Naselai," the Minisster said.  Bauxite in Bua and a re-opened Mt Kasi gold mine are only a little further down the road.

N0114.GOVERNMENT MADE TO LOOK SILLY. Former PM and FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry  was charged for breaking the Public Emergency Regulations and detained for three days last October. He claimed at the time that the charges were baseless, as he was meeting with sugar cane farmers in his capacity as general secretary of the National Farmers Union. But he was charged nonetheless.  After several delays in bringing the charge to court,

Government withdrew the charges last week. What a waste of everyone's time and money. Chaudhry is right. PER should be lifted. Other laws exist for those who seek to break the peace.

Potato Import Substitution, Grassroots Governance and Rural Shops, I'taukei Defined, Thai-Poosam

N0039. POTATOES IN FIJI'S LITTLE ISRAEL. When Jews set up kibbutz (agricultural villages) in British Palestine from  the early 20th century until the 1950s, they turned land only fit for grazing into highly profitable farms.  In a smaller way this is what is happening at Tadravula near Seaqaqa in Vanua Levu.

There 1,600 acres of land, previously owned by the then Native Lands District Commission that had been idle for 20 years, is being turned into a large integrated vegetable and fruit farm that will produce potatoes as its major crop. The farm is being operated by an Australian company Farm 2 UFresh Fiji Limited that so far has sunk $2 million into the project.

Managing director Aaron Sharma said they are planting 25 acres of potatoes every week and will soon harvest the same amount in a sustainable system to ensure continuous supply. Sharma hopes to harvest more than one million kilograms in a year.

The farm is seen as a major player for import substitution, and part of government's intention to ensure that all available idle land is brought into production.

N0040. RURAL SHOPS,  many little more than stores serving only one village, require a licence to open, and the price of licences has gone from $30 a few years back to $200 today. 

During a talanoa session with the PM last week villagers in Veinuqa, Namosi, complained this was too much but all their complaints had fallen on deaf ears.  They'd merely been told the $200 now covered all essential services such as the National Fire Authority. It didn't seem to matter that a fire engine could not get to the village and even if it could the whole village would be in flames before it arrived.

The PM has asked the Commissioner Central and the Provincial Development permanent secretary to look into the matter with the authorities concerned. The villagers hope to open a shop in the near future. -- Based on 2011, No:0071 /MOI.

N0041. ITAUKEI MUST DEFINE THEMSELVES.  Institute of Indigenous Studies CEO Emitai Boladuadua has called on itaukei to be educated in their history, culture and language or run the risk that "others will define who we are and what we are ...  We have continually seen ourselves as others did. We have yielded and ceded to them the authority as well as the legitimacy to define us. We need to act now [to change this], he said, drawing particular attention to the need to reinforce the i'taukei worldwide view about the centrality of relationship and reciprocal obligations. Head of the Institute's Academic Unit, former USP university lecturer and deputy PM in the short-lived Chaudhry government, Dr Tupeni Baba said: “We need to repair and rediscover our place in our land. We cannot change the past. however, we can correct and repair the damage that has been done to our culture and identity.”

N0042.VAARSHIKA THAIPOOSAM THIRUNAAL. Thousands of Hindu devotees  gathered at the Sri Siva Subramanya Swamy Temple in Nadi to celebrate the 85th annual Vaarshika Thaipoosam Thirunaal yesterday. The ten-day celebration is expected to attract devotees from around the country and from abroad. People of all races and religions are welcome to take part.

Vaarshik Thai-Poosam Thirunaal is a time of fasting and meditation when devotees show their respect for the Hindu god of war, Subramaniam, who symbolises the victory of good over evil. The festival takes place during the 10th month of the Tamil calendar, which is called Thai and on the day the full moon passes in front of the star, Poosam.

Devotees carry the karvadi (a burden in which a load is tied to the ends of a pole and carried over the shoulders) but many have gone beyond the simple burden and in return for a blessing, they pin themselves with silver needles, long metal spikes and fish hooks. A Thai-Poosam devotee purifies himself by months of a vegetarian diet, and abstinence from alcohol, cigarettes, sexual activities and other forms of contamination. Only after the prayers, does he return to a normal life.

Lottery Scandal, No One Indian People, Schools Name Change, Mai TV, Land Bank & Mining, Scholarships & Manpower Training, Roads, Apostolic Whoops!

N0010. LOTTERY FUNDS MISUSED. Several serious allegations have surfaced in the Commerce Commission Report in relation to the Fiji Rugby Union lottery case. The Commission says the FRU lottery bank account showed it had $104,000 The Commission findings, however, showed that as at 30th December the  balance in the FRU lottery bank account totalled only $104,000. With lottery sales  the  balance should have been  $350,000.

Some money could still be coming in from vendors but it appears that only half the tickets were sold. It also appears ticket money has been used for  airfares, accommodation, visa application and game tickets for the 2010 Hong Kong 7s for a senior FRU Lottery Director. Government  has asked the FRU Board and Executive to resign.

STOP PRESS. Bill Gavoka  has resigned as FRU chairman but remains on the Board. Rafaele Kasibulu, who will lead talks with Government to discuss its demands, is effectively the interim Chairman.

N0011.WHEN IS AN INDIAN NOT AN INDIAN.  My  article on this topic published on Saturday in Weekend Reading was republished by AUT's Pacific Media Centre.The photo, courtesy of PMC, is Indo-Fijian girls performing a Pacific dance item.  The article drew this (slightly edited) comment from a reader:

"This is interesting and a helpful discussion on a subject which has been fraught with far too much emotion in the past.

My advice has always been: strive for cultural understanding, but guard against cultural stereotyping. I believe the word "Indian" describes only one's nationality. In the Fiji context it has overtones which lead directly to ethnic stereotyping and profiling. Otherwise educated analysts tell us that the "Indians" want one or other political solution, or that they want to preserve their cultural identity. Who are these "Indians" who think in such a homogeneous way? The same mistake has been made about the  i'taukei. That they should be united and think as one.

"Really? The best situation for Fiji is that we accept that all individuals regardless of culture and ethnicity should be able to pursue their individual dreams. Not to be driven by the narrow walls of what they ought to believe. In fact in the current political situation in Fiji, there are persons of all ethnicities which oppose the government just as there are persons of all ethnicities which support it.

"There is no Indo-Fijian way of thinking,  just as there is no "European-Fijian" way of thinking. When the British tried to codify custom in the Fijian Administration, the most significant mistake they made (apart from creating new "customary" institutions such as the Fijian courts) was to assume that there was one homogeneous Fijian way of life. Nayacakalau wrote of this in the most gentle  way. There is no one Fijian people, just a number of individuals who share some cultural characteristics. And they all think differently from each other.There is no one Indian people in Fiji or elsewhere.

It is time to grow up and to stop defining people's thoughts, politics and aspirations in terms of their ethnic origin.I liked your article very much. Thanks, Nitesh."

N0012. SCHOOLS CHANGING RACE-BASED NAMES. All schools with race-based names are now being changed.

N0013. MAI TV has launched a free 24 hours web channel aimed primarily at overseas Fijians. Besides the news broadcast at 7pm you will be able to watch a range of popular programmes and more will be launched over the coming weeks. All you have to do is register with an email address and password on the Mai TV’s home page www.maitv.com.fj  Note, however, that the company reserves the right to charge for services sometime in the future.

N0014. LAND BANK & BAUXITE MINING at Nawailevu in Bua is expected to start by March according to the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources on an area of Native land previously leased to Fiji Pine. Aurum Exploration Fiji paid Fiji Pine $1m so that the land could revert to landowners from the Mataqali Nalutu, Mataqali Noro and Mataqali Naicobo.

In turn, the mataqali offered the land to the Government Land Bank, and last week the PM designated the first parcel of  land for bauxite mining.  Aurum will have a 99-year lease on the land and a surface mining licence is expected to be issued in March. The Land Bank is a government initiative aimed at giving leasees more secure tenure, landowners an assured income, and bringing more land into productive use.-- Based on 2011, No:0025 /MOI.

The PM said “The significance of the activation of the Land Bank is that many of our idle lands could now be leased through the Land Use Decree 2010 and be made productive for the betterment of landowners, investors and the country as a whole. Landowners who willingly choose to have their lands leased through the Land Use Decree will now be in a position to reap fair and just returns. They will also receive the full quantum of the premium and land rent. I know that this is one of the key issues that landowners have been calling for in the past decades." Government will also ensure the investors security of tenure. -- Based on 2011, No:0023 /MOI.

N0015. MINING PREDICTED AS TOP EXPORTER EARNER. In an ABC broadcast chairman of Fiji's Mining and Quarrying Council, Harvey Probert,  predicts mining will be Fiji's main export earner within five years.

N0016. SCHOLARSHIPS & MANPOWER TRAINING. Some $14million has been allocated for Government Scholarships and Training, under the Public Service Commission and Multi-Ethnic Affairs Scholarship Programme for 2011.  The money will assist about one thousand continuing students in Fiji and overseas, and about the same number of new students.  The fund will be administered by the PSC which also coordinates training programmes funded by bilateral partners.

PSC PermSec Parmesh Chand said there will be a completely new set of criteria in place next year as required by virtue of principles enshrined in the People’s Charter for Change, Peace & Progress and the Roadmap for Sustainable Economic Development & Democracy. Government's focus is on capacity building, and the PSC will ensure a prudent use of resources to enhance the knowledge, skills and expertise of the civil service, as well as the private sector.  -- Based on 2011, No:0010 /PSC.

Mr Chand emphasised that a professional, committed and ethical workforce can only be achieved through on-going capacity building, and for this reason, a supportive training culture is encouraged, so that the training needs of the nation can be effectively addressed.

N0017. ROAD WORKS. Potholes may be a thing of the past on major roads if government manages to complete current and intended road works by 2014. The Ministry of Works  is concentrating on tourist areas, along with the main roads and farm roads. The Nadi Back Road is half complete and work will soon commence in Ba, Sigatoka and Rakiraki.

N0018. WOOPS! FIJI SUN IN ORBIT. The heading read "Apostolic congress hailed by Catholics." But  it wasn't.  The article was about the Catholic Apostolic Church that originated in England in the 1830s.  The (Roman) Catholic Church is just a little older. You can't always believe what you read in the press.

When is an Indian Not an Indian

By Crosbie Walsh 

(a Causasian, once English New Zealander with Maori, Pacific and Indian overlays) 

Note: editorial changes have been made to this article since it was first posted.

The Bainimarama government recently decreed that all Fiji citizens would be known as Fijian and ethnic Fijians as i'taukei.  The move, in line with Pillar 2 of the People's Charter*, which is intended to help nation-building, was understandably objected to by many "Fijians," not because they were not i'taukei — which they demonstrably are — but because they had got used to this name, bestowed on them by Tongans, as exclusively theirs. All other citizens, excepting Rotumans,  were vulagi (visitors) no matter how long their ancestors had lived in Fiji. 

Charter Progress Yes But, Country in Deep Debt, Garment Exports, Wadan N's 'Disappearance,' Touché

PROGRESS ON CHARTER PILLARS BUT ... Earlier in the month representatives of ministries, departments and agencies reported to the National People's Charter Advisory Council (NPCAC) on their progress on implementing the eleven Charter pillars. Council chairman Josefa Serulagilagi said that the council had had six meetings, deliberating on tasks assigned to it in terms of monitoring progress on Charter provisions.

“We have made steady progress throughout the year and have been successful in ensuring that relevant pillars of the charter are well integrated into the work programme activities of Government and also to ensure there is greater level of ownership by ordinary members of the public in the implementation of the Charter.”

He said the Charter was a very powerful document that was fully integrated in government’s Roadmap for Democracy and Sustainable Economic Development and as such is of significant assistance in our quest for building an inclusive and a prosperous Fiji. -- Based on 2010, No: 2090/PSC.

This, of course, is good news but if the NPCAC truly wants more "ownership by ordinary members of the public," it should release the names of its members and the terms of their appointment, and it should be far more proactive in getting Government to publish the Roadmap. Why such an important document has taken so long to be turned from working draft to official publication defies explanation.

ANOTHER DAY OLDER AND DEEPER IN DEBT.  Think of a country that's deeply in debt, where imports exceed exports, where investment's risky, and where its dollar is worth less and less.  Obvious, isn't it? Fiji. Professor Narsey told us so. But no, this is not quite the right answer.

The editorial I was reading was not about Fiji; it was about New Zealand.  Apparently my country "is in deep hock to the rest of the world; our total indebtedness is on a similar scale to the so-called PIGS – Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain...Standard & Poor's has downgraded the outlook of our sovereign debt." Moreover, our Institute of Economic Research warns about "our dollar battered by global currency wars." It's lost over 10% of its value against the Australian dollar in less than a year. We need to maintain our exports and save more and spent less.

The editorial says we have "raft of deep-seated, home-grown problems that stand between us and prosperity" and we require honesty to face these problems.  Now this does sound like Fiji. Where does the editorial say NZ should look for inspiration and example?  To Singapore that has "transformed itself [by] determined long-term planning." Isn't this where Fiji's been looking?  Reference:" NZ Listener Dec 18-24.

GARMENT EXPORTS UP, ATTRACT AUSSIE INVESTORS. Ten years garments were Fiji's largest industry but as preferential trade agreements with Australia, NZ and Europe, and quotas to the US were removed, markets collapsed and fly-by-night Chinese investors fled the country leaving bills and workers unpaid. The global recession and severe flooding in 2009 didn't help, either. The industry was in serious trouble. But now, thanks largely to reforms within the industry, things are looking up.

Last year, income from garments contributed 30% of Fiji's $3.5 billion GDP. Importers from Australia are interested, with some showing an interest in direct investment. Exports this year seem likely to be worth close to $100 million.

Textile, Clothing and Footwear Council president Kalpesh Solanki told a recent fashion exhibition in Melbourne: "We focus on flexibility. We Focus on small, customized orders. We practice a high degree of social responsibility. We speak clear and fluent English. And most of all we deliver quality. For any international company that needs superior quality at competitive prices with great service, clear communications and that requires social accountability concerning how their products were manufactured, then I say that you need to ‘Make it in Fiji’!” Besides Australia (AusAID helped the reforms), UK, US, New Zealand and Japan are also vital clientele for Fiji garments.

[I'm not too sure about the social responsibility claim. Many workers are paid only a little over a dollar an hour, far below the poverty line, and employer pressure has seen government defer minimum wage legislation for another two years.]

RESPONSE FROM WAGES COUNCILS.

The Editor, The Fiji Sun

letters@fijisun.com.fj

Dear Sir,

I am sure many people were pleased to read the statement of Mr Kalpesh Solanki concerning the garment industry in the Sunday Sun (19^th December). He speaks in very positive terms about his hopes for the garment industry in Fiji and suggests estimated exports could come close to $100 million this year because of new investor interest.

Mr Solanki said: “Our industry has undergone a successful transformation over the past four years that will benefit our clients ... “. He acknowledges financial assistance and support received from AusAID to “redefine, regenerate and retool Fiji’s garment industry from the bottom up”. He also notes that besides Australia, the UK, US, New Zealand and Japan are also vital clientele for Fiji garments.

This should certainly be good news for those working in the garment industry in Fiji. Currently their wages are the lowest in the country at $1.50 an hour for beginners and $1.78 for others and have not been adjusted for two years. Moreover there should be no reason now for employers from the garment sector to oppose wage increases established by the Wages Council.

It was also good to hear Mr Solanki assure his audience that: “We practice a high degree of social responsibility”. I trust that workers in the textile, clothing and footwear industry can now look forward to being beneficiaries of this newly proclaimed high degree of social responsibility.

Yours sincerely,

Fr Kevin Barr, Chairman of the Wages Councils

ROD EWINS ON WADAN NARSEY'S 'DISAPPEARANCE.' Dr Rod Ewins is a fourth generation Fiji European, an expert on Fijian traditional art, now resident in Australia where he is a professor and honorary research assistant at the University of Tasmania. He keeps himself well informed on Fiji and visits regularly. Writing to friends about Prof Wadan Narsey's recent article on the 2011 Budget he noted that Wadan had been a consistent and vocal opponent of the government, and the "language in which he expresses his opposition is not always quite temperate."  He went on to say:

"It does occur to me in reading this [article]  that if Fiji were actually as draconian as he paints it having become, he would himself have either disappeared, be languishing in gaol, or at the very least have lost his USP position because of pressure brought to bear on the university administration.  In the countries to which Fiji is often compared by the most extreme critics of the current state of affairs, one of those things would certainly have occurred, probably all three in reverse order. That none of these has happened perhaps might provide hope that, though I have no doubt that there is much that is valid in his criticisms, particularly of things fiscal, overall things are not quite as bad as he paints them.

"But I realise that by even entertaining that possibility, I become what he would label a "European coup collaborator"! My definition of an extremist is one who holds the view that "he who is not with me is against me." I reject that view from either side. I don't think it is just that my eyesight is failing with advancing years that makes me see the world in multiple shades of grey rather than in black and white these days. I prefer to think it is the dawning of tolerance, something in very short supply in today's world."

TOUCHÉ. A reader writes: "If, as is claimed, Indo-Fijians, Europeans and Part-Europeans are coup collaborators, this must make Wadan Narsey among others coup collaborators. But how is ethnicity even relevant when people of all races lie on both sides of the political debate?"

Did you read what Mark Twain had to say about petrified opinion? 

See Quote for the Week in the right sidebar.

Sydney Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement Rally

FDFM RALLY SATURDAY 2 OCT. SYDNEY. Posted by Sevu Waqa on the The Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement website:

National Language Misunderstanding, Dual Citizenship, Sugar Debts Detailed

WHAT'S IN A WORD? 

GOVERNMENT AGAIN CREATES MISUNDERSTANDING. 

The Government announcement that it is considering a national language for Fiji (most probably Bauan Fijian) has been misunderstood -- and no wonder. It did not clarify what it meant by a national language. 

Today's press release from the Rev. Akuila Yabaki of the Citizen's Constitutional Forum provides an example. The CCF calls on Government "to respect multiculturalism and diversity [and] not to declare one particular language as the national language for Fiji, as this would be detrimental to Fiji’s image as a multicultural nation with diverse identities."

The cause of the misunderstanding will be immediately seen when considering Singapore which has four official languages -- Malay, Mandarin, English and Tamil-- and one national language -- Malay: the language of the original inhabitants. Fiji at present has three official languages -- Fijian, Hindi and English -- but no national language. To make Fijian the national language, therefore, would in no way detract from the existing official languages, but it would show a special respect for the language of the original inhabitants. New Zealand has three official languages -- English, Maori and NZ Sign.

BAUAN FIJIAN? Readers will note that I have referred to Bauan Fiji. When the first Europeans arrived in Fiji there were over 300 "communalects" or dialects, many unintelligible to other itaukei with whom they commonly shared no more than 60% cognates on a standard word list; roughly the same as Dutch and German or Portuguese and Spanish.  Linguists grouped the communalects into two major and 27 minor groupings, 12 in the west of Viti Levu and 15 in the east of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Lomaiviti and Lau.  Bauan became the official itaukei Fijian language thanks to British colonialism and the military prowess of Bauan chief Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau (painting). Many dialects are now extinct or close to extinction and spoken only by old people.  A strong case could be made for the revival of the more robust communalects because as language is lost so also are much of the history and culture of its speakers.

The CCF supported the recent move by government to name all Fiji citizens as ‘Fijians.’

-- Based on Paul Geraghty in Walsh, Crosbie: Fiji: an Encyclopaedic Atlas 2006:388-389.

DUAL CITIZENSHIP. Some 1054 people applied for dual citizenship in the year ending July and 857 applications were approved.The dual citizenship status was granted under the Citizenship Decree which came into effect in April 2009. The Decree allows for any child, spouse and former Fiji citizen to apply for citizenship by registration and also allows foreigners who are working, investing or residing in Fiji for the last ten years to apply for Fiji citizenship by naturalization.

The Decree was introduced to allow those that have left Fiji to return and re-invest in the country.Many of those whose applications were granted have invested in property, farming and tourism developments.

SUGAR DEBTS SPELT OUT. The Fiji Sugar Corporation needs to pay one third of its total borrowings over $60million in the next 12 months. This was announced in its audited financials for the year ending May 31, 2010.

According to the report, the FSC has total borrowings of over $180m from the Export Import Bank of India ($84m), the Fiji National Provident Fund ($44m), the Reserve Bank of Fiji ($22.5m), Sugar Cane Growers Fund ($8m), Bank of Baroda ($19m), Bank of South Pacific ($1.4m), Westpac Bank (overdraft $1.4m).

The EXIM Bank loan was signed in November 2007 for the upgrade of mills, repayments to be made twice a year over a 10-year period. A grace period or moratorium for two years was granted but this was extended to three years, which means repayments start after the end of November. The RBF loan, which was through the purchase of FSC bonds, incurs an interest rate of 7 to 8 per cent to be paid bi-annually and to be paid in full by 2014, the report said. “The loan from the FNPF of $29.3m and borrowings by way of promissory notes of $4.73m are subject to interest at the rate of 12% and 10% per annum respectively and are payable by 31 May, 2011, and 9 October 2010, respectively,” the report said. “During the year, default interest was charged by FNPF for seven days due to delay in rollover of the loan. These borrowings are secured by the government guarantee.

Bonds worth $10m were also bought by the FNPF with the interest rate of 7%to be paid twice a year and repaid by November 5, 2014.The BoB loan (through promissory notes) incurs an interest rate of 8.5-9% per cent per annum repayable by November 11 this year while the borrowing from BSP is to be paid by next month.

All the borrowings were secured through government guarantee.

Comment Quality, Dorsami Naidu, Rural Electrification, Poverty, Land Safe; Forget Elections

CRITICAL BUT HELPFUL. Thank goodness. The quality of comments to postings has improved  with critical but helpful and forward-looking comments once again outnumbering the  totally negative and unhelpful. Thinking... Not Sleeping again leads the pack with the observation that those commenting on "progress" or the lack of it are talking past each other because they are talking about different things. Top Five Top Spin Items also makes what I think is a valid criticism of Government, and comes up with what they could say.

Both these readers are, I think, basically supportive of what Government says it intends to do.  They are just not very impressed with some of the ways they're going about it. The saddest and most disturbing feature of the present political scene is that Government has given very little indication that it welcomes the opinions of people who, with only a little encouragement,  could be its friends.


DORSAMI IRONY. Fiji Law Society president, former MP and anti-government critic Dorsami Naidu  has been fined $1,500 and $1,428 costs by the country’s Independent Legal Services Commission for professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct. The irony is that he has also been ordered to undertake ten hours of study in conveyancing, real property and practice management with the syllabus to be approved by the Chief Registrar. This ruling was due his being found guilty of overcharging in billing an estate failing to inform a buyer that the land he was purchasing was co-owned. Justice Connors said Naidu’s conduct calls for a “small monetary penalty rather than a public reprimand in the light of the position he holds within the legal profession ...[his]  conduct is in many respects concerning and whilst it does not display dishonesty it shows a lack of appreciation of practice management principles and the obligations of legal practitioners under the Trust  Account requirements.There is also displayed a disturbing lack of understanding of conveyancing and real property principles."

VILLAGE ILLUMINATION. Two remote Naitasiri villages with 182 families  switched on their lights for the first time last night. Taking electricity to the villages cost $145,000 and is part of the Roadmap.

HEALTH RECOVERY. Some health charges will increase soon to help recover costs and improve health services. Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma said " We also need to upgrade, so all of these issues need to be factored in. The fact is that nothing comes free in this world. We have to be able to provide quality services at all costs.” Increases have been made to the Medical Certificate and Report fees, dental fees, X-Ray fees, and laboratory charges.

POVERTY ALLEVIATiON.The Poverty Alleviation Ministry is waiting for submissions from minority groups to finalise the definition of poverty in Fiji’s context. Poverty Eradication Unit head Tokasa Leweni says the minority groups were not well represented during the consultation in the central, west and the northern division.Leweni says they anticipate finalizing the paper for Cabinet approval next month.

LAND SAVED. Speaking to the Lau Provincial Council yesterday, the PM assured the i-Taukei community that no one is going to take their land away from them. The new Land Use Decree is intended to make more land available for productive and social purposes. Landowners will benefit as more land would be utilised. "Government is also mindful of improving its service to maritime islands," he added.

Earlier,  Commissioner Eastern, LtCol Ifereimi Vasu urged Lauans to help find answers to the ongoing out-migration that could see the islands' population decimated.He acknowledged that out-migration cannot be stopped but can be minimised, even though the driving force for the movement seems to be the quest for higher education. The challenge, he said, is to convince those in the villages to remain there and use the abundant natural resources to lift their standards of living. Funds allocated for development in Lau would depend entirely on population and demand.

Forget elections, Bainimarama told

http://www.radiofiji.com.fj/fullstory.php?id=30094 Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Taken from / By: FBC News

The people of Lau have told the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama to forget elections and concentrate more on development.

The province indicated their support to Bainimarama and urged him to continue developments for the country as they have witnessed the work and promises fulfilled by the Government for the people.

FBC News reporter Sekope Toduadua filed this report during the Provincial Council meeting which started yesterday.

"Lets forget about elections and lets focus on more and more development.

Those are the words of encouragement and support from the people of Lau province to Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama as he officially opened the two day Lau Provincial council meeting yesterday.

Speaking on behalf on the people of Lau, the Turaga Tui Ono Waisea Davuiqalita from Onoi-lau Island says they feel their cries have been heard.

He says the people of Lau are satisfied that Fiji is back on track and they have witnessed the development and what government is doing right now.

Davuiqalita says promises by government have been fulfilled and projects which were in the pipeline for 4 years have been completed.

He says now – the people of Lau look forward to and support government’s corporate plan to move the country forward to 2014 - according to the Strategic Framework for Change.”

The Lau Provincial Council meeting is being held at the Arts Village in Deuba and ends today.


Prime Minister,  You should immediately quash this report.  If you don't, it will be distorted  like the Lomaiviti comment.   You should use the opportunity to reaffirm your decision to hold elections no later than September 2014.


And News Reporter Sekope Toduadua, you should be more precise. Who exactly said "forget about elections"? One person, several, the people of Lau, or just those attending the Provincial Council meeting?  Or is this merely what you read into the Council's support for Government's development activities? Your report makes the Prime Minister a sitting target for the overseas media and those who say he does not want elections in 2014.

Aussie Modesty, Pacific Understanding, Ethnic Fijian Generosity, Public Service Outreach

PACIFIC AN AUSTRALIAN LAKE?  At the height of the Cold War some American referred to the Pacific as an American lake.  Now Australians seem to be doing the same.

In an otherwise informative background article on the Forum meeting to be held in Vila this week, a meeting at which both the Australian PM and Foreign Minister will be absent due to the forthcoming election, The Australian reveals as much or more about how Australia sees itself as it does about how Australia sees the Pacific. The image is certainly not suggestive of an equal relationship. Here are some examples:

Australia's bigger friends and allies, especially the US, take Canberra's lead to manage troublesome issues in the islands and to help guide them to prosperity. [Carving up the world may make for good geopolitics, but "management" and "guidance" is what parents provide to children.  Powerful as Australia may be, they are dealing with sovereign nations, not children.]

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer stressed last week that it is our natural sphere of influence. Or it could be, if we paid it more attention. [The article urged greater involvement, and knowledge of the Pacific.]

...no other industrialised country has the Third World on its doorstep in the way the Pacific is on ours. Europe's former colonies are remote by comparison. [Actually, Paris to Algeria is only a little further than Darwin to Port Moresby and London to Lagos not much further than Sydney to Apia. And that's not to mention US proximity to Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America.]

For Australia's policy aims to prevail, it will now need to rely on leadership at the forum summit to come from leaders broadly aligned with Canberra's regional perspective, chiefly New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key and Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who is angling for forum institutions to be shifted to Samoa from suspended Fiji. [It is hoped they do not let big brother down.]

NATADOLA AGAIN. Fiji Live reports nothing new on what Pacific Island Leaders thought and said at last week's Natadola meeting but it provided a useful summary.  They supported the Strategic Framework for Change and Roadmap to Democracy and elections in 2014. They were apparently impressed with progress on reforms and initiatives, especially on corruption, rural development, poverty alleviation, education and governance) and noted that nation-building is not a simple process but one that requires a concerted amount of commitment and will to obtain the desired changes that will benefit all communities. They also expressed support for continued engagement, noting that they share similar problems.

INCREDIBLE BUT TRUE. Adi Elisapeci Samununu Waqanivalu of the Wellington Council of Fiji Communities  says Fiji's ethnic policy is robbing its indigenous people of their rights. She was not referring to being dispossessed of land, language, beliefs or cultural heritage but to having to share the name 'Fijian' with other citizens from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.  The one-name-for-all is an attempt by Government to give all citizens a sense of belonging and equality before the law. Indigenous Fijians, usually, but not in this case, well known for their generosity of spirit, will henceforth be officially known as i-taukei, an indigenous name (which Fijian is not)  they have often used for themselves.

The Council intends to canvas the views on ethnic identity of all Fiji people living in New Zealand before it takes a human rights action over the issue. “It’s almost like, I now live in New Zealand, can I call myself a Maori?" said Adi Elisapeci,  "And see how much I can insult a Maori by doing that? You know all of a sudden we’ve been sort of shafted and say ’Move over, I’m also called this’, without consultation.”

The Council, formed in April this year, comprises ethnic Fijians, and  is closely linked to two Wellington-based anti-government blogsites.

My guess is that Maori would be quite happy to give up or share their name for the bounties that ethnic Fijians in Fiji still possess. In fact, like Fijians, Maori had no common name before the advent of Europeans. The story goes that when asked who they were, they answered, "Maori,"  ordinary people, implying that it was the strangers who were not ordinary. Sharing a name is surely not too high a price to pay for removing the alienation felt by many Fiji citizens who are not ethnic Fijians. 

MINISTRY OF ITAUKEI. The Ministry of Fijian Affairs is now officially known as the Ministry of Itaukei.The Ministry of Itaukei will continue to ensure that the Government will develop, maintain and promote policies that will provide for the continued good governance and welfare of the iTaukei now and into the future.

The legal framework within which the Ministry operates remains the same in terms of covering the Itaukei Affairs Act and Regulations, the Native Lands & Fisheries Commission Act, and the Native Lands Act. -- based on 2010 No:1137/MOI.

DOING THE ROUNDS.The routine monthly meetings of permanent secretaries are now being held at different "front line" venues to assist the public service "reach out and learn about work activities and issues of important State Institutions." PS of the PSA Parmesh Chand said “It helps us to understand individually and collectively what the issues are and how best we can work together to effectively address them as a Team.” The PS's heard presentations on Fiji’s Productivity Report and the Impact of the 2010 Revised Budget on operating expenditure of Government.  The July meeting was held at St. Giles Mental Health Hospital and previous ones at the Prison and Correctional Facilities at Naboro and at a Ministry of Fisheries and Forests Tree Planting exercise. -- based on 2010 No:1139/PSC.

The meaning is clear but just about everything else is wrong about this cartoon posted on the ozfiji. com website.  The cap is not a RFMF one, the palms are not coconuts, hardly anyone lives in a bure any more (under 4% in 1996, or 4,800 Fijians and 465 Indo-Fijians!) and  not many bure have so many windows. Ling Ling should visit Fiji to see what things really look like.

As for the message, my understanding is that  ethnic Fijians have always been i-taukei and Fijian, and they always will be.  The only change is that now  all citizens  are legally Fijian.

Just as in New Zealand where there are Maori New Zealanders, Pakeha New Zealanders, Chinese and, yes, Fijian New Zealanders, Fiji will now have i-taukei Fijians, Rotuman Fijians, Solomoni Fijians, Kailoma Fijians, and so on.  In some situations Maori will say they are Maori; and in others New Zealanders. Ethnic Fijians will be i-taukei or Fijian as the situation demands.

The Decree is about promoting national identity and a sense of belonging for all Fiji citizens. No one loses anything. All should gain.

Rotuma Day, Hurricane Tomas Costs, AusNZ Aid, Flashback: Qarase on Bainimarama

NA SALA CAVA?  Readers are urged to scroll down to the three "Way Forward" questions, read what others think, and add their own comments. I will summarize these on Wednesay and post a further question for your consideration.

ROTUMA DAY, marking the anniversary of the island's cessation to Britain in 1881, is usually  celebrated on May 13 or the following Saturday. Fiji Rotuman Association chairman Roy Fiu used the occasion to highlight awareness about culture and language that many born outside Rotuma know little about.

Speaking on the second day of the celebrations in Suva, PM Bainimarama said one of Government's visions is to make Rotuma a well developed Island. Work has alreadsy been done to make Rotuma a port of entry and the first direct exports to Tuvalu had gone ahead as planned, but the $15 million airport concfrete runway upgrade planned for this year had been delayed. The PM saidCabinet has already approved additional funding and they are on the verge of seeking funds from the Ministry of Finance.  Infrastructure and outer island development are part of the Roadmap.

HURRICANE TOMAS COST ONE BILLION. Speaking at the 18th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, PS PM' office Col. Pio Tikoduadua said:The evidence of negative impacts of climate change on the Pacific region are many and two of Fiji’s close neighbouring countries, Tuvalu and Kiribati, are starkexamples of that.In the case of my own country, Fiji, the effects of changing weather patterns have been felt heavily by our people. The rate at which natural disasters, such as floods and hurricanes, have hit Fiji and their severity have increased markedly in the recent years. For the first time in 35 years, we experienced the devastation of a Category 4 cyclone in February this year, costing our economy more than F$100 million." (extract)

AUSNZ HURRICANE AID will increase by A$1m and NZ$600k to rebuild homes, schools and health centres affected by the hurricane. The money will be given to Habitat for Humanity Fiji which has a track record of successful delivery of house reconstruction and cyclone proofing following the January 2009 floods. The two countries previously gifted A$1m and NZ$1m.

FLASHBACK DEC. 1, 2006. QARASE SAYS BAINIMARAMA "DERANGED, UNSTABLE."In an interview on Radio Tarana as reported by Michael Field, PM Qarase branded Bainimarama "deranged" and "unstable"."We are dealing with somebody who is completely deranged and unstable so that's part of the problem," he said. When asked if he thought Bainimarama was mentally stable, he replied: "I think that should be obvious to anybody."

As the midday deadline for Bainimarama's threatened military coup passed with no obvious signs of a military take-over today. The capital was quiet and Bainimarama was at the Suva sports stadium watching a soccer match between the army and police.  

Meanwhile, PM Qarase said he was counting on divine intervention to prevent the country's fourth coup in 20 years. "There is always such a thing as divine intervention and I'm counting on that this morning," he told ABC radio. "God works in mysterious ways, and he might be working on it now...I rely a lot on how God works in people and it could well be today is the day for him that God may work through him and pull (him) back from his position." PM Qarase also thought Commodore Bainimarama's deadline could be a bluff. The army was divided by a "very big split" – a factor which could work in the Government's favour and prevent a coup.

Agricultual Scam, Chinese, Kai Solomoni Injustices, Fiji Helps Australia, Bio-Diesel, Girmit Announcement

AGRICULTURAL Scam 2001. The Court of Appeal has dismissed all nine grounds of appeal filed by former Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests, Peniasi Kunatuba who is serving a four year sentence for his role in the $16 million agriculture scam of 2001. Judges Justices John Byrnes,  Paul Madigan and Priyantha Fernando all ruled that Kunatuba had been lawfully convicted and properly sentenced. Agricultural implements distributed in the "scam" were used to buy ethnic Fijian votes in the 2001 Election.

CHINESE Businessmen have expressed an interest in two FNPF projects, the Momi Hotel and the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva.

KAI SOLOMONI Injustices. In February last year my post "Solomon Community Wants to Return "Home" described the terrible injustices done to the descendants of Fiji's first indentured labourers, from what is now Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Yesterday I received this comment: "Thanks Walse for the blog. I am one of the decendants and what you have highlighted is true and I hope that one day we will be recognized and not seen as outsiders."

After six or more generations in Fiji, with no knowledge of their paternal ancestor's islands; with Fijian mothers and a largely Fijian culture, language and lifestyle, they are still seen as "visitors" and are not recognized as Fijians by ethnic Fijians. In pre-Contact Fiji they would have been "absorbed" generations ago. Their continued exclusion today is the result of the fossilisation of an idealised homogenous culture that did not exist. Traditional Fijian practices were far more flexible than the colonial-interpreted law used today.  Click here to read the original post.

FIJI Helping Australia. The Suva High Court  ruled last week that a child abducted by the father and now living in Fiji be returned to Australia and placed under the care of its mother. Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum pointed to the obvious irony: Australia made the application for the child's return to the very same courts they tried to undermine by placing Fiji judges on a travel ban.

BIO-DIESEL Has Teething Problems.Koro Island's Bio-Diesel Mill opened recently by the PM is having difficulty selling the new product to wary villagers. It's also likely the "strong" 20/80 blend with normal fuel will cause mechanical problems for newer vehicles that, without adaptation, require a 5% blend.  There's a bright future for copra bio-diesel in Fiji but the infrastructural "mix" is not yet right.

ANNOUNCEMENT. Indo-Fijians in New Zealand will be celebrating the arrival of their ancestors from the Asian, Indian and Afghanistan sub-continent at Fickling Centre, Three Kings, Auckland, on Friday May 14, 2010 from 7pm to 9pm.

(B) Fiji's Ethnically Unbalanced Public Sector Workforce

How to retain skilled Indo-Fijian public service officers was an issue  discussed at Tuesday's meeting of the National People's Charter Advisory Council. Chairperson Josefa Serulagilagi (Photo: FijiVillage) expressed concern at the  "low representation of Fiji Indians in senior civil service positions and heads of missions overseas ... Unfortunately, for some of our Indo-Fijian officers (working in the civil service)  is like a stepping stone into other areas such as the private sector, then they go overseas. That is the problem we are facing at the moment."  He was hopeful the People's Charter would help stop the drain brain.

Problem of ethnic balance not new
The problem of reasonably balanced ethnic represention is not new. It is a product of the plural society created by colonialism where residence-occupation-income-inclusiveness and ethnicity were absolutely linked. In a paper published in 1976*, based on the pre-Independence 1966 census, I wrote: "Thus, provinces, localities and even occupations can often be considered Indian or Fijian, and ethnically mixed settlements and occupations are the exception. The implications for a government concerned with achieving an ethnic balance must be obvious."

Suva's ethnic suburbs
These were the days when Europeans employed in government, and their Fijian servants, dominated the old affluent Suva suburb of the Domain; privately-employed Europeans, their Fijian servants and a smattering of successful Indian business people the new suburbs of Tamavua (beyond which, outside the city boundary was the Fijian "urban village" of the same name), while most Fijians lived in squatter settlements and urban villages, in Lami and Walu Bay or the "mixed" Housing  Authority suburbs of Raiwaqa and Raiwai, and most Indians lived close to the site of the old Indian "labour lines" (that used to be outside the city boundary) in Samabula and Nabua.  Children rarely went to the nearest school but commuted across the city to the school that best matched their ethnicity, religion and gender. A tangle of ethnic fault lines dissected the city. Independence gradually brought major changes to this distribution but the pattern is too indelibly sketched for total removal.

Polarised economy
So too with the economy about which I then wrote: "The polarisation of... residence was therefore also found, as expected, in the economy, and it seems likely that this general pattern will continue with Fijians being likely to fill more positions in government and Indians more positions in the private sector. Hence, the balance of political power seems likely to remain with Fijians while Indians will dominate the economy and hold economic power. It is important for Fiji that ethnic differences are not compounded by class and occupational differences but unless government intervenes a better balance seems unlikely either in job type or status level."

Recent calls for balance
The People's Charter is not the first to call for ethnic occupational balance.  The 1997 Constition (section 140 (c)) stated: "the composition of the state service at all levels should reflect as closely as possible the ethnic composition of the population." There was a long way to go to this goal. A year earlier, at the 1996 Census when the paid workforce was 46% Fijian and 49% Indian, 61% of government services was Fijian (Indian 32%), public order was 63% Fijian (33% Indian), and defence 91% Fijian (5% Indian). "Other" ethnic groups brought these totals to 100%.**

The Indo-Fijian contribution to the workforce will have declined since, due mainly to emigration, accelerated by the uncertainty of four coups, three of which were anti-Indian, but to the best of my knowledge no government until now has actively sought to redress the balance, and Fijian-only tertiary-level scholarships can only have increased the imbalance -- a point not overlooked by the NPCAC.

The Police and Military
I suspect far less than 33% of the Police Force (public order) is now Indo-Fijian. But the greatest ethnic disparity, of course, is in defence where, I understand, no extra steps have been taken to recruit Indo-Fijians. In several ways, defence can be argued as a "special case" (that I intend to discuss in a later posting) but the police force is not a special case, and  ultimately government's equality good intentions will need to be seen in a more ethnically-balanced military.

Is the ethnic imbalance increasing?
One reader asked "I wonder if you may care to ask readers for opinions on today's comment by Mr Serulagilagi on the racial imbalance in some sections of Government. I have visited the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs on several occasions over the past 2-3 months and the racial imbalance (all i-Taukei) hits me in the face every time I go there - from the security officer at the door, right through. Only Vosa Viti is spoken." I will add a further question: What's happened to last year's government announcement that school children and civil servants will attend classes to make them to some extent tri-lingual? Does anyone know the answer?

We know historical discrepancies take years to eradicate but is there sufficient    evidence  that Fiji, under the Bainimarama government, is heading in the right direction?

I would be interested in readers' opinions.  -- Crosbie Walsh.


References
* Walsh, A C 1976:"The Ethnic Variable in the Urbanization of Fiji," in Population at Microscale, ed. Kosinski L A and J Webb.
** Walsh, Crosbie 2006: "Employment in Government Services" p.323 in
Walsh,  Fiji: an Encylopaedic Atlas.

Kua Hinga te Totara Nui

A NZ Ambassador Who Stood Taller 
than the Others: 

A Tribute to His Excellency Te Rongotoa (Tia) Barrett

Thakur Ranjit Singh

The passing away of a gentleman and a career diplomat Tia Barret came as a shock to those who knew him. As somebody who was fortunate to have met him in Fiji between 1998 and 2001 when he was heading our High Commission in Suva, I always had a desire to re-establish that contact here, but that dream will now remain unfulfilled by his sudden departure.

He was in Suva during very troubled times with two significant events. The first was the takeover of the Chaudhary government by George Speight in May, 2000 and the second one was the attempt on the life of Commodore Bainimarama by rebel soldiers on 2 November, 2000 through a mutiny.

During those troubled times, he was holding the fort at NZ High Commission and was an exemplary ambassador for Aotearoa, and added pride to this profession by standing stall and being different from other ambassadors by talking his mind without any fear of speaking the truth, even if it meant crossing the boundaries guarded by strict diplomatic protocols.

When the AUT’s Pacific Media Centre’s Dr. David Robie was heading the Journalism School at USP, in Suva, His Excellency Tia Barrett was the Chief Guest at the Journalism Awards almost nine years ago, on 24 November, 2000. The address he gave to the graduating students is still fresh in my mind and it had ruffled a few feathers in the then Interim Fiji regime, some of who still harboured ethno-nationalism and beat the indigenous drums.

While himself being indigenous person of Aotearoa, he was bold to have gone beyond the call of his duty to put the ethno-nationalists in their place.

“What is difficult to accept in this dialogue on indigenous rights is the underlying assumption that those rights are pre-eminent over other more fundamental human rights. This just cannot be so, not in today's world. Where the confusion lies, in my view, is with the thought that indigenous people have a prior right over land and the sea and their resources and therefore by extension over the political, economic and social institutions of a country,” he had told the Fijian students.

He had reminded the journalism students that nowhere was it written in any holy scripture that because you were indigenous, you had first rights over others in their daily rights. He had maintained that one should be respected and highly regarded as an indigenous person, but respect was earned and not obtained on demand. He reminded that while the Compact of 1997 Constitution of Fiji accorded a special place for the indigenous Fijians in the polity of the nation, the respect there still needed to be earned.

His talk some nine years ago was so prophetic and would be well remembered by the elements in the Maori community in the recent controversy on the indigenous issue. What he had said in Suva in 2000 would have stood tall in that controversy:

“Being indigenous, in my view, demands high levels of achievement and competency in both our traditional cultural values and in the demands of today's globalised world. That is a tall order, and requires more of us indigenous peoples than of the non-indigenous. But in fact, I think the well-educated, well-rounded, successful indigenous person stands tall as an outstanding achiever. Unfortunately, there are so few although there are examples in both your and my history.”

Barrett had even ventured to lecture to the chiefs about their role and also the responsibilities of Churches, both of which were found to be wanting by the current Fiji regime. What people like Tia Barrett in diplomatic positions proved is that diversity in such positions enriched the profile of the country and if any lessons are to be learnt is that a diplomat like Tia Barrett in Fiji would have been well placed to bridge the huge chasm that currently exists between the two countries.

He had lectured the journalists on the concept of development journalism where the timely and accurate facts fulfilled the thirst for knowledge so that people could make the changes needed to improve their lives in this globalised world. Whether Fiji journalist heeded this call remains debatable, but what is certain is that modern –day ambassadors in troubled countries like Fiji have much to learn from His Excellency Tia Barrett. His departure leaves a huge vacuum in his line of thinking of the Pacific issues and we hope New Zealand continues to be blessed with proud sons like Tia Barrett.

On behalf of my former country-people from Fiji, I join in to extend our condolences to the Barrett family. May his soul rest in peace.

(Thakur Ranjit Singh is a postgraduate student in Communication studies at AUT, and had met Tia Barrett in Fiji whilst he was the Publisher of Fiji’s Daily Post)