Take Global Warming Seriously, or Else -- a String of Biting Comments

Sir David Attenborough speaking at the conference.
Listen to video. See link  below. pn198

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a dramatic appeal to world leaders Monday to take the threat of global warming seriously and to act boldly to avert a catastrophic rise in temperatures before the end of the century.
Guterres, who spoke at the opening of the UN climate conference in Poland, called climate change "the most important issue we face."

"Even as we witness devastating climate impacts causing havoc across the world, we are still not doing enough, nor moving fast enough, to prevent irreversible and catastrophic climate disruption," Guterres told delegates from almost 200 countries who gathered in the city of Katowice.

Famed British naturalist Sir David Attenborough echoed his warnings, telling the gathering that the "collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizons" if no urgent action is taking against global warming. Listen to the video.

Gordon Campbell on NZ’s Complicity in Western Sahara

For someone said to have the best brain in the Cabinet, Trade Minister David Parker made an awfully dumb suggestion this week when he said that New Zealand could act as ‘a bridge’ to help resolve the trade disputes between the US and China. (For a raft of reasons why this is an absurd idea, see the footnote below.)

pn176

But if Parker really wants to hone his crisis-managing chops on an international trade dispute that New Zealand has been making worse for years, he maybe should be turning his attention to the Western Sahara.

Video: the PM's Address to the United Nations General Assembly

Make sure your volume is turned on, Click on the arrow and switch to full screen.

China Helps Towards Energy Sustainability, Into Potatoes, Housing, Squatters, Labour Reforms

N0280. CHINESE-CONSTRUCTED HYDRO DAM at Nadarivatu in the upper Sigatoka River valley that commenced construction in 2009 is 90% completed and should be finished this year. The dam will be able to store a billion litres of water which will travel through a 2km tunnel to the power station on the river. Power capacity is 41.7 megawatts, equal to an estimated saving of F$50million a year in fuel costs. The construction by the China based Sino-Hydro Corporation.  The dam cost will cost about F$283.2 million (US$155million).

N0281. 90% RENEWABLE ENERGY BY 2015? The Fiji Electricity Authority hopes new renewable energy initiatives will help it to meet this target, that would cover a peak daily demand of 217 MW (1045 GWh per annum), by 2015.

The projects include the waste-to-energy power generators by iVITI Renewable Disenergy Power Plants, and Pacific Renewable Energy's wood-fired Lautoka plant.

FEA is also investigating wind-farm possibilities for Ovalau, and the use of bagasse from the Fiji Sugar's Rarawai Mill. There is also a proposal by a new Independent Power Producer for an 8.5 MW biomass-fired power plant for Labasa, to be phased in over five years.

N0282. SWITCHING FROM SUGAR TO POTATOES. A landowning unit (and farm co-operative) at Mataso in inland Ra province that has been farming sugar cane for 50 years is switching to potatoes and vegetable farming. They say they are cheaper to produce because of quicker maturity and they are cheaper to transport.From two hectares of land the co-operative earns between $12,000-$20,000 a year, and the money has already helped improve the lives of the villagers. They have been assisted by the Ministry of Agriculture in the new new venture and Government has provided a tractor.

N0283.N0284. WIDE CONSULTATION ON HOUSING POLICY.  Fiji has a major housing problem with up to one-fifth of its population living in squatter areas and many more unable to afford present housing prices.

Work towards a resolution of the problem and the formulation of a national housing policy commenced in June 2009. A steering committee of key stakeholders was appointed  and broad-based consultations were held to examine options on public and social housing. UN-Habitat assisted with advice based on its global experience and lessons learnt from international best practices.

The Ministry of Local Government, Urban Development, Housing and Environment launched the National Housing Policy earlier today. The policy is designed to provide a new strategic vision to achieve the goal of affordable housing for all.  -- Based on No.0733/MOI.

N0285. MORE ACTION ON URBAN SQUATTING. A delegation from the Asia Coalition of Housing Action was in Fiji recently to discuss squatter upgrading projects with town and city special administrators as well as officials of the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development. According to the Director of Housing and Squatter Settlement, Kolinio Bola,  the parties agreed "that 15 squatter upgrading programmes will be undertaken over the the next three years with a total budget of $1.2 million.”

N0286. LABOUR REFORMS. Fiji is well in advance on its labour reform programmes and is being recognised as the role model on labour reform for Pacific Island countries. Labour permanent secretary Taito Waqa  said yesterday Fiji's Occupational Health and Safety reforms were recognised by the ILO which is using the Fiji's reform model in other Pacific Island countries.

Rudd Takes His Eye off Pacific Islands

By Jenny Hayward-Jones

Director of The Myer Foundation Melanesia Program at the Lowy Institute. 

In The Australian, 22 March, 2011.The article first appeared on the blog www.lowyinterpreter.org

 N0264.

While Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has been busy pursuing Australian foreign policy interests in North Africa and managing the consular response to the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, he is unlikely to have had time to keep an eye on the neighbourhood.

This is probably not helping to counter perceptions of gradual erosion of Australian diplomatic influence in the Pacific Islands region (despite very generous aid spending and a successful hosting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns in August 2009). Even US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has found time to worry about the Pacific in the past month.

Small Animals Suffering, US-Fiji Relations, North Developments, The B Roadmap, Simple Stats

PHOTO OF SICK DOG REMOVED. I AGREE IT IS TOO DISTURBING.

N0028. SAINT FRANCIS WOULD NOT LIKE THIS.  I'm unsure whether the shortage of veterinarians in the West  is due in any way to Fiji's political situation or its poor relations with Australia and the UK, but a concerned reader says there are now no trained vets and a severe shortage of drugs for small animals in the West Division than includes the provinces of Ba, Ra, and Nadroga and Navosa.  In the past, assistance came from UK and Australian visiting Vets to the SPCA West - which is served exclusively by voluntary help. All local vets left long ago.

Large animals fare a little better though assistance from the Dept of Agriculture in Lautoka but again the service is haphazard due to shortage of trained staff. Any developments in Tropical Agriculture and Animal husbandry require full and reliable veterinary services 24/7 365 days of the year. 

The reader says "the SPCA in the West would welcome a visit from diplomats who wish to support the good work being done on a shoe-string, out of sheer love for dumb creatures. They deserve recognition and support."

N0029. US-FIJI RELATIONS. At a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, US Ambassador C. Steven McGann  said America would continue to look for opportunities to strengthen cooperation with Fiji in areas such as humanitarian assistance, disaster response, public health, law enforcement, border controls and port security.  He welcomed Fiji’s strong voting record at the UN on issues affecting both nations.  And both parties agreed on a mutually acceptable framework to facilitate appropriate visas for Fijian officials seeking to attend meetings at the United Nations and other multilateral fora. -- Based on 2011, No:0064 /MOI.

N0030. L0OK NORTH REVISITED.  For many years Fiji's second largest island, Vanua Levu, has lost population and its economy has stagnated. 

Contributing factors to out-migration have been education, employment and the non-renewal of land leases that resulted in many Indo-Fijian tenant farmers leaving for Viti Levu, some joining other refugees in the Lautoka area. To counter the decline the Qarase Government launched the 'Look North' policy in 2002 which has been revived and extended by the present government.

Commissioner Northern LtCol. Inia Seruiratu says that things are changing and urges people to stay to help build the economy. He says a special alloction to Vanua Levu was made in the 2011 Budget that will see further developments.  “Priority one is infrastructure – in infrastructure development we will see a lot of changes in the conditions of our roads, the creation of new roads, in the buildings of wharves and jetties, extension of  FEA grids, water, health services and education.” -- Based on 2011, No:0058 /MOI.

But change takes time and not everything is going to plan.  It has just been announced that the Nabouwalu-Dreketi $30-million road upgrade project has been delayed as government is forced to put more money in the troubled sugar industry. The Commissioner pointed positively to the bauxite mine and pine chip mill in Bua. But the former is unlikely to be in production anytime soon and there are further delays at the chip mill that should have been completed last November. The PM  visited the mill yesterday to find that construction of the 16,000m² bed area was held up by delays in the arrival of ready mix concrete.The first shipment of pine chips weighing about 23,000 tonnes and valued at about $4m is due to leave the country in April for the Japanese market. The contractors say the mill will be ready in time.


N0031. WHERE IS THE BL---Y ROADMAP?  It's probably the most frustrating issue raised by readers, and Doubting Thomas's don't think it exists.  They say it's another hoax by Government to keep the public hoping for favourable outcomes.

I know the Roadmap exists, all be it in draft form, and there's ample indirect evidence of its existence.

Witness the numerous departmental corporate plans that say they aim to comply with its directions (so someone must have seen it), and the constant references from all and sundry in government to the descending organizational pyramid of the Peoples's Charter, the Strategic Framework for Change, and — the Roadmap. The Charter and most corporate plans have been published but not the Roadmap.

If I can think of just one thing that could so easily put a feather in Government's cap, and a prick in its detractors' backsides, it is the publication of the Roadmap.  It need not even be in its final form.  The draft copy will do. The public of Fiji deserve its publication.

N0032. SIMPLE STATS ON FIJI.  If you want a quick reference to Fiji's population, climate, economy, trade, employment, tourism, health, education and much more, click on the Bureau of Statistics  website and then click on  Quick Reference>2010 Facts and Figures.

The latest information is actually for 2009 but some useful comparisions are made with earlier dates.  My only gripe is that while ethnic Fijians are now i'taukei, the Bureau still persists in calling Indo-Fijians Indians.  We have shown in earlier postings this week just how offensive and inaccurate this label is.

WEEKEND READING ♦ Allen Lockington column ♦ Women in Fiji by Nazhat Shameem ♦ Who's Who in Government

The Lies of March, UN Move to China, USP Cuts Income, New Churches, Jailed For Heeding Lawyer, A Compliment, RBF Reddy Resigns

WEEKEND READING  ♦Allen Lockington column ♦ Gerald McGhie on The Vexed Question of External Aid  ♦ Graham Reid's second article on his Fiji visit  ♦ Teaching Men and Boys by Sharon Bhagwan Rolls  ♦ The 2011 Budget: Claims and Counterclaims.

CANCELLATION OF MARCH. The annual Coalition of Human Rights march planned for tomorrow in Suva has been cancelled because of a warning to American citizens from the US Embassy that the march could be used by anti-government elements and become unruly. The planned march was of women, children and families to show their support for human rights.

The Ministry of Information blamed the American Embassy of causing confusion by issuing an alert based on an "anonymous blog which suggesting the march was not going to be a peaceful one."

The MOI does not normally "react to this type of information because it has proven time and again to be inaccurate and detrimental to the country. However, on this occasion for reasons unknown,  the American Embassy has chosen to take heed of gossip and rumour rather than seeking to confirm the facts with the Fiji Government." -- Based on 2010, No:2131/MOI.

 "... AN INDOFIJIAN PLUS MARK MANNING." These two people evidently merited special mention by Usaia Waqatairewa of the Australia-based Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement.

He was answering a CoupFourPointFive question on who turned up to last Sunday's FDFM anti-Fiji Governmment march in Sydney where 200 had been anticipated. Waqatairewa said, “About sixty people attended …  mainly indigenous Fijians, part-Europeans and an IndoFijian, plus Mark Manning.”

But a blogger thought the number was closer to 30, or 15 if children were excluded. (see Mark Manning's photo to form your own opinion.) There are an estimated 100,000 people in Australia who were born in Fiji so whether it was 200, 60 or 30 is really immaterial. The march was not well supported.

CoupFourPointFive went on to ask him about the supposed planned march in Suva today. Waqatairewa thought it could attract 10-20,000. He said he didn't know who was organizing it but urged the SDL and Methodist Church to get involved. It now seems likely the anonymous organisers intended to piggyback on the Coalition of Human Rights march.

Waqatairewa said he wasn't concerned about PER. "The regime do not have the resources to arrest and detail [sic!] 10 or 20 thousand people." He thought people could get hurt. “If the Military wants to beat the hell out of them than that is their prerogative,” he said, and then referred to the “thugs in government [and the] animalistic aggressive nature of the security forces and the people illegally in charge such as Khaiyum and Bainimarama.” 

And so it went on, like the ramblings of a deranged man. A big thank you to CoupFourPointFive, for exposing this FDFM lunacy, and for publishing this comment by one of your readers:

"FDFM, stop lying to the people of Fiji ... even those in Australia are not with you ... People like you at FDFM are strong SDL supporters ... It's easy to see how you are campaigning and trying to brainwash the people of Fiji by [getting them] joining in to an unknown march initiated by a Mr Nobody. Please come yourself and stand up with us here in Fiji if you are genuine." 

And the reader who  wrote  in reply to another comment: "Not all i'Taukei support ethno-nationalism as you seem to portray ... You obviously do not work with the grassroots i'Taukei and have no idea of their needs."

FDFM  claims it has serious support in Australia and Fiji. Its latest showings show its support is almost zilch — plus Mark Manning.

PM PROPOSES UN MOVE TO CHINA. The PM  says the US government through the US embassy in Fiji is not fulfilling it's international obligations by failing to give visas to high level Fiji Ministers and officials to attend major international meetings.Denying senior government officials visas is preventing Fiji's voice being heard in important international meetings.I agree for the reasons given yesterday. Tongue-in-cheek, the PM suggested the UN Headquarters be moved to China.

USP REDUCES DEMAND ON GOVERNMENT. The University of the South Pacific will further reduce the money it receives from government. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rajesh Chandra said they voluntarily reduced government’s contribution this year and next year they will reduce the allocation by a further 2% — a saving of $5m for Government in the triennium period of three years.

USP is mainly funded by contributions from its eleven member countries, and Australia and New Zealand. The voluntary reduction is being made because the university's finances are once again in good shape; they think they can be more cost-efficient and still offer quality courses, and because the Fiji Government "is going  through difficult times and its very important for USP to be sensitive to those financial difficulties.”

GROWING CONCERN ABOUT NEW CHURCHES. Pacific Conference of Church General Secretary Fei’loa-ki-tau Tevi  is concerned about the growing number of new churches arriving in Fiji, claiming that  many of them disturb people’s way of life. He also intimated that the new churches were divisive and unconcerned with social and economic issues.

"The fundamental belief of Christianity is social justice in which we should care for the vulnerable and the excluded and the poor and not the rich people," he said. "Your belief as a Christian is more than just praises.

The way you understand yourself as a Christian is more than just every Sunday. I go to church. More churches are coming. Groups and movements and we are not in the business of saying this is ours and you don’t come in , no. What we are saying is to try to improve the lives of people but if you just come in for the sake of building churches and hence having more people and more members, there is no point because you are just doing more harm then doing good.”

Similar concerns were echoed by Methodist minister Rev.Navitalai Qerea speaking about villages on the island of Kadavu. He said the "huge number of religious groups in the Kadavu province has caused a lot of differences and weakened traditional relationships among the people." he called on church leaders to strengthen relationships with the Vanua while maintaining their spiritual beliefs.

JAILED FOR HEEDING LAWYER'S ADVICE. I don't know all the details but on the face of it the jailing of former CEO of FNPF, Olota Rokovunisei, for not turning up to court on 30 November on the advice of his lawyer, Kafoa Muaror, is a miscarriage of justice. The lawyer stated in court that he had “instructed his client  not to attend court on November 30 because he was of the understanding that the date was only to allow the defence to file an affidavit. He told Rokovunisei he would only be required in court on December 10.” (Fiji Times, 7 Dec.) The lawyer himself did not appear in court on 3 December when Rokovunisei was sentenced: he was attending the AG’s Conference.

Justice Sithambarampillai Thurairaja remanded Rokovunisei in jail till 1st February when the court will decide on his bail application. This means that he will spend the Festive Season in jail only because he listened to his lawyer's instruction.  If this is the case, the judge jailed the wrong man and Rokovunisei should be released on bail immediately.

A COMPLIMENT FROM A READER. I get some pretty terrible comments from some readers so it's a nice feeling to receive a compliment like this from a NZ reader: 

"Your own blog with its commonsense, knowledge and continuing ability to provide useful information on Fiji is a shining light.  The problem is (if one thinks it's a problem) you probably make people -- particularly the establishment -- feel uneasy."  Reminds me of a Churchill quote: “You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

DISQUIET ON REDDY RESIGNATION. Reserve Bank Governor Sada Reddy  has resigned.  Reddy, who has NZ permanent residence where his family lives, worked for the Bank for 35 years, the last 17 as Deputy Governor and Governor.  Deputy Governor Barry Whiteside will act as governor until further notice.

The circumstances of Reddy's resignation are unknown but anti-government blogs (which objected to his appointment in the first place, saying he lacked experience!) accused him of transferring his savings to NZ immediately prior to the devaluation of the Fiji dollar, avoiding a 20% loss. There was also talk that he was not happy about Government's heavy overseas borrowing. Unfortunately, there is no way of confirming or refuting either accusation in an environment where almost every accusation has a political purpose but Reddy, Government and the RBF Board have certainly given no hint of any friction.

In announcing Reddy's resignation, RBF sub-committee chairman Deo Saran said:  "The board sincerely thanks Mr Reddy for his long and distinguished service throughout his time with the Bank and wishes him and his family well for the future."

USA, Fiji and the UN, Vanuatu and the MSG, Chaudhry, 70 New Laws, Sugar

THE PACIFIC MEDIA CENTRE has a new website. http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/ Check it out.

THE US VISA REFUSALS. The US Suva Embassy has clarified this issue.  The visas were not exactly refused; they needed a longer application time. The Embassy said names of key supporters of the coup are  on the Department of State visa watch list, and those on the list have to be cleared by Washington, a process that could take three weeks. There can be no complaint about this. It is the right of all sovereign nations to determine who is allowed to enter — or stay — in their country.  One might have hoped for a better outcome, given Hillary Clinton's promising overtures, but it was not to be.

Some readers have misunderstood my position. I was disappointment with the "decision" but my main concern was the effective denial of access to the United Nations.  The Embassy also addressed this question, saying that "while the US takes seriously its obligations under the UN Charter to facilitate travel to the UN headquarters in New York for participation in meetings – they are not obliged to facilitate travel to meetings that do not fall under the Charter or transit to UN meetings outside of New York."

My point was — and is —  that the United Nations is compromised by this approach. The country hosting all UN-sponsored meetings should not be able to say who will and who will not attend.  The invitations to the Fiji Government officers were from the UN, not the USA. If guests are invited by the owner of the house, they should not be stopped by the butler.  Foreign embassies do not belong to the host country; they belong to the home country.There are a few places in the world, such as the Vatican, and parts of Jerusalem, Mecca, Brussels (EU), Geneva (UN) and New York that are "international." They are special places and should be treated as such.

Some readers said the US was justified because Fiji expelled the Fiji Water CEO. I did not mention this because I did not think the US action was tit-for-tat, and the Embassy clarification bears this out. Yet another warned me I'd be put on the visa watch list as a key supporter of the Coup. If representatives of the most powerful nation of earth read my blog, which is unlikely, I'd assume they are intelligent enough to see that I'm trying to help the best possible outcome for Fiji, which is not a return to the Fiji from 2000 to 2006.

VANUATU AND THE MSG. Vanuatu PM Sato Kilman has decided not to attend the "reconciliation"Melanesian Spearhead Group meeting in Honiara next week because the Fiji PM is not attending.  Representation from both countries has been downgraded. Vanuatu will be represented by Foreign Minister Georges Wells and Fiji by Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola.

CHAUDHRY TO OZ. Fiji's former PM Mahendra Chaudhry has been given permission to travel to Australia for medical treatment.Local media reports the Fiji High Court has allowed Mr Chaudhry to leave, despite an impending trial on money laundering and tax evasion charges.

SEVENTY NEWS LAWS SINCE 2007. The A-G Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum told 300 lawyers and other members of the legal fraternity attending the 12th annual Attorney General Conference in Nadi on Friday that there have been 70 changes or amendments in laws of the legal framework in Fiji since 2007 which were made necessary due to changes taking place domestically and internationally.

He invited those attending to question the changes and Government's intentions, saying “If you’re able to rationalise that, then you will be also be able to anticipate the changes in the years to come, particularly in 2014. We need to ask what is the impact of these laws. Are they harmful to anyone? Do they discriminate against anyone? Do they help bringing down the barriers of discrimination.” -- Based on No:2074/MOI. Also  FijiVillage.

BAINIMARAMA BLAMES PAST GOVERNMENTS FOR SUGAR ILLS. He also criticised those who have "been making comments [and] did nothing to salvage the industry." Past politicians did not even visit the sugar mills to see for themselves the  wastage of sugar occurring for the past decade, especially at the Lautoka Mill. In his visit last month he saw  sugar "flowing straight to sea while being crushed." Government had guaranteed FSC loans and made a substantial contribution in the budget to save the industry from collapse. The problems of the sugar industry are not new.

Call for UN Involvement, US Blocks Fiji's Open Access to UN; ACP- EU Fact Finding Mission

CALL FOR UN TO GET INVOLVED. Great, I thought.  RadioNZI has at last published something other than its usual  condemnation of Fiji. The email alert read: "Call for United Nations to get involved in liaising with Pacific neighbours. A New Zealand businessman with extensive interests in Fiji is calling for the United Nations to be brought in to help resolve the strained relations between ..."

So I clicked their website to read the rest of the story and this is what I got: "Error!Invalid Story ID<\p>. News Content © Radio New Zealand International ." We are left wondering why. 

SAD, VERY SAD.  Hillary Clinton's recent visit to Australia and New Zealand, — and her comments on a fresh engagement with Fiji — led optimists to think the US would take a lead in finding more appropriate policies on Fiji  than the failed policies of Australia and New Zealand that in four years have produced no positive results.  But now, with the US failure to issue three visas to Fiji officials, the forewarnings of the the pessimists have proven correct.

The Chief Justice was to have attended the 9th Session of the Assembly of States Parties at UN HQ in New York. The invitation came from the International Criminal Court.

Permanent Secretary for Fisheries Viliame Naupoto was denied entry to the US to attend an international Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

The Minister for Local Government and Environment needed a transit visa to attend the 16th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP16) in Cancun Mexico. Fiji attended the 15th Conference in Copenhagen last year that failed to lay out a concrete plan to maintain global temperature rises and legally binding reductions to CO2 emissions. High level participation and involvement of all countries and Governments including Fiji at COP16 in Cancun, Mexico was therefore crucial.

Bigger Issue : US Blocks Access to UN
The failure to issue visas to these, and other Fiji representatives, raises a larger and more general issue: how on earth did the international community allow the United Nations to be located in New York without first ensuring that UN-recognized state representatives were guaranteed freedom of access? 

One must note that similar restrictions were not applied against Communist countries during the Cold War, nor are they applied against BIGGER countries with far less legitimacy and far worse civil rights issues than Fiji.

One reader observed: "This is typical of the bullying of small insignificant states that goes on hypocritically under the radar. Designed to be insulting, and another obvious interference with the Fiji judiciary."

The action (or lack of it) by the US Embassy gives the clear impression that it does not want Fiji, as a small developing country which is vulnerable to the immediate effects of climate change, to be involved in and to address issues such as climate change, global carbon trading system, rising sea levels, emission reduction and renewable energy technology transfer. These issues are of utmost importance to Fiji as an island State and Fiji, like all other countries in the world, must be allowed to raise these issues at the global level."

Fiji Vital to US National Security: Wikileaks. 
There are two other related issues to consider:  In most matters Fiji may be "insignificant" in US eyes but as Wikileaks recently pointed out US documents have listed Fiji’s Southern Cross undersea cable landing in Suva as vital to US national security. Fiji is one of 300 countries listed by the US as “critical infrastructure and key resources located abroad" – also known as potential terrorism targets. US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told CNN, "Without discussing any particular cable, the release of this kind of information gives a group like al Qaeda a targeting list."

Big Brother is Watching
Finally, another cause for reflection on the "Free World." My blog reader Global Citizen had this to say: "An entirely speculative question here, but one now wonders whether your rights under the visa waiver programme still qualify... you have, after all, and no doubt noticed by Washington, become a lobbyist for a military regime to whom they do not give visas for.... tried visiting the US recently? It is actually a serious issue - you will have been noticed and reported upon. Lobbyist for undesirable regimes is something Washington takes note of. I'd check if I were you; detention at LAX is very tedious. You might even share the facility with an Australian woman from MinFo." 

I'm not a lobbyist nor do I wish to visit the USA, but Global Citizen raises a worrying question for others who may choose not to toe the mainstream line. It is always easier to swim with the current.

ACP- EU FACT-FINDING MISSION. The joint parliamentary assembly of the African, Caribbean and Pacific group and the European Union has decided to send a fact-finding mission to Fiji next year. Solomon Islands representative at the meeting, Milner Tozaka, described the mission as an important and positive engagement with Fiji because it will give ACP and EU MPs the opportunity to get first-hand information from the Fiji authorities.

Fiji’s 40th Anniversary Celebrated at the United Nations

The body language shown in these photos of the Fiji Day dinner hosted by Fiji's Ambassador to the UN, Peter Thomson, speaks volumes about the success of his work.

Ambassador Peter Thomson's Fiji Day Address at UN Luncheon

Address by Ambassador Peter Thomson, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Fiji to the United Nations, to the Fiji Day Luncheon, New York, 13th October, 2010.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.  May I welcome you here today in some of the languages of Fiji, ni sa bula vinaka, noa’ia e mauri, salaam aleikum, namaste.  

Any of you who have experienced India, will recognise that last greeting as the beautiful Hindi invocation of peace.  In the early 1970s, when I was a Fiji district officer in the rural province of Navua, a local pandit told me that the namaste invocation means, “the highest in me greets the highest in you.”  I suggest to you, that in the halls and committee rooms of the United Nations, it is this invocation we should pass amongst ourselves as we go about our daily work in the cause of international upliftment.

 

PER Under Constant Review, FDFM Close to Terrorism, Fiji Day, and More

PER UNDER CONSTANT REVIEW. Fiji’s permanent Secretary for Information Sharon Smith-Johns says  thePublic Emergency Regulations are under constant review and can be lifted at any time.

The regulations, or PER, include rules on public assembly and the media. They were first introduced when the consitution was made invalid in April last year and have just been extended for another month.

Ms Smith Johns says the rules on the media are under particular watch since the Media Decree was issued in June. “When the Media Decree came in the Attorney General commented that the PER would be lifted after three months. That is being reviewed but there’s no decision on it as yet.”

ONE STEP CLOSER TO TERRORISM. The call by the anti-Government Australia-based Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement for economic and trade union sanctions against Fiji is so demonstrably "nutty" that its unlikely to be heeded. Earlier calls, also by the FDFM, for such sanctions were rejected by the Australian government because they would obviously impact heavily on ordinary people, and have little effect on the Fiji government.

What the call does, however, is draw attention to this shady group masquerading as freedom-lovers and democrats when, as last Saturday's post on this blog showed, they are a front for the extreme ethnic Fijian nationalists in the deposed Qarase government: the people whose actions precipitated the Bainimarama Coup. Before 2006 such people thought--and said-- that democracy was a "foreign flower" that had no place in Fiji. They now hide unashamed beneath its petals.

FDFM leader, Usaia Waqatairewa, says his movement is now looking at "strategic options to gather support for sanctions against Fiji and take drastic measures that can affect Fiji's tourism industry and cripple the economy." If these "drastic measures" include bomb threats at tourist locations as some of their ilk previously threatened, Australia may well have to deal with a terrorist organization in its midst, and its members  who are not Australian citizens or do not have permanent residency may facedeportation to Fiji to be dealt with by the authorities there. Crippling the economy will win them no friends in Fiji.

JOHN AND OWEN SCOTT'S MOTHER HAS DIED and with her some of Fiji's history.

FIJI DAY, A TIME TO REFLECT ON OUR PAST. In the lead up to Fiji Day this week, Fiji’s President, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau has said that this year’s celebrations will allow us all to look and reflect on our achievements. “The theme of our celebrations this year is “Celebrate our Fiji”.

It affords us the opportunity to look back at how far we have come and to celebrate our achievements as a nation.  We celebrate our uniqueness in the Pacific region and indeed in the world, as a multi-racial and multi-cultural nation.”

President Nailatikau said Fiji should celebrate its uniqueness and diversity despite the insecurities that it has faced in the past. “But our celebrations of this momentous occasion will not be dampened by our insecurities of the past. Our future requires of us the strength to mould a rebuilt Fiji, well-governed, non-racial, and united.

A Fiji that seeks a prosperity that can only come through honesty and sheer hard work” He added. Nailatikau also said the present Governmnet are doing all they can to improve Fiji as a nation through its reforms.

However he reiterated the importance for leaders to set aside their differences and work together to make the nation better.“But we will not find the true meaning of celebrating our Fiji, unless we put aside our own selfish interests, pool our resources together and keep our eyes firmly focused on our common goal. This requires that our Government leaders, traditional chiefs and elders, community religious and youth leaders, guide the people of our nation with a vision.”

Fiji Day celebrations will begin on the 7th of October and end on the 8th.

OVERSEAS ON FIJI DAY?  If you're in Sydney or Brisbane, see Ozfiji.com   See also the Auckland Fiji community  website and  Radio Tarana and the US, check out Fijianatimes.

DAVID ROBIE ON THE FIJI TIMES CHANGEOVER. Listen to the RadioNZ Media Watch  interview. The first part of the programme is on the Delhi Games so go forward to 24 minutes to hear the ten minute interview with David.

LINK TO UN STATS ON FIJI. Click here.

The PM's Address to the UN General Assembly

(TUESDAY 28^th SEPTEMBER 2010 No:1545/PMO) Message by the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama at the general debate of the 65^th session of the 

United Nations General Assembly

Methodist Supremacists, MSG Broker Role, Development Journalism, Education & Charter

METHODISTS AND INDIGENOUS SUPREMACY. A recent comment on the blog  by "Wither the Wesleyans" is worth sharing with a wider audience.  He writes:

The current Methodist hierarchy still doesn't understand what it has to do to get the monkey off its back. And that is to cut itself loose from Lasaro and Kanailagi (photo. L - R) the two indigenous supremacists so identified in the public mind with the events of 1987 and 2000. Tugaue and Waqairatu are only caught up in all of this because of the political machinations of these two aging warriors.

The truth is they're impotent to act against them because of their strong political base among the Methodist congregation. But until they do, the Church will be at the margins of national life, kept there by a regime that is determined to crush its influence at all costs.

A sad and sorry situation but pretty much the fault of the Methodists themselves. When they gained their independence from the Australian church in 1964, a huge effort was made to make the Fiji church multiracial, at least in outlook. But it was a process resisted by the likes of Lasaro and Kanailagi, who used their influence to drag the church into the centre of indigenous Fijian politics. Now that the Methodists and indigenous supremacy are synonymous, is it any wonder that the church has lost its moral authority and that the regime is out to destroy its pernicious influence on the country as a whole?

The tragedy in all of this is that commentators and journalists the would over are totally ignorant of the history of the Methodist Church in Fiji. If they did even the barest research, they'd quickly discover the fraudulent nature of the Church's claim that it's being persecuted in Fiji.

It is, in fact, the Church that has been doing the persecuting, successive presidents harassed and removed for not embracing the extremist agenda and non indigenous Methodists marginalised and either silenced or forced to leave. Whichever way you look at it, the hijacking of the Methodist Church for political purposes has been unconscionable by any standards. They love to quote their biblical texts so how about this one: as you sow, so shall you reap. Qori.

SOLOMON PM WANTS MSG TALKS. Concerned about what he sees as escalating friction between Fiji and Australia and the resolution  slipping further away, new Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Danny Philip, wants  a small group of like-minded Melanesian nations "to nudge Fiji back to democracy." With Fiji suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum, the PM thinks the smaller Melanesian Spearhead Group, which also includes Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, is the best forum to engage Fiji.

DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM 'VITAL FOR PACIFIC REGION' Prof. David Robie told a recent Pacific Conference of Churches meeting that development journalism is critically important for media in the South Pacific, and said that some western media had "lost the plot". Too much focus was on conflict and crises and not enough on solutions. He said good development journalism - not the misrepresented version criticised by western media - was investigative, process and solution-orientated.

"The goal of development journalism is to reach people and make a change in their lives," he said.He said this was about "empowerment of the people".Church publications - such as the new PCC website launched at the conference - NGO  newsletters and independent publications were important for agenda-setting on the "real issues" facing Pacific communities.

"New media technologies on the net make it possible for every citizen to engage in journalism through tools like blogging, and development journalists continue to play a key role in social change," he said. Based on Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch): www.pacmediawatch.aut.ac.nz. Pacific Media Centre on Twitter - http://twitter.com/pacmedcentre.

SCHOOLCHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE SENT HOME. Tuition free grants are paid by government for every registered child from Class 1 to Form 7. In that regard, no child should not be sent home. This is Government's commitment to the People's Charter and the UN Millennium Development Goals. Below is how Tuition Fee grants should be utilized by schools:

10% of the total to be used for purchasing Computers, connection of internet or any improvement of Information Communication Technology in the school; 10% for classroom furniture (desks and chairs), school equipment and materials, Office equipment (office computer, copy printer, photocopier, multimedia projector); 10% for school library books; 5% on PEMAC equipment( musical instruments and sports equipment); 5% of the total to be used for purchasing any vocational equipment or upgrading any of the vocational facilities (for schools that have vocational).  The rest should be spent on operational costs.

Levies charged by schools should only be for a computer fee, building fee, sports fee, library fee, development fee, cadet fee and admission fee, and all these fees must be approved by the Permanent Secretary for Education. It must also be noted too that any increase in levies/fees should be approved by the Permanent Secretary for Education.

The Ministry hopes that schools will now understand why the Ministry has maintained its stand on this issue -- that all students must not be sent home for non-payment of levies.-- 2010 No:1444/MOE.

ANONY-MOUSES. A reader questions why I'm letting people comment anonymously when I said I wouldn't. Frankly, because I've given up.  I still want people to use pseudonyms. It's so simple. Just click the Name/URL button and write a "name" before posting your comment. It's absolutely confidential. There's no way anyone, including me, can know who you are and if people use and stick with a pseudonym, comments and discussion will be more useful. It's not easy conducting a conversation with a mouse.

Don't Give Me that Nonsense about the Media Freedom in the Mickey Mouse Press

Q. What does the Fiji Times, the Townsville Bulletin, the Australian and the Courier-Mail have in common?
A. They are all owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd and they've all employed Rory Gibson as editor, editor-in-chief,  chief sub-editor or senior journalist at some time or another.

Rory has the reputation of writing humourous articles. If you're a kookaburra,  you'll really laugh at his latest effort, " Australian tourists turn a blind eye as Fiji's best people persecuted"   in the Brisbane Courier-Mail.

He writes that "it should be a source of profound shame to our country that Australians are going on holidays to Fiji in record numbers."

Why? Because they are gifting "dollars to the coffers of a nation that is run by a military dictatorship little better than any apartheid regime operating in South Africa's dark ages."

Forget that most of the dollars stay in Oz and that thousands of ordinary Fijians live on what's left. Just think back to Soweto, S. Africa 1976.  Police open fire on 10,000 protesters.   Fiji today. No guns fired.   Apartheid South Africa, All ANC leaders, including Nelson Mandela imprisoned, many for life.  Fiji. Short-term arrests but no political prisoners; former Prime Ministers drinking coffee in Downtown Suva.]

And who is the cause of the shame in Fiji? "We can all laugh," he writes unblushingly,  "that our Melanesian neighbours are ruled by a bloke with a name that sounds like an '80s girl band, and assuage our consciences by believing Commodore Bainimarama's claptrap about restoring fairness to Fiji's racist electoral system." Girl band? Claptrap? Restoring?  It wasn't  a racist electoral system?

And what are the effects? "This Pacific tragedy isn't about whether the Fiji Times is being edited under the baleful glare of one of Bainimarama's gun-toting thugs [Oh, No?], or that an expat gets his marching orders.[Definitely not!]  It's about people like Imrana Jalal and her husband Ratu Sakiusa Tuisolia."  And the rest of his long story is about these "best people" and a court case in which Imrana was sentenced to life imprisonment-- acquitted. 


His conclusion?  "Going on holiday there while this sort of abuse is happening would be like sitting in a cafe sipping a coffee while a mugger attacked a pregnant woman on the footpath next to you, and you ignored it."

So, that's all for the moment from Rory Gibson, former editor-in-chief of the Fiji Times, defender of media freedom. One wonders what his journalist colleagues think about this.

AND HERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE,   Did you know that last year "one Catholic district leader" stood firm with arrested Methodist leaders who were planning an annual meeting, and "bravely declined [a Government] deal in exchange for the charges being dropped."? Neither did I. But had the Fiji Times's first cousin, the Sydney Morning Herald, also owned by Murdoch's News Ltd,[my error. It's not.] identified  her as the Rewa High Chief, Ro Teimumu Kepa, we would have known.

Why did the SMH choose to ignore her well known title and call her "a Catholic district leader," which she is not? Catholics don't have district leaders. I can only guess that the story of religious persecution they were advancing looked better if a Catholic was added to the Methodists, who do have districts, whereas a high chief would be less appealing to gullible egalitarian Australian readers.

FIJI SPEARHEADS MOVE FOR MORE PACIFIC UN REPRESENTATION  spearheading a move within the United Nations to increase Pacific Islands representation within the UN system. Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Peter Thomson, has been appointed to chair a working group to  look at how Pacific countries can gain a fairer share of representation on the many councils, committees and organs of the United Nations. The eleven Pacific Island missions to the UN make up the group. They are the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Fiji-born Thomson's family connection to Fiji stretches back five generations. He left Fiji after his arrest during the 1987 coups, settling first in New Zealand and then Australia, before the Bainimarama government appointed him as its representation in New York. He holds dual citizenship.

Tui Namosi Supports Government, Fiji's Suspenion Fragmenting Forum, Croz Walsh Beaten, HIV/Aids Praise

And Australia Accuses Fiji! See left column item.

The Turaga na Tui Namosi called on chiefs attending the Namosi Provincial council meeting yesterday to support Prime Minister Commodore Bainimarama's government. Photo: Fiji Village.

My Position in a Nutshell. Maverick former South Australian MP  questions Australian and NZ policy on Fiji. Peter Lewis said the country seemed to be doing well under the leadership of someone who gained absolute power without elections, and the best way forward is to take the current Prime Minister at his word and remind him of it at regular intervals, through objective remarks.

Fiji's Suspension: Forum Secretariat Says Time Not Right, Ratuva Says it Could be Too Late Already. According to RadioNZ International, the PI Forum Secretariat  says it has decided the time is not right for it to discuss publicly questions pertaining to its operation and Fiji's ongoing suspesion from membership, even though at least one member, Vanuatu, has said  it wants Fiji's return to fullmembership ASAP.

Auckland University and former USP academic, Dr Steven Ratuva, thinks the suspension already has far reaching consequences. “It has fragmented the Forum ... the Melanesian Spearhead Group ... is mobilising around Fiji. [There are] various fault lines within the Pacific Islands’ solidarity. For a long time the Pacific Islands Forum has been based on consensus. I think consensus is beginning to see fractures right at the middle.”

Dr Ratuva says the suspension has also altered the region’s geopolitical dynamics with Fiji intensifying its
Look North policy towards China and away from Australia and New Zealand.

Croz Walsh "Beaten" by Pacific Beat? NZ Society of Authors President Tony Simpson was  interviewed by Bruce Hill on Radio Australia's Pacific Beat on Monday 19th April. He said the the NZ government's silence on the draft Media Decree was "disgraceful," concluding "I mean there are awful things going on in Fiji. I mean there are people getting beaten up and locked in prison and bullied and their views are about to be severely suppressed and the people of Fiji themselves have not got any more, much the sources of information about what's going on in their own society and from now on, they are going to have even less available to them."

Bruce invited me to comment and reply to this on Thursday 22nd, assuring me my comments would be published by Monday or Tuesday the next week. Now, nearly two weeks later, my response has still not been aired. Why? It could be that more pressing items overtook mine. It could also be media censorship Aussie-style. As with my earlier "dumping" from Bryan Crump's RadioNZ Nights show, there is no way of knowing. There's only one certainty: Australians and New Zealanders are being presented with only one, very biased, side of the Fiji story.

The joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS Pacific office has praised Fiji's draft HIV Prevention and Treatment Decree. UNAIDS Pacific Co-ordinator, Stuart Watson says the draft decree could actually be used as amodel legislation globally. The draft HIV Prevention and Treatment Decree has already been approved by the Fiji Cabinet and it could be in place by June.

(o) UN Human Rights Report by No Means All Critical

Comment and Analysis

I've just read, taken notes and quickly summarised the 20-page UN Human Rights report*, and its 103 recommendations that Fiji is asked to consider, and I must say I'm impressed. It is far more balanced than we were led to believe. The report is part of the UN's periodic review of human rights in its member countries.

My copy of the pdf document came from Mosmi Bhim of the Citizen's Constitutional Forum (CCF) with the note "that it appears that Fiji’s media are not being allowed to publish these recommendations as the recommendations are critical of the current regime in Fiji. There is no way of informing the ordinary citizens of Fiji, of what’s in the recommendations by the UN, due to the heavy media censorship."

If this is the case, it's a pity because the report contains far more than the already well publicised criticisms.

The report actually commends Fiji for its work in a number of human rights areas, including human trafficking, poverty alleviation, AIDS, domestic violence, the rights of women, children and the disabled, climate change, the death penalty, and human rights education. And several countries clearly welcomed the Roadmap, many of government's reforms, and accepted the need to delay elections until 2014. The most common criticism concerned the Public Emergency Regulations.

The impression given by the media in prior comments was that Fiji received a sound drubbing on its human rights record, with little to no support or understanding from any country. This is half true.

Some 15 to 17 of the 31 countries that made submissions condemned, or were deeply concerned about, the usual human rights issues: the constitution, elections, the judiciary, the media, and individual freedoms. There's no need to second guess most of them:the Western democracies, Israel,Chile and Japan.

A second group of some 7-9 countries was relatively even-handed, with a wider interpretation of human rights that included the rights of women and children (for which Fiji was actually commended!). This group included Brazil, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Mexico and Maldives. A third group of 5-7 countries was no less concerned about human rights but they showed more understanding of Fiji's particular circumstances. This group included Philipines, China and Malaysia.

In the second group, Slovakia (recommendation 20) called for a return to constitutional order and the rule of law, genuine dialogue across all ethnic communities, free and fair elections, and the need to address the underlying issues that led to Fiji's political instability. 

In the third group, Maldives (recommendation 99) requested the international community to do its part and show goodwill by believing in and expressing support for democracy and human rights reform in Fiji, while Morocco (recommendation 100) urged Fiji to persist in its Roadmap reforms and asked the international community to support Fiji in this.

If two halves make one whole, half-true reporting, while expected and true to form,  is also half-wrong. But perhaps that's how some journalists define balance.

Fiji will respond to the recommendations before June 2010.

To read the full report, click this Scoop link.

Coupfourpointfive, in its first original post for several days, makes the solitary obervation that Australia and New Zealand are not the only countries taking a strong stand on Fiji, and lists some of the recommendations. Link. The "orientation" of our two reports speaks for itself.


* Draft of the (UN Human Rights Council) Working  Group on the Universal Periodic Review:Fiji, Geneva. 11 Feb. 2010.

(o) Cafe Pacific | Media freedom and transparency: Human rights or corruption? Trotting out the real Fiji issues

Read David Robie's blog Cafe Pacific for how some people saw the media coverage of  the recent UN Geneva Human Rights conference. Link. This is what I had to say:
The real Fiji issue here is not human rights (though some, affecting very few people, have been abused). The real issue is the abuse of " media rights"   that have been allowed, if not encouraged, to so distort the situation in Fiji, past and present. -- Photo AUT.

Snippets: Soldiers to Iraq, Rokomokoiti, Free Bus Fares, Water Pipes, Housing, Chinese Loans, Tourists, FSC Losses, EU Claim, Commonwealth Games, Melanesian Spearhead Group

UN in Iraq. Land Force Commander Col. Pita Driti  (photo) will lead an 86 member taskforce to Iraq this month. They will join over 200 Fijian soldiers already there. Col.Rt Tevita Uluilakeba Mara will become acting Land Force Commander.

The cases the Chief Registrar Ana Rokomokoti is prosecuting -- and about which CCF objects because of her roles as Registrar and prosecutor-- involve two lawyers and a law firm. Between them the lawyers face 21 charges of alleged professional misconduct, one from six years ago.

Free Bus Fares for Elderly and Disabled. The Land Transport Authority is proposing the elderly and disabled pay no bus fares between 9am to 2.30pm and half fares outside these times. A levy on fuel would meet the cost. The LTA is also proposing it should collect all outstanding court fines which now stand at over $28 million dollars.

More than 2,000 water pipe leaks were repaired along the Suva Nausori corridor between January and June. Most of the pipes are more than thirty years old.

Snippets: Police, Misspent Billions, UN Peacekeeping

Police Roadshow to Replace Christian Crusade
The Police have cancelled the nationwide Christian Crusade scheduled to begin today and replaced it with a road aimed at informing the public about police work and how they can assist the community. The suddenness of this last minute decision makes one think it is a result of the widespead criticism of the forced "christianization" of the Force. If so, the decision is particularly welcome because it shows Government is receptive to public thinking.The roadshow will be opened by Police Commissioner Cde Esala Teleni, the instigator of the now hopefully-abandoned Crusades. Click here. Photo: Police Marching Band. The Fiji Times.