I Bluff, I Bluff, I Bluff… a.k.a.The Flight of Icarus

 

  The Fall of Icarus: Pieter Brueghel.  “Icarus” is seen flailing in the water but is ignored.

I thought I reached a point where nothing that the Interim Regime did or said would surprise me anymore. But just when it seems that Frank and co. have reached the nadir of stupidity, they pull out another astonishing statement that confounds all creatures great and small.

THE nation will go to the polls in the first quarter of 2009, the interim government has agreed in principle.

This was announced by the interim Cabinet yesterday after it accepted in principle the Independent Technical Assessment of Election Timetable at its meeting yesterday.

Interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said the international community should welcome the commitment made by his Cabinet and should come forward to honor their side of the deal to normalise relations and help Fiji.

Commodore Bainimarama said the assessment team had concluded that before Fiji’s next parliamentary elections there should be a redistribution of constituency boundaries following the 2007 census, an update of the registers of voters and voter education and information programs.Fiji Times 2oth June.

Frank’s latest flip flop only confirms the growing public fear that it is difficult for him speak his mind when he is constantly extricating his foot from his mouth, all this while his head remains stuck in the sand.

According to Wikipedia Hubris is a word that denotes over confident pride or arrogance and is often associated with a lack of knowledge, interest in and pursuit of history. Attributes that can be heard in the seemingly stoic, yet defensive public statements recently issued from QEB and Government Buildings.

Fiji remains unfazed by renewed threats from New Zealand to lobby for UN sanctions against Fiji troops on peacepkeeping missions. Interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said comments by Prime Minister Helen Clark on the issue ‘is an old speech.’ He said the matter would be for New Zealand to decide. Fijilive 2oth June.

It would be interesting to see if the Men and Women of the Fiji Military Forces shared the same sentiment as their Intrepid Idiot. The welfare of military personnel is a very serious responsibility for a Commanding Officer to bear even during peacetime. But when troops have been deployed their effectiveness can be undermined if the Military Command exhibits indifference towards their welfare, while demanding foot soldiers to make sacrifices from the comfort of ivory towers.

This was followed by Driti’s comments  towards the Australian Army Chief, demonstrating exactly why he is completely unsuitable for the Foreign Service. The role of a diplomat requires a person to have a clear understanding of their country’s economy, history, as well as gauging the external and internal political climate. While you may attain a certain level of this field of knowledge in Staff College, it is still from the viewpoint of gaining some type of military advantage and is more often than not over rated when transferred to Civilian Affairs.

It is an acquired skill to be able to represent your country’s views, i.e. the Government of the day, wihtout throwing all your cards on the table. All this needs to be done while maintaining the appearance of remaining neutral yet defending your country’s sovreignty and maintaining control over it’s own affairs. The comments below show that Codebreaker Driti has yet to master the art of nuance and reading between the lines.

“All they’re waiting for is a small gap. If they come, the Fiji army will be waiting for them,” he told Fijilive. “My question to them is, is there a war going on here? “ Fijilive 2oth June.

Actually that is Fiji’s question to you Driti. If war breaks out it’ll be a war of the Military’s own making and tragically the combatants will all be Fiji born and bred.  From the outset of the coup it has been my firm belief that the only real threat to the military emanates from the enemy within.

Driti, them’s fightin’ words indeed…. but you may have misjudged your appeal to our patriotic sensibilities. While many Fijians may not agree with the idea of Australian peacekeepers in Fiji, judging by the Military’s ineptitude in handling domestic and international affairs the Australian Defence Force is seen as an increasingly attractive alternative.

The military is by and large a Fijian Institution and the pressure on the rank and file from community and kin, in the face of the numerous social and cultural tabus they have committed, cannot be understated. If you also consider that many members of this once proud establishment are slowly realising they have been sold a faulty bill of goods that does not hold up ethically, morally and legally; then the outcome can only lead to confrontation.

Are the Interim Regime’s empty threats and policy reversals a sign of the unstable foundations upon which this motley crew was built? Time will tell but a word to the wise from the Good Book about that old dragon named Hubris

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18