Breaking News. Ratu Inoke Sentenced

N0183. Photo: FijiVillage.
Naitasiri high chief Ratu Inoke Takiveikata has just been sentenced to eight years imprisonment by High Court Judge Justice Daniel Goundar after he was convicted of inciting the 2000 mutiny at Queen Elizabeth Barracks. He is not eligible for parole.

Justice Goundar said Ratu Inoke was given the title of Qaranivalu to bring honour upon his people but instead he has brought them nothing but disgrace.  The judge said that by turning the soldiers against their own Commander, eight soldiers were killed, 18 were wounded and two civilians were wounded by stray bullets outside Queen Elizabeth Barracks.

Justice Goundar noted that Ratu Inoke had showed no remorse except for a plea of mercy for hnimself, and that after being released from an earlier successful appeal, he had embarked on another dangerous venture to kill the Commander. He said, “Ratu Inoke, you pose a threat to the public safety and you will continue to be a threat to the safety and welfare of the public at large”.

Concerns about defence evidence
The Judge then raised serious concerns regarding the evidence given by Shane Stevens during the trial.

Justice Goundar said that Stevens who is serving a life sentence for mutiny was obstructive and was in contempt of court while giving evidence. Judge Goundar said that observing Stevens demeanor in court, Stevens expressed anger towards the institution of justice and has shown absolutely no remorse for what he had done.

The Judge has ordered that his ruling in the Ratu Inoke Takiveikata trial and his concerns over Stevens demeanor be handed over to the Commissioner of Prisons for consideration when and if Stevens applies for parole or pardon in the future.

Ratu Inoke will serve his sentence concurrently with the current 7 year term for the charge of conspiracy to assassinate the Commander and others.

All the five assessors and Justice Goundar had earlier found Ratu Inoke guilty of inciting mutiny.

Thank You, No Thank you, Ratu Naiqama; Revisiting the Lease Payment System

N0104. THANK YOU, NO THANK YOU, RATU NAIQAMA.
Coup 4.5 has released a statement from the Gone Turaga na Tui Cakau dated 3 January offering to help Government.

These extracts capture its essence:

“The Tui Cakau wants to open a dialogue with the PM to show him “the reality of what is happening in Fiji, [assist him] with an alternative set of advice from that which he is receiving at present [and impress upon him the] “the folly of disregarding the role of the Great Council of Chiefs and its role in national affairs in times of distress:- eg. 1874, 1987, 2000 and the present.” [my emphasis]

Comment

The Tui Cakau, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, seems to think all the Cakaudrove vanua are behind him (which is certainly not so) and that the only way forward is to reconvene the Great Council of Chief, several of whose members were party to the 1987 and 2000 Coups.

The GCC was so politicised during the time of the Qarase government that it did nothing to warn against or stop the divisive and racist legislation that was a major factor in causing the Bainimarama coup. Indeed, Ratu Naiqama held several portfolios in the Qarase government including Fijian Affairs and he personally was instrumental in advancing the proposed legislation.

Ratu Naiqama was also a leader of the ultra-nationalist Conservative Alliance (Matanitu Vanua) party that included prominent Speight coup supporters and chiefs.

Its policies called for Fiji to be a declared a Christian state and for the offices of President and PM to be held solely by ethnic Fijians. Many members also thought the British government should repatriate Indo-Fijians to India!

To avoid splitting the ethnic Fijian vote (and because it was deeply in debt with legal costs arising from defence of the 2000 coup plotters), his party dissolved after the 2001 elections in which won six seats. Its more prominent members joined the Qarase's SDL party.

In 2003, while a Cabinet Minister in the SDL government, Ratu Naiqama is reported to have called for an overhaul of the country's constitutional institutions, saying that political authority should be returned to the chiefs. As a first step, he called for the abolition of Senate and its replacement by the Great Council of Chiefs.

So last month's statement is not the first time he's made the same incredible suggestion.

Ratu Naiqama is head of the Tovata Confederacy (Qarase is one of his subjects) and one of Fjii's three paramount chiefs. In early 2006 some chiefs wanted him to become President or Vice-President but the Great Council of Chiefs, wisely on this occasion,  re-elected Ratu Iloilo and Ratu Madraiwiwi.

His latest public statement should fool no one of his true intentions.

N0105. LANDOWNER PAYMENTS SYSTEM SHOULD BE RE-VISITED. Two readers have raised concerns about the NLTB new system of distributing rent money.

Rusi Baleisale says "It would not take much for each family of a tokatoka or mataqali to have a bank account for family members and this is how most landowners read Frank's [earlier] announcement. Giving a lump sum to each trustee account is only  continuing the past problems but shifting it from chiefs to trustees. Tinkering with the problem does not solve it. I already know of two trustees who are going to forward the normal percentage to their Ratu. The rest of the trust members are too timid to protest and claim their share."

Cicero raises the question of the NLTB 15% administration charge: "Can you think of anywhere at all in the world where 15% would be considered a 'reasonable' rate to deduct for admin costs? Those responsible would be sacked then and there! Outsourcing should be imperative and it should be done NOW! 3% MAXIMUM for administration. Who is creaming off this fat? It would merit a riot anywhere else.

I take back my hasty comments on this issue, apologize to Fiji Today, and urge government to address these very legitimate concerns. Why can't money be paid into family accounts, and how inefficient — or grasping — is a government rental agency that it charges this exorbitant 15% admin charge?

Faster Way Forward, Water, New Judge, Hillary Clinton, Forum Secretariat Blocks Report, Military Stand Firm, Consumers Pleased, Church & State

THE WAY FORWARD: COMMENT OF THE WEEK. Seize The Moment has left a new comment on your post "Brij Lal's Book on Jai Ram Reddy":  

"Transition, you are absolutely right and the wonder is that the regime isn't moving faster on at least some of these fronts, even to give an appearance of progress. Little of what you suggest (see below)  is difficult.

"Even a little window dressing like formally calling for submissions for a national body to prepare for 2014 would give the regime something to show the international community.

"I know that elements within the regime are pressing for the lifting of the PER but this is being resisted at senior level. Why? They're waiting to see how the Fiji Times evolves under its new ownership and are still concerned about the general level of mischief making, like the rumours of Drita and Mara confronting the PM.

"The regime has been trying very hard to get more civilians to take up official roles. I know several people who've been approached and were obliged to politely decline because they simply couldn't be barred from Australia and NZ on personal grounds.

"But you're right. The regime needs to seize the initiative and show that it's serious about meeting its commitments. Maybe it's a question of resources. The regime is certainly more focused right now on better service delivery for ordinary people in Fiji than effectively selling its message abroad.

Transition said... " Croz, I agree with most of the points above. This is exactly why: 
1. The work on a new constitution, election reform and dialogue must start earlier than 2014;  
2. The PER must be lifted now;
3. We need to see the military step back from civil roles (with good people stepping in) .

"Otherwise we will try and go from a controlling, censored dictatorship to democracy in a year and it won't work."

CLEAN WATER FOR ALL FIJI: NEW WATER TREATMENT SETUP. The Water Authority is urging government to purchase 50 water treatment plants costing $115m instead of the six plants presently planned for the same price. FWA chief executive officer Tony Fullman said the standalone WetSep system was a more feasible alternative to the construction of the three water and three sewerage plants planned.  They will cost no more; be able to service a much wider area; they are environmentally friendly (they use solar power, treated waste is returned safely to the environment, and they will help reduce the country’s fuel import bill). Further, they will take only two years to install instead of six, and will use an area the size of a car park compared with the 15 acres required by standard treatment plants.Fullan said, “It requires minimum maintenance. We can hook it up in any village, any island and we can serve up to 10,000-20,000 people and that covers most of our islands. If we are going to go with this system, I think within 18 months, we can get the whole population of Fiji covered.” The system, invented by Waste Water Technologies Limited based in Singapore, will be trialled by WAF next year. -- Based on 2010 No: 1825/MOE.

NEW JUDGE SWORN IN. Puisne Judge Justice Graham Cottle has joined the High Court Criminal Division bench. He was appointed a UK Circuit Judge in 1993 and authorised to try serious sexual, murder and manslaughter cases. From 1995 to 2000 he lectured on law to students from the Universities of Hong Kong, Malaysia and Beijing. From 2001 he was a resident judge of the Exeter Crown Court in the UK.  -- Based on 2010 No:1809/MOI.

HILLARY CLINTON VIDEO. Secretary Clinton delivers remarks at the East-West Center in Hawaii on America's engagement with the Asia Pacific region. Click here.

FORUM SECRETARIAT BLOCK FIJI REPORT.  The Secretariat hired Dr Steve Ratuva to write the Fiji section on Pacific Good Leadership in 2008-09 but chose not to publish it. Geraldine Coutts of ABC's Pacific Beat tries to get to the reason why but I'm no wiser from listening to the interview.  Anyone got any idea what this is all about? Click here to listen.

WE WILL NOT GO BACK. Speaking at the military commemoration for the three loyal soldiers who died in the 2000 mutiny, the PM said the military had to remove the Qarase government because it was taking the country back to 2000 and what George Speight and his group wanted at that time. We will not go back to the dark days of 2000. The PM thought the mindset of a lot of people has now changed, knowing that the People's Charter is a vision that will benefit everyone in the country.

A delegation of 52 men led by Ratu Saiyasi Rogoyawa from Lovoni tikina in Ovalau presented their "matanigasau" to the PM and the military asking forgiveness for their actions in 2000. Ratu Sauyasi said their burning of the Masonic Hall in Levuka was influenced by an clan member who was in the rebellious Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit. -- Based partly on 2010, No:1828/MOI.

MILITARY REAFFIRM LOYALTY. RFMF Chief of Staff Brigadier General Mohammed Aziz, speaking of the Commemoration,  said the day was not only for those who died. It also commemorated those who had stood together to repel the attacks by a section of the Counter Revolutionary Warefarre Unit. “On 2nd November 2000 the members of RFMF in togetherness defended the barracks and represented the unity that existed amongst the force and the allegiance they had placed with the Commander. This morning a similar pledge was placed - and the pledge is that there is unity in the force and this unity is unquestionable.

CONSUMER COUNCIL COMMENDS CONTROLS. Council chief executive Premila Kumar  says the current process and method used by the Commission in using evidence-based pricing and costing from suppliers addresses one of the weaknesses of the old price control regime.  She commends the Commerce Commission for its review of the outdated Price Control Order of 1970.

CHURCH AND STATE. The Director of Public Prosecutions has withdrawn conspiracy charges laid against 36 Methodist church ministers but the charges against the President of the Methodist church, Rev. Ame Tugaue, and Rev.Tuikilakila Waqairatu who are charged with organising an unlawful meeting, still stand.

Charges of unlawful assembly under PER against former President Rev.Tomasi Kanailagi and Rev.Manasa Lasaro remain. Both men are itaukei racists who supported the Speight Coup in 2000. It surprises me they they have not been banished long ago from having any influence in a Christian church. They have done much to foment unrest and agitation against the Bainimarama government and I think it highly probably that had it not been for them,  the mutually damaging standoff between church and state would not have occurred.

Layers of Conmen by Crosbie Walsh

It's a little like Russian dolls with one doll hidden inside the other.  Except in this case it's deceit that's hidden.

The story from Australia is that ethnic Fijian conmen, some of them lay preachers back in Fiji (and all claiming to be religious pastors in Australia), are promising to obtain "bridging visas" for people who have overstayed their entry visas and are likely to be repatriated to Fiji by the Australian authorities. Their "fee" might  start at $2,000 increasing to $5,000 when the "client" is hooked on the idea, and then to $10,000 when the hook bites.  The story came to light with the recent suicide of Josefa Rauluni at Villawood Dentention Centre when he was due to be repatriated to Fiji. 

The conman who conned the Rauluni family is well-known in the Fijian community. He is Jolame Nale (or Joe Naliva) who claims to have helped more than 200 Fijians stay in Australia. He says he never asked for any money from the Rauluni's. They offered him $2,000 to help with expenses, and he's going to give the money back.

So how many dolls are that? A conman inside a pastor inside a Fijian. But the likes of Jolame Nale are not the original conmen.  There are two more.

First, the likes of Usaia Waqatairewa of the Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement who claims hundreds of Fijian are seeking sanctuary. "People are coming over every month probably by the plane-loads or the majority of people on the aeroplane. They coming over and they don't have any intentions of going back." Asked why, he said, "It's a lot to do with the political situation and also the other aspects, which is the economic situation and the social disruption the policies of this present government has brought upon the people of Fiji." This doll exaggerates the numbers involved, the social disruption, and what supposedly will to happen to people were they return to Fiji. And all this keeps the ethnic Fijian emigre population on tenterhooks and thus even more vulnerable to the financial conmen.

Finally, back in Fiji, there's the ultimate con that for years now has conned ethnic Fijians into believing  stories about threats from Indians and supposed attacks on their culture. Until this ultimate con is exposed, the more gullible ethnic Fijian may be taken out of Fiji, but Fiji won't be taken out of the gullible ethnic Fijian.

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:

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.

Church Leaders Should Heed PM’s message: Fiji Sun

The  Sun's  editorial on the government and the Methodist church will be dismissed by some because of Fiji's several newspapers it is known to most favour government. But the message makes sense, and most of the points made are well known already.

Government is not opposed to the church; only its politicalization and use by extreme Fijian nationalists. The editorial, commenting on Bainimarama's meeting with church leaders on Monday, said: "All that the Prime Minister wants from them is to get away from politics. To instead serve the needs of their members as a church. We all know that the church was used by some in the past to push their own political agendas. Certain politicians used the church. Certain church leaders were politicians more than men of God. We all know there were divisions in the church over this."

The editorial concluded: "We pray and hope that there will be a positive reaction from all the church leaders to Commodore Bainimarama’s message. The way forward now is to build a better Fiji. The Methodist Church and all its people should be part of this."

Many others would hope so also, but it won't happen unless the two most political churchmen, Speight Coup supporters, the Revs Tomasi Kanailagi and Manasa Lasaro (photo), step down, and I'd be surprised if they will do so voluntarily.                                                                               Photo: Solivakasama.

STOP PRESS. Fiji Live reports that Methodist Church President Reverend Ame Tugaue and his General Secretary Reverend Tuikilakila Waqairatu have been asked to step down. A good start but  even if they agree, this still leaves Kanailagi and Lasaro.

Sunday Feature: An Insider's View from the Outside

Nesian is a pseudonym for a moderate, Fiji-born, part-Fijian, Hindi-speaking, sky-blue passport-carrying, former Fiji-resident. An Insider's View From the Outside is the result of years spent thinking about all that has happened since the 2000 coup.  Photo.  Earth from space.Oakfieldmedia.com

Looking for a Prime Minister After the Speight Coup

Former development banker Laisenia Qarase was, to Bainimarama, the perfect candidate to turn his dream of a united Fiji into reality.

Ever since Independence, Fiji’s politicians had relied on the

tried-and-tested methods of racial politics. If you were Indian, you blamed the “lazy” Fijians. If you were Fijian, you criticised the“selfish” Indians. If you were kai-loma, well you tried to align yourself with the Fijians who owned all the land, or the Indians who had all the money.Otherwise, you put your head down and hoped no one would see you.

But the stalemate that followed initial discussions between George Speight’s group and the military was resolved when Qarase was appointed interim Prime Minister. Here was a Fijian without political connections, who was untainted by the nationalistic spores that seemed to have contaminated everyone else. And for Bainimarama, he was the better choice than the openly xenophobic alternative, Adi Litia Cakobau.

As campaigning began for new elections in 2001, Bainimarama sent out civil affairs teams from the military to the remotest parts of rural Fiji. They had one directive, to urge the people to vote for Laisenia Qarase and the new Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) party.It was a decision Bainimarama would regret.

The army commander was full of optimism that Qarase would use his position as leader of the country to find, expose and bring tojustice all those who allegedly had a hand in the 2000 coup and mutinies at Sukanaivalu Barracks in Labasa and Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva.

In Bainimarama’s eyes, Qarase rewarded them instead: a posting as high commisioner here, ambassador there, an executive posting elsewhere. And whenever someone with links to the 2000 coup was brought to justice, Qarase’s government found imaginative legal methods to let them off.

They now found themselves at odds, drawn inexorably towards their December 2006 showdown. Bainimarama, feeling betrayed; and Qarase, doing all he could to satify, if not his nationalistic leanings, at least those of his political partners with their unique creed of patriotism.

(+) Suliasi in Wonderland: a Nonsense Petition

New Feature. Letters to the Editor.  Scroll down.
Support the Readership Drive. See left column.

If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?

Alice in Wonderland.

This posting traces the origin of a petition, its validity, and its unquestioning acceptance by RadioNZ and other media outlets.

Fiji: A call for democracy by NZ blog NoRightTurn

"Fiji's people have been fairly meek and accepting in the face of three years of military rule - but not any longer. On Friday, they submitted a petition to the military regime calling for the restoration of democracy and elections by the end of the year. It was backed by over 680,000 people - more than 80% of the country's population. It will be interesting to see how the regime responds to this. With that level of mass opposition, its not as if they can arrest everyone (besides the obvious problem of numbers, the soldiers may not be willing to arrest their families). OTOH, unless the people are willing to turn their mass opposition into colour-revolution-style mass protests, then the regime may not in fact have to do anything."  Link.

Now read on to see where this nonsense came from.

RadioNZ reports, without prior enquiry, question or comment, that a petition "said to have the support of more than 600,000 people"  has petitioned Bainimarama to hold elections this year. Link.( See other RadioNZ links below.)  And Coupfourpointfive has followed suit.

I presume their "source" was one of the interlinked anti-government blogsites, most probably Matavuvale or Tears for Fiji. Do not be surprised to see this incredible story next mentioned in the international print media.

The informant and main petitioner was Suliasi Daunitutu of Queanbeya, NSW, who is linked to the Australian FijiDemocracyNow movement. Suliasi said the petitioners, most presumably living in Fiji, "are afraid to express [their views] openly, so it's being done through various political parties ... Leaders of the Fiji Labour, SDL and National Federation Party..."

So.  This is a petition based on past party membership lists  not individuals who have signed in  their own right or given parties to sign on their behalf. The lists were apparently given by these parties to Suliasi and then handed by him to Bainimarama! I certainly wouldn't like to belong to a political party, or any other organization, which was so free with its membership list. And if Bainimarama is as vindictive as Suliasi would claim, he isn't doing his petitioners any good by giving him their names and addresses. The petition is immediately suspect on these grounds.

It is also suspect on the number of petitioners claimed:

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)

Bainimarama: The "I am a Nationalist" Debate

PM Bainimarama made yet another of his unclear, so-easily-misinterpreted statements last week. He said ""I am a nationalist, Fiji for the Fijians, for, even Indians" leaving us all wondering what on earth he meant. 

The term "nationalist" in Fiji usually means an extreme or ultra-nationalist who in putting ethnic Fijian rights first, makes all others second class citizens. The term "Fijian" usually means ethnic Fijian but the draft People's Charter recommends it as the name for all Fiji citizens.  And what on earth did he mean  by "even Indians?" I have no idea.

For a release on his statement, and very informative and interesting comments on the statement, click here for the Coupfourpointfive website.

My own views?  There's nothing sinister in the remark but he desperately needs a public relations officer.  The stakes are too high and the issues too important to allow them to be defined by ambiguous off-the-cuff remarks.

Snippets: Ratu Naiqama, Fiji Times, FNPF, Pacer Plus

Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu 
Cakaudrove paramount chief, the Tui Cakau Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu (photo) has said all money earned from the province's qoliqoli (traditional fishing grounds) will be used only for education.  It is pleasing to read about Ratu Naiqama talking on fishing, though I doubt he's consulted any of the numerous mataqali who "own" the qoliqoli.

Far better than his support for the army mutiny at Sukanaivalu Barracks in Labasa during the 2000 Speight Coup, or his parliamentary leadership role in 2001 as an ethnic extremist CAMV politican, and far, far better than 2003 when, unbelievably, he called for all political authority to be returned to Fijian chiefs -- like it was before 1874! -- starting with the Great Council of Chiefs replacing Senate.


A Political Item by The Fiji Times! 
PM Bainimarama says Rugby Union acting chief executive Keni Dakuidreketi has to resign while he faces corruption charges. FRU chairman Bill Gavoka begs to differs. The Fiji Times reported this exchange, its first political feature in months.  Dare we say, Welcome Back.

FNPF Needs to Have Some Investment Offshore. Fiji Market Too Small
In 2005 (before the Bainimarama Coup) the Reserve Bank told the Fiji National Provident Fund to repatriate over $300m in offshore investments to bolster critically low foreign reserve levels. This unexpectedly saved the pension fund from the global financial market crash, but it is now preventing the Fund from diversifying its portfolio and earning "good" returns for its members.

It is difficult to put its $3 billion-plus investment portfolio into the domestic markets, though the Fund has invested in government bonds, government papers, treasury bills and bank  fixed deposits. It's attempt to diversify into the hotel industry was a disaster and the Fund is now trying to sell three non-performing hotel projects. Click here for full report.

PACER Plus
Fiji Live reports: the PI Forum Trade Ministers will meet in Brisbane next weekend to negotiate the PACER Plus regional trade agreement -- without Fiji.

(oB) Fijian Commoner 'Should Be Free': CAMV

Politics, especially politics in a small-scale society where personal loyalties and pride are often more important that ideologies and policies, are never simple. I've sometimes wondered whether this is why Fiji bloggers of opposing persuasions first insult and then pray for each other. Today's enemies could be tomorrow's friends, and vice versa, so it's wise to cover your bets.

There have always been shifting alliances within and between Fiji's political parties, and chiefs (often from the same family), business people, academics and civil rights leaders stand on both sides of Fiji's present political divide. But now we have developments and alliances that only six months ago seemed impossible. Two weeks ago we saw old enemies Qarase and Chaudhry unite in a letter to Bainimarama. I put the letter down to a publicity stunt but there could also be real substance in what I called their "arranged marriage."

Now there's an even more amazing development. The extreme Fijian nationalist party, the Conservative Alliance Matanitu Vanua (CAMV), is apparently backing the Bainimarama Government whose politices most certainly do not support extreme Fijian nationalism.

Read more...
A little background is necessary. The Conservative Alliance Matanitu Vanua party (CAMV) was formed by high-ranking chiefs and others (Rev.Manasa Lasaro attended the inaugural meeting!) who supported or were involved in the 2000 Coup, so that a party with policies similar to the plotters could contest the 2001 election. Their platform included obtaining amnesty for the coup plotters and mutineers, ensuring the President and PM would always be ethnic Fijians, affirmative action programmes for Fijians, and turning Fiji into a Christian nation. They won six seats in the election and Qarase's SDL party needed their support to ensure ethnic Fijian parliamentary paramountcy.

Prior to the 2006 election the CAMV dissolved and merged with the SDL. Following the SDL election victory they were given the speaker's chair and several ministries, and the government's promotion of the Tolerance and Reconciliation Bill that would have freed those imprisoned for treason, the Qoliqoli and the Indigenous Claims Tribunal Bills (see earlier posting) and affirmative action programmes.


Now step back a little. After the failure of the 2000 Coup, thanks to military intervention, Bainimarama had backed Qarase's appointment as interim PM and later as PM on the understanding the coup plotters and military mutineers would not escape justice, and legislation would be pursued to build a united Fiji. It was Qarase's breach of this understanding that prompted the 2006 military coup. Bainimarama felt betrayed.

The decision prior to the 2006 election to dissolve the CAMV and merge with the SDL had not been unanimous. Ropate Sivo opposed the decision and it is Sivo who has sought re-registration of the CAMV. He says he wants Fijian commoners to be free of their obligations to chiefs, hence his backing of Bainimarama's proposed reform of the Fijian Affairs Act. He is also backing the proposed electoral reforms and the People's Charter. Sivo said “CAMV supports the Prime Minister’s roadmap to build a sustainable and accountable democratic system by 2014”.

Just how much the CAMV has changed -- and how many more changes we may expect as the different Fiji "factors and actors" reassess their positions in an ever-changing Fiji -- is too early to say, but this new development points to unexpected and increased support for Bainimarama (contrary to Dr Fraenkel's view in an ealier post) and contrary to the general overseas view of Fiji as a country where complex problems can be resolved with simple solutions. -- Sivo report based on FijiLive.

Map: Fijian Communal Electorates 2001. The CAMV took 5 (all of Vanua Levu and Tailevu North); the SDL took the other 12. The CAMV also won one Open electorate, Cakaudrove West. Source: Walsh 2006: Fiji: an Encyclopaedic Atlas.

Media Censorship Easing; Methodists ; Tourism Hurting; Howard's Law Office Break-in

Netani Rika, Editor of The Fiji Times

Photo: The younger Netani when interviewed for the USP student journalism paper Wansolwara in April 2002, several years before the 2006 military coup.

Before you read the whole interview and the posting that follows, here are three answers he gave to the student journalist's questions:


How do you reconcile having an opinion column and being deputy editor of your own newspaper?
A good journalist is able to separate himself or herself from personal opinion and the newspapers, and also what is hard news and what is opinion. And you should be able to write a hard news story even though you disagree with the opinion of those who are stating their opinion in your story--2002.

What kinds of responses do you get from different people, people on the streets, politicians, other journalists?
Hate, fear, envy, respect. Over the course of writing there have been threats against me, threats against the newspaper, and threats against my family.

What motivates you to write your column?
Social justice, intense desire for a unified nation. For people to be united we must, I think, realise first that we are different. We are different, there’s no denying that, but in these differences there should be unity in diversity.

(+) Signs that Fiji Media Censorship Easing for Some
RNZI reports that daily censorship has ceased on all daily papers other than the Fiji Times. Given editor Netani Rika's continuing hostile comments about the Government, and his totally unsubstantiated claims that past and recent personal threats come from the Government, not to mention the Fiji Times' record of hostility and biased reporting (see my other posts by using "Search this Blog" Fiji Times), I would expect the censorship to continue.

His latest claim is that a threat written by a visitor to a pro-government blogsite was from Government. It is far more likely Government knows nothing about the threat. It could be by a Government supporter -- or even by an anti-Government person seeking to incriminate Government. If readers wish to peruse blogs for really venomous personal threats, try the anti-government blog sites.

Read more...

I sympathise with Rika but he needs to find a new way of holding to the principles he espoused in 2002 and be able to persuade Government to remove censorship altogether. Going down the same road is getting nowhere. He talks of support from his readership and lack of support from colleagues in other media. A good start might be to talk with these colleagues and personally to play a more positive role in defusing the situation. His continuing crusade against the Government, waged at home and overseas, is doing nothing to restore freedom of the press.

The sooner censorship is totally removed, the better, but it will not come until the Fiji Times displays a higher standard of reporting than it did before the Emergency Regulations. The media hold a strong hand. The Government desperately needs the media if it is to build a better Fiji on a foundation of dialogue and general support. But even a strong hand needs to be played with skill. It remains to be seen how skillful a player Netani Rika is.

P.S. Sept. 7 2009. All Government departments have been instructed to stop subscribing to the Fiji Times.


Fiji Methodists Thank World Council of Churches
Rev.Tevita Banivanua, the Methodist deputy general secretary, has thanked the World Council of Churches for its support, and hopes it will have "an effect on the Government's attitude...We have been trying to establish dialogue with Government ... We are indeed very happy that government is showing a sign of openness towards that, but time and again they come in with some little hiccups on the way, which is sort of stopping us from engaging in dialogue that we would like to do and to carry on with the discussions about Fiji's future." Asked whether he thought the government would pay attention to the WCC and international support, he responded, "That's a good question ... They don't seem to be paying any attention to anybody. But I think ... they have at least to listen now, because otherwise we will continue to go down the drain. I am hopeful that with greater understanding, if they love Fiji, then hey have to be influenced by such moves." [Note: The Church has still not addressed the issue central to its confrontation with Government: its anti-Government political stance, and particularly its failure to condemn the extreme Fijian nationalism of senior ministers the Revs Lasaro and Kanailagi. I suspect dialogue will not improve until it has done so.]

(-+) Tourism Industry Almost Certainly Affected by Australian Negative Portrayal
The Bureau of Statistics reports there were 36,000 visitor arrivals in March, down 22.3% compared with 2008. Australia, that accounted for 40% (14,462) of arrivals, was down 25%. The only increases were from Taiwan and continental Europe. While "visitors" are not the same as "arrivals," a comparison with NZ for the year ending July shows NZ arrivals up 5.7% from Australia, and down down 8.3% from the Americas, 16.8% for Asia, and 2.8% overall.

Notwithstanding the global economic turndown, the higher proportion of business and citizen-returning arrivals and swine 'flu, the negative portrayal of Fiji's political situation, particularly in Australia, does seem to have been a major cause of the decline in numbers. Given that tourism is Fiji's major industry, Australia's so-called "smart sanctions" have had a not-too-smart effect on ordinary people and done nothing to change the Government's stance. To minimise future impacts -- and perhaps even persuade Government to move faster to elections -- Australia and NZ need to assure their public that travel to FijI.

(-+) The Anti-Government blog Discombobulatedbubu reports that Howard's Law Office was broken into last week. The thieves seem to have been professionals, and their search seemed to be confined to "Fijian" records. The blog thinks Government or the police are responsible. Maybe, but the explanation is more likely to be along the lines I suggested above with regard to the Netani Rika threats. Why break in when an official search warrant could easily have been obtained?

Did censoring the story stop the public knowing about Government's abuse of the law? Or did it stop anti-government thieves and their backers from using the media to "persuade" the public that Government broke the law? Only the thieves can answer that, but taking only "Fijian" items seems a little obvious -- like leaving behind the green army hat after another break-in we reported some months back. Who would gain most from this incident? Certainly not the Government. Then who?

(B) "The Indians Want Your Land"

Just as parents in the West used to warn their children, "The bogeyman will get you" to enforce compliance, extreme ethnic Fijian nationalists use "The Indians will get your land" bogeyman to justify the 1987 and 2000 coups, condemn democracy as a "foreign flower," demand the President and Prime Minister must always be Fijians, and  oppose all of Bainimarama's intended reforms*. Their real purpose, of course, is not the protection of Fijian land and custom, but the protection of power and privilege for the sections of the Fijian elite of which they approve.

The fears, of course, are quite unfounded, as the nationalists know full well.  Eight Acts of Parliament protected Fijian, Rotuman and Banaban customary rights, and the 1997 Constitution ensured there was no way of amending these acts unless the overwhelming majority of Fijian leaders wanted change.

The Acts in question are the Fijian Affairs Act, Fijian Development Fund Act, Native Lands Act, Native Land Trust Act, Rotuma Act, Rotuman Lands Act,  Banaban Lands Act, and the Banaban Settlement Act. The Constitution's Chapter 13 on Group Rights states any change to any one of these acts requires a (a) parliamentary bill, to be read three times and passed by the majority of members on the second and third reading, and (b) approval by at least 9 of the 14 Senate members nominated by the Bose Levu Vakaturaga, the Great Council of Chiefs who were then appointed by the President. So even if the other 18 members of Senate (9 nominated by the PM, 8 by the Leader of the Opposition, 1 by the Council of Rotuma) voted for change, which was extremely unlikely,  the GCC-nominees could prevent it. 

With a Lower and Upper House overwhelmingly Fijian (as they are likely to remain whatever the outcome of the present political situation), even the most minor change not wanted by Fijians was just as probable as seeing a real bogeyman. Is it any wonder the Constitution was not translated into Fijian!

* The Interim Government has no intention of removing these laws, although changes may be made to the operation of the Native Land Trust Act to permit a fairer distribution of land rent moneys, and the powers of the GCC are likely to be removed.

(0) ANZ-US: Who's Kidding Whom?

See Comments on this post by clicking "comment" at the end.

Outgoing Acting US Ambassador to NZ Dr Dave Keegan was interviewed by NZTV1's Mark Sainsbury on Sunday. He had this to say about Australian, NZ, the US and the Fiji "situation."

Keegan: The role of the US in the Pacific I think is longstanding, you know out of Hawaii which is our Pacific state, out of American territories, Guam, American Samoa, and others, but we're also not going to step in and try to recreate the kind of expertise that Australia and New Zealand bring to the table. You have a degree of knowledge and a degree of understanding of how to make things work there that we want to take advantage of and be the beneficiary of, and figure out how we can add value.

Sainsbury: But the US congressman for American Samoa Faleomavaega, now he says that - he has criticized New Zealand and Australia's attitude to the Pacific, and said America should be looking at - in terms of Fiji - that we're too tough on Fiji, America needs to take a sort of softer stance there.

Keegan: I know that Mr Faleomavaega has made that argument, Secretary of State Clinton, Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell have made it absolutely clear that in the government's assessment, New Zealand and Australia are taking a strong line with Fiji that is appropriate, and that we want to figure out how to work with your governments as we have been to continue the pressure on Fiji to move back to a real democracy.

To read the whole interview, click here. Our thanks to Pacific Media Centre for this.

Meanwhile, contemplate how our knowledge and understanding of the Pacific have really made things work since the military takeover .

Think of --

1. How the Fiji situation has got progressively worse since December 2006.
2. How we have not modified our approaches as the situation changed.
3. How we have not accepted Bainimarama has far more support than we first realized.
4. How we have failed to understand Qarase and the extreme opposition will not modify their stance unless we stop backing them.
5. How we do not understand it is only Fiji's "middle ground" (not the racist extremists) that can bring about reconciliation.
6. How our policies have further divided Fiji's people, and delayed reconciliation.
7. How we have not acknowledged democracy cannot be achieved by an undemocratic electoral system and injust government.
8. How we have failed to grasp that our stance on Fiji has accelerated Chinese influence to the detriment of our diplomatic influence and trade interests in the Region.
9. How we continue to accept the Pacific Island "yes" at the Forum, and on PACER plus and PICTA, as unreserved approval of our benign leadership.
10. And, most importantly, how our lack of humility -- and deep-down belief in human equality and justice -- has failed to boost our knowledge and enhance our understanding of people and nations whose cultures and histories are different than our own?

This is not to excuse the human rights and other abuses that have occurred since 2006 but, given that our Fiji policies have demonstrably failed, we must ask Dr Keegan: "Who's kidding Whom?" One must hope the incoming ambassador will have more nous.

(+-) PERS and Some Very Sad Persons

If you think there's no good reason for the continuation of PERS (the public emergency regulations) -- with its restrictions on the media and public meetings -- probably until the end of the year, have a look at some of the anti-government blogs, Solivakasamablog for starters -- and then think again.

"The time is here Voreqe you are no use to us !.. Pass this to all freedom loving Fijians in all places, especially those in the villages and islands, in Fiji so Voreqe and his illegal regime can be brought to its knees once and for all. CURRENT LEADERSHIP YOUR TIME IS NOW UP. YOU HAVE 3 DAYS TO GIVE UP AND HAND OVER NOW TO THE CIVILIAN RULE OR YOU WILL BE BURN." -- SWM.

"You are going to burn in hell Voreqe" -- Jese.

"Bainimarama no longer commands the respect of his men and I think the same can be said of Teleni ... it is just a matter of time, before the floodgates open. Bainimarama [and co.]... should read carefully the writing on the wall because the Methodist Church is the only institution ... which can still save them from the wrath of the Fijian population. If they continue to prosecute the only institution which can actually save them, then they have destroyed their last chance of hope and their blood is upon their own hands." -- Na Vosa.

Should the threats be taken seriously? I don't know. But these are the words of very angry (and therefore not very clear thinking) ethnic Fijians who, one suspects, thought Fiji was hunky-dory under Qarase and his SDL Government. They would have approved Fiji's first three supposedly "pro-Fijian" coups, mistakenly thinking they were to protect Fijian "rights" against the voracious Indians. It's unlikely that anything anyone can say will make them change their minds, not one iota. Racism does not respond to reason.

(+) Methodist Leaders in "Denial"

"It is time the Christian churches step away from politics once and for all for the benefit of the nation. For too long the failure of the churches to separate their pastoral role from national politics has fanned the flames of unrest." Fiji Times editorial March 17, 2009.

What a pity! There seemed to be some hope for a Government-Methodist rapprochement after Rev Akuila Yabaki's plea for dialogue (see previous post.)

But no. Fiji Live reports the Methodist Church's stance is unchanged.

I can understand the Church's refusal to sack Revs Lasaro and Kanailagi (photo), as requested by Government, but not for the reason given. I also have reservations about two other Church statements. My comments refer to elements within the Church; not the Church as a whole.

Gen.Sec.Rev.Tuikilakila Waqairatu said the Church does not believe the ministers have offended. If this is the case, members of the Standing Committee need to look very closely at the Church's Christian foundations. Their immediate offence is the use of the church to derail the Bainimarama government, and defying the Emergency Regulations. This is arguably an offence or not an offence, depending on your perspective. Their more general offence is the crime against humanity sort. Both men are extreme Fijian nationalists, far more than church ministers. They have been engaged in what most of today's Christians would say are immoral and unchristian acts: they have preached racism and supported racist causes for over 20 years. And during all, or most, of this time they have been senior officers of the Church.

The Rev.Waqairatu says, "The Church’s involvement in politics is for the spiritual and moral aspect." This is true, up to a point. The Methodist Church is the major part of the lotu of the lotu, vanua, matanitu trilogy. But the Church has allowed Lasaro and Kanailagi's decidedly unspiritual and immoral political preaching to go on unchecked for 20 years. It has helped-- or at least not stopped -- their election to high office within the Church. By not standing up against the racist taukei faction, the Church is thus seen to have supported three racist coups, and two political parties and two governments with racist policies. It is this brand of politics, not the spiritual or moral -- in which they have definitely been involved -- that the Government asks the Church to renounce. And it would insult the Church leaders' intelligence to pretend they did not know so.

The Rev.Waqairatu also called on the Government "to consider the spirit of love, compassion, morality and responsibility in the direction they move in." I find this "pot calling the kettle black" request ingenious. One must ask where were Lasaro and Kanailagi's love and compassion when they advocated actions and policies that, to varying degrees, insulted, hurt or impoverished thousands of innocent people between 1987 and 2006? Do they still excuse the desecrated temples? The refugee camps filled as Methodist Fijians threatened isolated Indo-Fijian farmers? The affirmative action policies that left one-half of Fiji's poor untouched? Or the displaced Indo-Fijians who moved into squatter areas when their cane farm leases were not renewed, as urged by taukei Fijians? Can they imagine how it feels to be a second class citizen, even when you are a sixth generation Indo-Fijian? Have they forgotten Qarase's proposed legislation that led to the 2006 Coup? Or the tens of thousands of Indo-Fijians who have emigrated? None of this, of course, was really about Indo-Fijians. They were merely the scapegoats. There were deeper causes and more devious reasons for the coups, but where was the Methodist Church then? Why were these human rights abuses not denounced from its pulpits? How can it allow two men so grievously marred to serve in the Church? How can it instruct Government on the spirit of love and compassion when its silence let the Laraso's and Kanailagi's have their way?

A Personal Note
For the record, I was at the receiving end of a Rev. Kanailagi attack in July 2002, a month before the Church's annual conference. Speaking to a public audience on poverty I said churches, and particularly the Methodist church, because of its numbers and its means of fund raising, needed to find ways of easing the poor's church donation burden, an issue then in the news because of similar remarks by MP Mike Beddoes. In 2002 Rev. Kanailagi was a Senator nominated by the Qarase Government. While speaking on the President's address to both Houses, he called "a Professor Walsh" every name under the sun: a fly-by-night expert, a person ignorant of the relationship between lotu, vanua and matanitu, ignorant of and insensitive to Fiji's cultures and faiths, a communist, an atheist ...

But that was nothing to what he called the Fiji Times and Five One. They were "agents of evil ... of some foreign agencies planning against Christianity and the indigenous people [note the coupling] ... poisoning the country with false accusations against the Methodist Church." How, he asked, could one expect fair reporting when "all the reporters were Indian?" He welcomed the Cabinet decision to review media laws.

What goes around, comes around. Reported in The Daily Post July 7, 2002. Need more be said! The Church had hoped to raise about $2.4 million at this year's Conference. Photo: : Matuvuvalu album.

STOP PRESS. METHODISTS MODERATE STANCE - A LITTLE
Rev.Ame Tugaue told FijiLive the Church will make a fresh attempt next week to meet with PM Bainimarama in a bid to convince the Government to allow the annual church conference to go ahead. He said political issues proposed on the agenda had been removed, but ...


The Church and Intellectual Accountability

"The problem is not that the Methodist Church is involved in politics but that it has failed to reason publicly its many intrusions in politics [or been] compelled to justify its ethno-nationalist ideologies within the context of a multicultural society. The Methodist Church in Fiji can once again meaningfully contribute to the ordering of society, but only if it is held intellectually accountable for its actions and inactions over the past twenty-two years."
-- Sudarsan Kant. Read his full comment by clicking "comment" under "Methodist Church Should Consider Dialogue."

(o) Methodist Church Should Consider Dialogue as the Way Forward for Fiji: CCF

At last a breath of fresh air!
A call for the way so many disputes are settled in the Pacific. A call from Fiji's "middle ground" (those unhappy with some of Bainimarama's methods who nethertheless see merit in his stated aims for a non-racist Fiji). A call from Fiji's most reputable governance NGO. A press release by the Citizen's Constitutional Forum. Photo: Rev. Akuila Yabaki.

The Citizens’ Constitutional Forum (CCF) describes the call by Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, for the removal of two senior ministers from the Methodist Church, as tough and unfortunate.

CCF however feels that given the history of the support by senior Methodist Church ministers for ethno-nationalism and the coups of 1987 and 2000, the church should now consider engaging in dialogue with the military and government, to find a way forward for Fiji.

Bainimarama’s call, as well as the ban on the Methodist Church Conference due to be held in August, are against fundamental rights of Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Religion and Belief,” CCF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rev Akuila Yabaki said.

On reflection, these two senior Methodist ministers have been at the forefront of the ethno-nationalist stance taken by the Methodist Church in recent years to the extent that it was proclaimed as if it was a divine right,” Rev Yabaki said. “This may be the right time for the Church to ensure that its exercise of Freedom of Religion does not impinge on the rights of others to be free from racial discrimination.”

CCF calls for dialogue, not only between the Military and the Methodist Church, but also for wider participation in dialogue processes from stakeholders throughout Fiji, including different religious and civil society groups to find way forward,” Rev Yabaki said.

“It’s time for the Methodist Church hierarchy to make a fresh start and to take the risk of moving into more inclusive leadership. It’s time for the younger and newly elected church leaders to exercise their gifts for the moderate responsible leadership required for dialogue,” Rev Yabaki said.

For further information, contact CCF on ph: 3308379 or fax: 33083

(signed) Rev Akuila Yabaki, Chief Executive Officer

(o) Government and Church: What Do They Mean by "Politics?"

Methodist Church President Revs Ame Tagaue and Secretary Tuikilakila Waqairaru (photo) met with PM Bainimarama on Wednesday but were not successful in persuading him to lift the ban on the church's Annual Confererence and AGM planned for August. “Basically," Bainimarama told Fiji Live, "the conference will [only] happen once they remove politics not only from their agenda, but from the church too.” [Not an easy ask. See previous posting.]

So where does this leave Fiji, its major religious institution, and its search for a resolution to its present - political - problems? What do the Government and the Church mean by politics? Are they talking about the same thing?

The Government means any anti-Government action, ranging from the relatively mild and healthy criticism of groups such as the Citizen's Constitutional Forum, to the obstructionism of the Fiji Law Society, to the media's alleged one-sided account of events, to the crusading posturing of people like Rev. Manasa Lasaro that could lead to serious public unrest, to plans for actual physical action against Government. Government's apparent inability to distinguish between honest criticism and these different grades of opposition has been its major tactical weakness that, uncorrected, could well lead to its ultimate downfall.

If Government is to have any chance of implementing the much needed reforms it advocates, it must win the "political middle ground," and to do this it has to take some calculated risks. It must, of course, apprehend what Col. Pita Driti called "some factions of the Taukei movement" who are stirring up unrest. It must see that the Taukei faction within the Methodist Church does not have unrestricted access to the thousands meeting at the proposed annual conference. But it must also distinguish between low and high risk. The total clampdown of the past month allows its opponents to claim the moral high ground.

What the Church means by politics is harder to define. Conferences have always discussed politics, in its broader meaning, as it affects the church and the Fijian population. I would consider this a legitimate involvement. But the Church has also engaged in party politics, supporting extreme Fijian nationalists; its Taukei leaders actively supported the 1987 and 2000 Coups; and there can be little doubt that these same ulta-nationalist leaders, notably Rev. Manase Lasaro and Rev. Tomasi Kanailagi, will use every oppportunity to derail and oust the Interim Government. This type of political involvement would not be supported by the mainstream of Christian opinion, in Fiji or overseas.

Coupfourpointfive reports that Bainimarama speaking last week from Brussels told the church leadership to bar these clergymen from future church activities. This it cannot do. They are elected officials who can only be dismissed at the annual AGM. And therein, as "Anonymous" commented to my previous post, lies the irony. The Church cannot hold the conference with these clergy and they can only be dismissed at the conference.

There seem to be two other possibilities. Just as the Govenment needs to recognize degrees of dissent, so also the Church needs to distinguish between core and peripheral principles. How adamant is it in its opposition to Government? Is there really no common ground? How important is the Conference? Is it possible to disallow political discussion that could lead to civic unrest? Can Lasaro and Kanailagi be persuaded not to attend the conference (or attend but not to speak on political issues) for the greater good of the Church? This is one possibility.

The other possibility was raised by "Altergo" as a comment to my previous post. He writes:

"This is one area where the Bainimarama regime cuts off it's nose to spite it's face. Allow Lasaro a public platform in a free media and several things will happen: 1. He'll spend more time promoting his views and less time conspiring; 2. His views will attract reasoned and vigorous opposition, giving people the opportunity to hear more than one voice. (As it is, the only opposition comes from the regime mouthpieces who have little credibility when it comes to well-reasoned debate); 3. The likes of Lasaro will be less able to don the shroud of the 'righteous oppressed' if they're given a public hearing.

"As much as I detest the current regime, we cannot allow the Methodist Church in its current incarnation to claim any sort of precedence in any efforts to replace the current government with one that has a properly proven popular mandate. So let them bray, publicly. It will quickly become obvious that they are merely noisy, empty vessels. Rather than God-anointed saviours who have an viable vision for Fiji.

"I do not think the Methodist flock of Fiji is as stupid and gullible as many make them out to be."

I think "Alterego" has a point. It's a little risky but it could work, and if it did, Government would gain in support, and the Conference could go ahead. It's even possible but, in my opinion, unlikely that the moderates at the Conference would vote out the Taukei malignancy that has plagued the Church for too long. Well, this is at least a more pleasant prospect than the nightmare of extending the Emergency to August, as has been hinted.

Government's statement that there will be no more meetings with the Church is, I'm sad to say, characteristically unhelpful.

Photo: Fiji Live. Reports also in the Fiji Times, Fiji Village