Even though his home is under water, he can still smile.

From Allen Lockington

Croz, would you post this to your Blog. The source is Imagine South Pacific.

The man's wife had sent him to save the TV and he returned in a bath tub, with some bele for their dinner and a rake for his oar.    Picture taken in Nadi.

Even though his home is under water, he can still smile. 

                                                                                         

 -o0o-

VAT ON FLOOD DONATIONS. Two readers have asked me to ask Allen to send his article (published yesterday)  about VAT on flood donations to the media. I'd suggest he also send it to the Ministry of Information and DISMAC.  P.S.   Allen says the article was published by the Fiji Times yesterday.  He had a comment, which I now can't find, on why VAT was imposed.Some people were taking advantage of being able to import goods without VAT so Government changed the law to tax everyone.  Seems pretty clumsy to me. And not a good reason at all. VAT should be lifted on all donations and if people are misusing this concession, they should be detected and punished. "Punishing" everyone means fewer genuine donations.

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in Fiji. I thank Allen for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.

Allen reflects on the flooding that is currently affecting the West.

    Take VAT Off Flood Relief

The West is once agan being ravaged by flood waters. I pity the people who have been affected. Just when they were recovering the floods hit us again.

Some people will be wondering what is happening. In the past we would be hit by one hurricane that would last for about four hours and that's it. We wait till the next year and brace again. But this is not even a hurricane and it has caused more damage and grief than a cyclone or hurricane.

Our finances will now be stretched even further and the big companies and organisations that have given thousands of dollars may not be able to give once again.

In 2009 we received around 50 containers   from donors in Australia and New Zealand. In the January floods there was none, because Customs was levying VAT on the relief supplies. Some containers were returned to the senders because no  one wanted to pay VAT on goods that were given free and to be distributed free. And a few are still sitting in shipping companies yards waiting to be auctioned in the government auction. Even the donors didn't want the goods back because they had received it from many different people and it would just go back and sit in the containers or destroyed. As a Customs broker I know about this.

2011 Was Not a Good Year for the Workers of Fiji

By Kevin J. Barr

In an address in early August 2011 defending the Essential National Industries (Employment) Decree, the Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said:

“The Bainimarama Government, as you can see from our track record, has been on the forefront of improving wages for those workers who have been on the margin of poverty.” (Fiji Times 8^th August)

However, this statement is far from the truth and needs to be addressed.

I wish to take a brief review of 2011 from the viewpoint of the workers of Fiji. It may have been a great year for employers and investors but not for the ordinary workers of the country.

Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) a colonial invention by Victor Lal

Ratu Seru Cakobau

This article published in the Sun in November 2006 is especially pertinent now while people are again talking of the Great Council of Chiefs, chiefly authority, custom  and land.

'Wherever I go now,’ the first British colonial governor Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon wrote, ‘the natives shout Woh! and crouch down, as before their own great chiefs, and they admit and understand that I am their master’.

His house was declared tabu: all persons passing it on the road or sailing before it in canoes, gave the tama, or shout of respect to a high chief. The people had no choice, for it was Gordon who had created the Bose Levu Vakaturaga or the Great Council of Chiefs, and had come to see himself as chief of the Fijian chiefs.

The GCC is, therefore, merely a colonial invention, which Gordon had created in order to rule Fiji through the chiefs. In fact, there was nothing new about Gordon’s invention, for the British had devised similar institutions, to rule Africa through the African chiefs on that continent.

`Known unknowns’ and ANZ Sanctions on Fiji

              By Scott MacWilliam

A recent Press Release by a New Zealand based consultancy firm 36th-Parallel.com has brought to light a potentially perverse consequence of ANZ diplomacy toward Fiji’s military regime. This diplomacy, it will be recalled, included requesting the United Nations to reduce or eliminate completely, the part played by Fiji soldiers in peace-keeping missions. Deployment overseas played a major role in training, including internationalising the attitudes of soldiers, and providing remittances which boosted foreign income for the country and relatives.

Thanks to the document recently issued by 36th-Parallel.com one response of the regime to this form of sanctions is now receiving wider circulation: see http://36th-parallel.com/2012/03/dispatch-fiji-regimes-ppp-defence-commercial-arm-targets-msg-states/ . To cite the opening paragraphs:

`Fiji’s military-led government is actively promoting a commercial-wing of its defense (sic) network as a recruiter and agent for private military-styled security personnel. Fiji Defence Logistics was established in 2008, less than two years after Commodore Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama and the Republic’s military overthrew the Fijian government. The company was formed under the Fiji military government’s Public-Private-sector Partnership (PPP) framework.

Seizing Control or Restoring Parity? QANTAS and Air Pacific

An anti-blogger writes in Fiji Today:

While Sayed-Khaiyum is busy trying to dress up his takeover of the Qantas influence over Air Pacific decision-making, the Business Times, a Malaysian business paper with no interest in our politics, has a headline which says it all: “Fiji seizes control of Air Pacific”. No-one is fooled. It’s yet another attack on the investment of a long time investor. This sends a signal to the world that no investment is safe in Fiji. Khaiyum is the biggest single obstacle to economic growth in our country. Either Bainimarama is too stupid to understand this or he has no say, because Khaiyum has some kind of hold on him through evidence of corruption. NAVOSAVAKADUA

I do wish anti-bloggers would provide hyperlinks to their sources,  It only takes a couple of seconds and it would allow readers to check their claims. The unnecessary absence of sources is a form of deceit.

The Business Times heading was correct but it was not the Business Times, as Navosavakadua claims,  that said Fiji seizes control — it was Fiji's military regime!

Here is the article:

SUVA: Fiji’s military regime said it had seized control of national carrier Air Pacific from Australia’s Qantas yesterday because it did not want foreigners to own or control Fijian airlines.

The South Pacific nation’s government, which took power in a 2006 coup, denied the move amounted to nationalisation, saying it fixed an anomaly that gave Qantas control of the carrier while having only a 46.3 per cent stake.
“(The) government has now corrected the activities of prior Fijian governments, which allowed foreign citizens to control Fiji’s national airlines,” it said in a statement. AFP

In fact, the Fiji Government did not say it had seized control.  Fiji's "Biggest Single Obstacle"explains, in response to a Qantas denial,  why they took this action:

MEDIA RELEASE: QANTAS MISLEADS ON VETO CLAIM  Fijian Attorney-General and Minister for Civil Aviation Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum released the following statement today in response to Qantas:

Qantas’ assertion that it does not have veto or supermajority power over key business decisions at Air Pacific is patently false and misleading.

For actions pertaining to 19 areas of operations, including the following, by Air Pacific or any of its subsidiaries there requires the approval of two thirds of the directors (six of the nine directors).  

• Adoption of the company’s budget
• Entry into any major commercial or joint venture agreement
• Any major variations to air service schedules
• Commencement of any new air routes
• Appointment of the chairman and any deputy chairman
• Appointment of the managing director
• Granting of any mortgages
• Employee incentive schemes

Furthermore, so long as Qantas holds more than 40% of all the voting shares in Air Pacific, Qantas directors must constitute more than one third of the directors present at the meeting for there to be quorum in respect to any of the aforementioned actions (at least two of six directors).

These stipulations are in place notwithstanding the fact that the Fijian Government owns 51% of shares and appoints five of the nine directors.

Attached for reference are the related articles of association.

 -ENDS-

ED. NOTE. The A-G may be correct in saying Qantas's 4 Board seats gave it opportunities to render ineffective Fiji Government's 5 seats but he provides no examples of when Qantas actually used its powers in this way. The A-G's move may have been motivated for the reasons he has given, it could be a smart business move, or it could merely be an extension of previous practices.

  
Air Pacific is the major airline used by tourists, and tourism is now Fiji's most important source of income.  The Bainimarama Government has always acted to prevent any possible threat to the economy and its power base.  Hence the Media Decree that ousted Murdoch interests in the Fiji Times; the Essential Industries Decree that restricted union access to airline workers; and recent talk about Government possibly buying the Fiji Sugar Corporation. 

Whatever the reasons, there will almost certainly be two consequences, one possibly beneficial, the other definitely not.  The action will probably lower Air Pacific's share price, make it less attractive to other investors, and less costly for Air Pacific to buy out Qantas. Both companies would be pleased to see a buy out but Qantas's current asking price (F$70 million) is too high for Air Pacific.  

More generally, the move against Qantas will do nothing to restore investor confidence.

WEEKEND READING  • Allen Lockington column • 2010 Was Not a Good Year for the Workers by Fr Kevin Barr  • The Great Council of Chiefs, a Colonial Invention by Victor Lal • Known Unknowns and ANZ Sanctions on Fiji by Scott MacWilliam

News and Comments Thursday 29 March 2012

A super-majority shareholder?

QANTAS POWERS OVER AIR PACIFIC REMOVED. Government has changed airline ownership rules in a new Civil Aviation Ownership and Control of National Airlines Decree which now takes away the veto and super-majority rights given to Qantas, that owns 46.3%,  in Air Pacific. Government owns 51%. Despite its minority shareholder position, Qantas had previously  maintained effective control of Air Pacific through super-majority and veto rights over significant areas of the company including the appointment of the Air Pacific Chairman, Deputy Chairman, annual operating budget, any expenditure, new air routes, variations to Air Service schedules, management appointments, employee incentive schemes including bonuses, and numerous other key areas of oversight, control and decision making.

TIKOITOGA WRONG, CHAUDHRY RIGHT. Land Force Commander, Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga says FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry was "sacked from his ministerial portfolio [in the Bainimarama] because of nonperformance.” Chaudhry, rightly, denies the accusation. He resigned in August 2008 so that he could contest the 2009 elections that never eventuated. And all media reports at that time with confirm his denial.  It is not clear why a  military spokesman should be speaking on behalf of Government.  One would have thought this would be the role of the Ministry of Information and other Government ministries but if Tikoitoga insists on speaking he would be well advised to first get his facts right.
   
TIKOITOGA CLAIMS FLP-SDL PLOT. Co. Tikoitoga also claimed the RFMF "knows of plans by politicians to combine to oust the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama-led Government in the 2014 elections." His remark is important for three reasons: It came from the military that, in my view, should leave such accusations to Government; it was a reaction against a well publicised, and hardly secret, announcement by Chaudhry; and it suggests that Bainimarama will, as many have thought, contest the 2014 as the head of a Government-led party.  One hopes the FLP-SDL announcement and Tikoitoga's reaction will not detract from the Constitution reform process due to commence soon.  Meanwhile, Bainimarama has urged Chaudhry to channel his remarks to the Constitution Commission (of which Chaudhry does not approve.) 

BAINIMARAMA SAYS CONSTITUTION WILL NOT ADDRESS ROLE OF MILITARY. From May to July a civic education programme, in English, Fijian and Hindi,  will be conducted to highlight issues for Fijians to think about before they make their voices heard to the Constitutional Commission.
The PM is reported to have "dismissed calls for the Fiji constitution to address the role of the country’s military." It is to be hoped he will changed his mind.

There should be no prior imposition on what the Commission and Assembly can and cannot discuss; and the role of the military, that has been active in all Fijis' four coups, is too important not be be included. If Bainimarama wishes to break the "coup culture" the role of the military has to be clearly spelt out.

 I would assume most people would be happy to see a role (a) withstanding foreign interventions and attempts to illegally depose elected governments, (b) assisting during national emergencies, and (c) ensuring that elected governments do not contravene the Constitution, and in other stated ways upholding the Constitution. In each case military action would only be on the instruction of the President and in his absence the Vice-President.  The Constitution Commission and Assembly may also wish to at least air the possibility of the military having representation in some ancillary Government body such as Senate, if it is decided to retain Senate in some new form.

PINA MEDIA SUMMIT AND PasiMA. For 40 years the Pacific Islands News Association has represented news media in the Pacific but in 2010 a group of journalists from Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu formed PasiMA, the Pasifika Media Association, arguing that PINA had compromised its principles by not taking a stronger stance agains the Bainimarama government. PINA countered by saying more would be achieved by engagement.

This week Bainimarama opened the PINA summit in Fiji which is about  “Building a healthy and responsible media culture”. There are  sessions on indigenous media ownership, social media, anti-corruption, climate change and non-communicable diseases in the media, and building public trust in media.

Cook Island News publisher John Woods says the summit  a “junket” of journalists who have “sold out” to the military regime.The whole gathering is utterly appalling. It’s a sham and they are paying homage to corruption and evil."

Matai Akauola, PINA manager, disagreed.  “We are taking a Pacific perspective rather than a white man’s perspective. We need to engage with Governments, to talk and dialogue. We used to not engage and we would make statement after statement but that got us nowhere. We are taking this stance, it might be different, but it is not wrong.” Akauola said accountability went both ways and the media in Fiji needs to “clean up its act” before it can demand accountability from its governments.

“We aimed for 150 delegates, and now we have almost 180 people here. We are just disappointed that our traditional friends from Australia* and New Zealand* cannot be here. We thought politics didn’t play a part in Pacific media but obviously it does.”

“They (Woods, Samoa Observer editor Malifa and Vanuatu Daily Post publisher Marc Neil Jones) can throw stones but they should be here to discuss, not on the outside. We have Kalafi Moala (also a PasiMA member) here, we invited anyone and everyone. And we are disappointed that Radio New Zealand International is not here. We need professionals, academics, all kinds of people to be here and join the discussion.”   The Summit concludes tomorrow Friday.

-- Based on Alex Perrottet, contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch. 
 * But Australia's Graham Davis and NZ's David Robbie are at the Summit so we expect to be able to published more soon.

Muslim Network Stealing iTaukei Land: Targeting Racial and Religious Intolerance

Disinformation #2

Note for readers not fully versed in English.  Much in my comments is satire.

The misled Christian

THE DISINFORMATION CONTINUES

A recurring theme in the anti-blogs, and Coup4.5 in particular, is the Muslim threat to Fiji. And the local instrument of this Muslim  penetration is the Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum.  Well! With a name like that, it's obvious, isn't it?  Anti-blog readers already know that this Shaitan/Tevolo has his horns into Bainimarama, a misled but otherwise likable (see photo) Christian itaukei. Here's my take on their latest disinformation published on Friday (24/3/12) under the heading "Bainimarama makes merry while Khaiyum steals Fijian land."

Giving the landowners all of their money
Khaiyum's theft is apparently evident in the Cabinet decision to pay all land lease moneys equally to all landowners. This, according to Coup4.5,  undermines the chiefs and the Native (now ITaukei)Trust Board that previously kept close to 90 percent of rentals.

At a Bose Vanua meeting in Naitasiri last week the chiefs asked Frank Bainimarama to restore the old system. After a quick mobile call to Aiyaz (and a check that no one was watching), Frank suggested the chiefs "ask every member of their landowning unit if they agree to give more money to the chiefs." Only the cunning Aiyaz could have come up with such a smart answer. Right?

Laughing all the way to the land bank
Aiyaz's horns can also be seen in the setting up of the land bank in which government, intent on bringing more land into productive use, acts as the go-between between companies wanting to lease land and the iTaukei owners. Mataqali that agree to lease unused land to Government for 99 years receive government-guaranteed rentals, with no deductions. Government then leases the land to investors. 

According to Coup4.5, this all came about when Frank gave Aiyaz a "carte blanche to create the Land Bank, which quickly established a new system of rules to abolish the Native Land Trust Board and  allow 'the State' exclusive proprietorship..." So now, "Khaiyum and his power circle ... have their eye on Fijian land. To achieve his goal, Khaiyum has had to remove the bureaucracy in the land tenure systems to allow more flexible provisions favouring foreign investments.(He) has now not only eliminated Native Title Rights but has empowered the Muslim Network considerable powers to legitimatise its actions to govern Fiji indefinitely."

Most of this, of course, is nonsense. The ILTB still exists, landowners volunteer their land for lease, and they have a guaranteed return of all the rent money.  But there is sufficient truth to be believable.  There is a land bank, ILTB has been bypassed on rents, the chiefs now miss out on the larger share, and all rent money goes equally to all owners. Foreign investors, including a mining company, have taken up some of the leases. All this is fact.  The rest is Coup4.5 conjecture and disinformation.

But, not to deny Coup4.5 the last word:
In much of the recent information sighted by Coupfourpointfive, the Muslim Network is touted as a real threat to Fiji land ownership. Documents we have seen say the Network aims to control the mineral industry to further push landowners away by compensating them. (Huh?)



The instigator of it all of course is Khaiyum.

The Soqosoqo Ni Who Party?

By Crosbie Walsh

In August 1939  German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop and Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Stalin wrote to Hitler expressing the hope the Pact would "mark a decisive turn for the better in the political relations between our two countries."  But both sides saw the Pact as a temporary expedient as they prepared for war. So too with Chaudhry and any reciprocal moves by Qarase.

Chaudhry's decision to "join hands [with the SDL...]to front and campaign against the government" has similarities to the Nazi-Soviet Pact. It reads well but that is all. Chaudhry's record suggest his move is motivated more by a determination to return to power than it is to salvage "the country from a government which suppresses the people through despotism."

"We have to save the country," says Chaudhry. "Whatever is happening here is before all of us. We have a government which dictates to the people, people don’t have freedom of speech for the past three years, political parties and people could not meet. People were made slaves so in this sort of situation we have to get together and oppose this. Political parties always have their differences. This is not new but we need to get together to get the country out of danger because we think more about the future of this country so we can’t sing different tunes, we have to get together and sing the same tune."

There is, however, a silent irony in Chaudhry's appeal. His arrogance and insensitivity to the feelings of itaukei were a major factor that played into the hands of the racists who mounted the 2000 Speight Coup. And Qarase's betrayal of Bainimarama's trust after this coup when he got into bed with the Speight plotters, rather than bringing them to justice, and his subsequent disciminatory legislation, were major factors that produced a wave of public support than helped Bainimarama to seize power in 2006. 

So, in these respects, Chaudhry helped produce the 2000 Coup and Qarase the 2006 Coup.  And now these gentlemen are holding hands to return things to what they probably consider "normal".  The normal adversary style of politics; the normal insensitivity to other ethnic groups and other religious beliefs; the normal perks and nepotism of office; the normal practices that could produce yet another coup.

If they genuinely wish to save the country, they would co-operate with Prof Yash Ghai's Constitution Commission and stand aside for a new generation of politicians, less tarnished by their personal histories.

Chaudhry's proposal for another round of President Political Dialogues should be seen for what it is.  He blew its possibilities  last time.  He has given no signs of a change of heart since.  The message remains:  "I Chaudhy. Never mind Fiji."

Supporters of the FLP and SDL should know that  this latest move to derail the Constitution reform process is not going to happen.  It may not be perfect, but the best way forward is to support and take part in the current reform process.

News and Comments Tuesday 27 March 2012

Add caption

HONG KONG SEVENS WIN celebrated. 

NAMOSI MINE.  A decision on whether to proceed with the controversial mine is expected next month.

MSG. Melanesian Spearhead Group foreign ministers met in Suva yesterday before the leaders' summit on Friday. The adoption of the skills Movement Scheme which aims to source skilled labour from within the Melanesian Spearhead Group region is one of the issues to be discussed.

COCA COLA BUYS FIJI BREWERIES.Beverage company Coca-Cola Amatil  will spend A$58 million (about F$108m) to buy the Fijian beer and spirits business unit formerly owned by Foster’s. The Fiji business comprises brewery and distillery operations in Fiji and Samoa.

PINA. The Pacific Islands News Association media summit began at the Lagoon Resort, Pacific Harbour with a series of workshops yesterday. More than 100 journalists from around the region will converge to discuss pertinent issues regarding the media industry.

MERE SAMISONI. The Court  yesterday declined the application of the Director of Prosecutions Office that she had breached her bail conditions.

QUARANTINE BAN LIFTED. The 30-day typhoid ban on villages and settlements in Ba province has been lifted.

RATU TEVITA M. WELCOMES MOVE ON GCC. A former Prime Minister and former Labour Party member has welcomed the move to de-establish  the Great Council of Chiefs.

Ratu Tevita Momoedonu welcomed the announcement by the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, saying the GCC has become irrelevant.He says the GCC was set up initially to assist Colonial Rulers develop the i-Taukei. Ratu Tevita says a Council should be set up to replace the GCC with membership made up of the i-Taukei elite that can act as an advisory to the Government on development matters.

He  also criticised the membership of the GCC, where according to him, members were once chiefs.This he says changed as members were being drawn from politicians and the church.

FLP WANTS DIFFERENT ROADMAP.  The Fiji Labour Party wants to replace Government's Roadmap with one that it says will be "truly independent and genuinely inclusive." The party thinks Government's Roadmap has been imposed on the country "without any consultation with political parties or civil society organisations." In its place the FLP "recommends that the President’s Political Dialogue Forum (PPDF) abandoned after the abrogation of the Constitution in April 2009, be resuscitated to determine a roadmap based on consensus."

The FLP also wants political parties and civil society organisations, including trade unions, to be able to meet and consult with their constituents without having to seek permission; the media to be "fair, balanced and [to provide] accurate coverage"; the lifting of the State Proceedings (Amendment) Decree; and "the inclusion of political parties, NGOs and civil society organisations in the civic education programmes to ensure ...that these programmes do not become indoctrination sessions pushing a preconceived agenda."

The party also "questioned the need to write up an entirely new constitution noting that the 1997 constitution was promulgated following wide consultations with the people, and that it had the broad agreement of all the communities. " It thought a revised 1997 constitution would permit early elections, and wanted the revisions to provide "appropriate safeguards [to restrict the military] from engaging in politics."

NOTE TO A READER. I have one reader who does not like this blog who continually accuses me of cut and paste journalism. For his information, this posting is an example of cut and paste, otherwise known as snippets, briefs or the news in brief.  My other postings are as close to cut and paste as his other negative remarks are to reality.

News and Comments Monday 26 March 2012

EXTRACT FROM RATU TEVITA'S LETTER to Prof Yash Ghai appealing to him NOT to chair the Constitution Commission.
The Council, as its name implies, is dedicated to the restoration of democracy in Fiji. It is a very widely based organisation having amongst its stakeholders the two major political parties who garnered the overwhelming majority of votes cast in the last democratic election held in Fiji, the Methodist Church of Fiji, the Fiji trade union movement, and the Fiji Democracy Movements worldwide.        Are the SDL, FLP and Methodist Church really stakeholders  in his Council for a Democratic Fiji or is he simply assuming their support?  And if he is speaking for them, did they consult their members?

NAITASIRI,  IO SAKA, SEQA SAKA. . Naitasiri has joined other provinces in accepting the Constitution process but their chiefs have asked Bainimara to return to the old unequal method in the distribution of land rent moneys.

TIKOITONGA ACCUSES RATU NAIQAMA.  Military Land Force Commander Col.Mosese Tikoitoga has accused the Tui Cakau Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu of irresponsible behaviour and an abuse of chiefly power in taking no steps to end the mutiny at the Vaturekuka military camp in Labasa in 2000 which resulted in the death of some soldiers and the imprisonment of others. Most of the rebels were from Cakaudrove.

METHODIST CHURCH STANDS BY CHIEFS. The Methodist Church stands by the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC), saying national consultation should have been held before it was abolished. Church general secretary Reverend Tevita Nawadra said it was a sad day for those of iTaukei heritage to see a national institution abolished in such a manner. While admitting the GCC had had problems, he said the GCC had performed its duties admirably during its tenure and all "presidents chosen by the GCC all stood the test of time and proved themselves when they held that office."

FLP TO ELECT NEW PRESIDENT. Fiji's Labour Party will be electing its new president in July. Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry said this was decided at their meeting today. Currently the party has three vice presidents - Tom Ricketts, Sachida Sharma and Lavenia Padarath. Chaudhry said they had a good discussion about the constitution consultation process at the meeting. The FLP has called for the  constitutional roadmap "to be replaced by one that is truly independent and inclusive", noting that Government did not consult with any political party or civil society organizations in announcing its plan.  He also said "all decrees and policies that impede freedom of assembly, association, expression and movement must be removed."

MSG SUMMIT LEADERS will meet in Suva  this week to discuss issues of common interest that have been discussed by the different sub-committees. MSG Secretariat media officer Lora Napuati confirmed Leaders attending will include Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, spokesperson of the FLNKS Victor Tutugoro, PNG Foreign Affairs Minister Ano Pala,  Prime Minister of Vanuatu Sato Kilman and Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Darcy Lilo.

AIRLINE TO LINK MSG CAPITALS? Plans to have a Joint Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) capitals airline connection was discussed at the Senior Officials Meeting on Friday. Foreign Ministers will discuss this and other issues on Monday.

BAINIMARAMA ON MSG. The PM waxed eloquently about the MSG last week. “We are, after all, family and it is important for us to gather and rejuvenate our ties. There are no other countries in the world like ours.” The PM noted that under Fiji’s chairmanship of the MSG, significant decisions taken at the Leaders Summit held last year included the establishment of the Regional Police Academy (RPA) and the establishment of the MSG Formed Police Unit (FPU). Other decisions include the endorsement of the Report of 1st MSG Mission to New Caledonia that took place from June 8-11, 2010 with the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation (C24) and formally recognising the work of the MSG in the decolonisation process in New Caledonia.

COURT WILL HEAR CASE. High Court Judge, Justice Angela Wati has ruled that the Court will hear the case of the 63 sacked Public Works Department workers claiming that they were unfairly dismissed. The ruling comes after issues were raised in court earlier in the month whether she could hear the case as some decrees clearly state that some matters cannot be challenged in any court or tribunal.

IF YOU MISSED THE WEEKEND READINGS, SCROLL DOWN

President leaves for Tonga

MEDIA RELEASE: FIJIAN President leaves for King’s funeral

His Excellency the President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau departed this afternoon for the Kingdom of Tonga to attend the funeral of the late King George Tupou V. 

The President. Mary and Frank Bainimarama, the King

Accompanied by the First Lady, Adi Koila Nailatikau, His Excellency will represent Fiji and join regional leaders next for the state funeral of the late monarch.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama had highlighted that the passing away of King George would be a loss for not only Tonga but the whole Pacific island states.

Prime Minister Bainimarama said Fiji together with fellow Pacific neighbours, would miss one of the region’s great leaders.

He assured his counterpart in Tonga Lord Tu’ivakano that Fiji would continue to strive to maintain its traditional links and bilateral cooperation with the Kingdom of Tonga, especially in common priority areas.

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in Fiji. I thank Allen for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that

                     Levuka Public School

I know of many schools in Fiji that have excellent ex-students associations. The ex-students who have returned after leaving school to give back to the place where they got their education usually come back because of their desire to lift standards of the school and also help out in sports and facilities.

One of the best moments is the school reunion where people come back after many years and many children later to see how their friends are. We all prosper in different ways and for those who were dedicated they return slim and with a happy family with the children attending their old school.

Some schools have been dependent on theses old scholar because many of them now hold high posts in government or are executive managers in the private sector. And then you have those who have their own business and are faring well.

Levuka Public School just had its dormitory burnt down   and I do hope that the  authorities will move quickly to rebuild because the lives and welfare of the students can be affected. I am not an ex student of LPS but I spent four years working on Ovalau and had become part of the school in sport, especially cricket where I took up the bat having left Marist in 1976. I attended many fund raising functions and social evenings over there. The school is steeped in history and I am glad that I was able to read many of the things written about the school.

Levuka Public School has a place in my heart and I will cherish the memories that I was with their cricket team. I still have lumps on my head where the cricket ball hit me. Because the LPS ex scholars knew an ex Marist would be a good batsman. But I'll leave out the details. Please help rebuild the dormitory.

When Violence Threatens

#63 WHEN VIOLENCE THREATENS   By Graham Davis  – March 19, 2012

Trouble for Grubsheet too

Grubsheet’s burgeoning number of opinion pieces on Fiji are largely designed to counter what we regard as the continuing failure of the mainstream regional media to come to grips with the reality of events there. They’re especially aimed at an Australian audience, to highlight what we regard as the folly of Canberra having turned its back on Fiji since Frank Bainimarama’s coup five years ago. A lot of these pieces are picked up by the mainstream media – The Australian and Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, for instance – or disseminated to a wider regional and global audience through the Pacific Scoop service of the Auckland University of Technology and Pacific Islands Report from the East West Centre in Hawaii.

Some are written as news stories but most are shamelessly opinionated, strong expressions of our own views based not only on on a life-long association with Fiji but having reported political events there for the mainstream media since before the first coup in 1987.

The problem arises when these articles are picked up and republished in Fiji, a country where the separation of news and opinion in the mainstream media doesn’t have a strong tradition. And so it was last week, when the Fiji Sun published a Grubsheet opinion posting on its front page that would have looked very much like news to local eyes. It provoked a wave of outrage, not least from the subject of that article – Laisenia Qarase, the man Frank Bainimarama deposed in his 2006 coup.

Qarase's “Association of People United”

Past Relics in a United Fiji

                                                   By Subhash Appana

I read with increasing interest, and not a little bit of trepidation, the recent release by former PM Laisenia Qarase on his party’s always-multiracial political platform and purported broad-based support. This was in response to Graham Davis’ thought-provoking piece titled “Rumblings of the next eruption in SDL talk” where he questioned whether a race-based party, like the SDL, would be allowed to field a supposedly reformed and race-inclusive Qarase in the next general elections.

The King and I

                        By Crosbie Walsh

I first met the King in the 1960s in the days when his grandmother Queen Salote III was alive.  It was at the opening of the Tungi Arcade in Taufa'ahau Road.  He was not long returned from Sandhurst and he would not let me leave until we had finished a bottle of whiskey together.  The next day he went surfing. I stayed in bed.

Media Barons and Democracy

Fiji has it own example in the Fiji Times which has tried to influence political events, but this BBC review of the wiles of media barons Hearst, Beaverbrook, Murdoch and others makes the Fiji Times' efforts look tame.

"...on the one hand, a free press, devoid of censorship or any other form of government interference or regulation, is vital to the successful functioning of any nation that claims to be a democracy; but on the other hand, those freedoms may be abused by rich proprietors who use their newspapers to promote their own political agenda, or by journalists whose ethics are at best dubious and at worst deplorable"
. 
A Point of View: Power struggles, politicians and the press
     Link.................  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17399310

The Disinformation Blogs

WEEEKEND READING • Allen Lockington Column • When Violence Treatens by Graham Davis • Qarase's 'Association of People United' by Subhash Appana  • The  King and I by Croz Walsh • Media Barons and Democracy - BBC.

                             Opinion by Crosbie Walsh

There are indications of panic in the anti-blog newsrooms.

 Despite their efforts to liken the Fiji dictatorship to the military dictatorship in Burma, there have been no protest marches or public immolations. Ordinary Fijians seem to be going about their daily lives in normal ways. From the perspective of the anti-blogs, things are moving too smoothly. The Constitution reform process has been generally well received. The media is publishing commments hostile to the "illegal" Government by former politicians Qarase, Chaudhry and Beddoes , and even Rabuka has put his two-cents worth in. The Methodist Church hierachy and the CCF have aired views critrical of Government on the demise of the Great Council of Chiefs.   The pathway to the "illegal" elections is now more clearly illuminated. There seems little doubt that America, and Australia and NZ behind the scenes, have accepted the announced steps leading up to the 2014 election. And even the economy seems to be picking up.

What does this mean for the anti-blogs? They could change tack and try to steer events closer to how they wish.  They could even change to genuine support, subject to certain conditions.  But these strategies would not put the SDL back in power or ensure itaukei paramountcy, whatever that now means. Nor would there be the perks, appointments and scholarships like there were in the good old days.  So, as their chances of success diminish by the day, their best option is to take their disinformation to a new level. 

"Disinformation (a direct translation of Russian дезинформация dezinformatsiya)", and I quote from Wikipedia,"is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. For this reason, it is synonymous with and sometimes called black propaganda. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth. Disinformation should not be confused with misinformation, information that is unintentionally false.

"Unlike traditional propaganda techniques designed to engage emotional support, disinformation is designed to manipulate the audience at the rational level by either discrediting conflicting information or supporting false conclusions. A common disinformation tactic is to mix some truth and observation with false conclusions and lies, or to reveal part of the truth while presenting it as the whole (a limited hangout)."

Disinformation, of course, is not new to Coup4.5. Their stories from insider, leaked and "usually reliable sources" have long provided gossipy fodder for their more gullible readers. Remember the protest marches that never eventuated. The military about to rebel. The links to Al Queda and the Muslim takeover. Bainimarama so ill he could not walk unsupported. Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum's arrest. Bainimarama portrayed as Khaiyum's puppet (and unintelligent, untrustworthy, corrupt, incompetent and a liar, as FijiToday repeated only yesterday.)

The blog's latest posting (22/3/12) claims "on excellent authority that  a trio [of the Chief Justice and lawyer sisters Nazhat and Shaista Shameem] has already drafted a guiding Constitution and held a secret meeting on New Years Day at the Macau Hotel in Nadi"  to discuss the consultation process, the Civic Education Programme, and the composition of the Constituent Assembly. They also had learned "on excellent authority that as suspected, Yash Ghai was chosen by Bainimarama and Khaiyum to head their illegal consultation process because of his profile."

What's so hushhush and sinister about all this? A secret meeting in Nadi when they could have met more secretly in Suva — although, apparently, it took Coup4.5 from New Year's Day to find out? Three lawyers meeting to consider legal guidelines? Thoughts on who could make up the Constituent Assembly? The choice of an internationally respected lawyer to chair the Commission that would hear submissions prior to the meeting of the Assembly?  Does Coup4.5 seriously and honestly think the Constitution Process could happen without forward planning, that participants and agendas would miraculously fall into place, and a lot should be drawn for Chairman?  There is no story here. Perhaps that's why it took Coup4.5 from January 1st to tell it.

The day before (21/3/12) they  published an equally incredulous, but far more embellished, story. This time it was a "leaked report" of a meeting of the Military Council to  provide an "exit strategy for Frank Bainimarama cloaked in a new Constitution and the 2014 election." The meeting apparently considered a "paper titled Fiji's Road Map To Political Election 2014 (sent to Coupfourpointfive the day before the consultation process was announced more than two weeks ago on March 9)."  But why it was not reported then they do not say.

However, we are told subsequent events (the abolition of the GCC, changes in the Provincial Councils, etc.)  make the report "too convincing to ignore." The meeting also discussed how Bainimarama could be "out maneuvered"! Huh! Exit strategy and out manoevered?  Submitting  the report and the  minutes of their meeting to paper would seem to be dangerous given their part of their plot to  out manoevre the Prime Minister. The paper (that may be read in full on the Coup4.5 site) really lets the cat out of the blog so I would expect the immediate dismissal of plotters Captain Natuva, Colonel Saumatua and Colonel Aziz on the grounds of disloyalty.

The paper listed seven strategies.  Strategy 1 called for an immediate election, and a “People Constitution Forum" spearheaded by the 20 Government Departments. If this does not happen, Coup4.5's disinformation is exposed.

Strategy 2 called for the PM  "to publicly announce this month he will stand for election" and form a new political party. His campaign will be led by "highly professional and political experts." All government departments will be "militarized" and soldiers will be his "campaign runners." Provincial Councils and civil servants will "follow orders."  It's no secret the PM may stand for elections but if his election campaign is not as Coup4.5 describes, its disinformation is further exposed.

Stategy 3 would see no old political party stand for election, and a qualification test for all candidates. This is also possible.  It has been talked about for some time, and no one would be surprised if the Constitution Assembly ruled along these lines.

I'll leave readers to read the rest, most of which I find unsurprising. Most "accusations" have been announced or anticipated already. It is only their interpretaation that makes them seem sinister.  But, as we now all know,  "A common disinformation tactic is to mix some truth and observation with false conclusions and lies, or to reveal part of the truth while presenting it as the whole."

Expect much more of the same as time rolls on.

CCF Says 'Let the People Decide' about the Great Council of Chiefs

Media release
The decision by the Bainimarama government to formally de-establish the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) on the eve of constitutional consultations is a concern which challenges the government’s earlier assurances that all Constitutional issues must be openly debated and discussed with the people of Fiji.

Government Advice to the Fiji Times

MEDIA RELEASE: GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO ELECTION INQUIRIES

The Fiji Times has asked of Government questions pertaining to the voter registration and election process that amount to wondering why we are not “doing it like last time.” If it is not plainly evident, the last time failed.