The Always Enligthened Jean D’Ark

This post was a comment by Jean D’Ark on HydeNceek’s blog, in response to Interim Attorney General Aiyass Khaiyum’s constitutional blunder in the appointment of Koila Nailatikau in accepting the position of Constitutional Boundaries Commissioner. As always the thinking behind Jean D’Ark’s comments show a level of maturity and objectivitythat is sadly lacking in the current Interim Regime. Go on Jean tell them like it is, we need more people like you!!

If the Military Council was really interested in dealing with Fijian development problems, they would approach it in a different kind of way that didn’t alienate the very people they were trying to help.

No – the recent divisive and provocative statements by the Military Council and Frank against Fijians, points us to who their real audience actually was.

That audience was the FLP support-base (and the Diplomatic Corps), and the reason was to make sure they stay “on-side” with the IG while the economy continues to struggle and the Sugar Restructure remains under a cloud. I also think it strongly points to the likelihood that some “bad news” is on the way in next month’s budget. So this is probably just an advance propaganda campaign to pacify a possible FLP revolt (or split) beforehand.

As we know, FLP supporters have always been more sensitive to economic pain than the broader Fijian electorate. FLP supporters were always the loudest critics of the ousted Government even when small things went wrong with the economy. So in light of that more sensitive and hardnosed FLP attitude, the Military Council needs to make sure they’re distracted with political “sleights of hand” like this, since things are clearly worse post-coup on the economic front.

The IG already has little real Fijian support to speak of! So once the FLP grass-roots support-base begins to equate the downturn in their own personal circumstances with the false promises and poor performance of the IG, many Indo-Fijians may also begin to turn on it, too. Then the Regime will start to become truly isolated, unpopular and untenable. So it will be “divide and rule” all the way by the MC as long as the economy stays sick.

It’s not hard to follow the Military Council’s cynical propaganda plotting in all this since 2003.

Their coup history and their refusal to re-install the then-elected Government post-2000 meant that they had badly alienated the Indo-Fijian population by that time. On the other hand, their handling of the 2000 coup and its aftermath, also alienated a significant chunk of the Fijian population.

So when Frank decided in 2001 that he was going to remove Qarase, the first problem he had to deal with was the military’s political isolation from most Indo-Fijians and many conservative Fijians.

No problem! A change of political persuasion is a cinch for someone who has no real political convictions (or whose ethics extend only to “ends-justify-the-means”). People like Poseci Bune, Jim Ah Koy, Kavekini Navuso, Epeli Ganilau and the late Isireli Vuibau do it all the time when there are opportunities to be had.

So the military leadership re-invented itself politically, and all of a sudden we started hearing strident political statements from Frank about a host of nameless and obscure “national security” dangers related to certain Government policies which nobody else could really perceive or appreciate. These public shenanigans carried on sporadically for years, damaging economic confidence and the military’s professional reputation, but also slowly “turning” its PR fortunes amongst its former political enemies amongst the Indo-Fijian electorate.

By November 2003, the Indo-Fijian electorate had almost entirely “fallen” for the military’s propaganda campaign designed to woo them. Additionally, the internal purge and sidelining of possible opponents in the officer corps was complete by then, too.

Now all they needed for their coup was to either neutralize Fijian opposition, or possibly even recruit Fijian support.

Time for a new propaganda façade then!

And so after almost four years of public military attacks on the Government of the day that related almost exclusively to national security concerns, all of a sudden we started hearing about the anti-corruption “clean up” and nearly nothing else.

Let me just re-state here that the clean-up theme was chosen solely because of its propaganda value to the military. Not because they really cared about clean-up, but simply because that is what they calculated was their best chance of getting Fijian support after having already “pocketed” the support of the majority of the Indo-Fijian electorate.

That “clean up” propaganda campaign theme continued unabated until just recently – the military leadership sticking doggedly to it despite being unable to turn up any “smoking gun” evidence of corruption against any member of the ousted Government. Again, they could ignore reality like that because their original decision was entirely a propaganda policy one which had nothing to do with reality, or of what they actually thought about it!

Well, not that this mattered because the expected backlash from the Fijian community never eventuated anyway. And besides, now they had a new and greater problem – the International community!

So, you guessed it – time for another propaganda re-invention! This time, their coup message was re-engineered to the egalitarian and anti-racist “tastes” of the Diplomatic Corps in an effort to “gloss over” the illegality of the coup and garner international support regardless. And so yet again, the public of Fiji suddenly started hearing a new propaganda emphasis from the IG/MC – this time a “non racial” one which had only ever been mentioned in passing prior to that.

Frank’s speech to the UN was a classic example. It was well-written and noble and would have been well-received at home if it had even the tiniest connection what actually transpired in Fiji over recent years (or with the actual major motivations of the MC/IG). However as I said before, these political re-inventions have more to do with the military imperatives for the “success of the coup mission” (and staying out of jail) than they do with what these people actually believe.

Despite the very clear cynicism in the military council’s contrived propaganda artifices, such “spin doctoring” is not unusual in politics. What is unusual though, is the bald-faced audacity of trying and spin their way out of such blatant crimes as treason, murder, torture and wrongful-dismissal, etc. Intelligent people in Fiji and abroad do not appreciate having to put up with such horror in the first place, let alone the insult of dimwit military propaganda conspirators telling them brazen and shameless lies that a coup is not a coup!

SSSSsssshhhhh…..Silence Is Golden

Lately we have not been hearing much from the Fiji’s Legal Wunderkind Extraordinaire, the Irrepressible, Irresistible in the Confines of Prison, Irrelevant, Idiot of an Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum. All of these big stories have been breaking with the Vatukoula Gold Mine deal finally being signed, yet not a peep out of a man who is usually knocking over old grannies just to get his fifteen minutes of fame in the press.

Could it be that the poor boy’s incompetence is finally catching up with him and his head is next for the chopping block with the purported Cabinet Reshuffle. Read the following story in the Fiji Sun PM Plans To Reshuffle Cabinet. Could it be that Frank is sick of his bungling up of practically every case against the Interim Regime, or is Nacho Libre wondering why they are paying him and still hiring expat lawyers as well as local law firms to represent the Interim Regime?

We should be so lucky if Frank sends him packing. If for no other reason than not having to hear Princess Fiona spout off a whole lot of nothing as if he’s the world’s greatest authority on all legal matters……. and everything else in the Encyclopeadia Britannica from A to Z!!

I recall an occassion where I happened to be sitting at a Rugby Match overseas with a group of Fiji students and in our midst was one of Fiji’s latest additions to the High Court Isikeli Mataitoga. The scene resonates with me because I see the same sort of self deluding importance that Mataitoga exhbits in Khaiyum. At the match Mataitoga boasted that the reason he was given the Ambassador’s post to Australia was because of the inside dirt he had on the then SVT Government, which could have brought them crashing down.

I thought at the time, as I still think now, that for a person who is supposed to be the diplomatic representative of Fiji it was quite unbecoming of Mataitoga. Firstly because what purpose did it serve to boast to us other than to underline his own fanciful perceptions of his incriminating knowledge of the Fiji Government. Secondly if what he said was true that was neither the time nor the place to be discussing such sensitive national issues. Thirdly I know for a fact that a lot of the legal cases that the SVT Government fought and lost were due to the so called legal expertise of the now High Court Justice.

My point is is if we are lucky enough to see Khaiyum get reshuffled and drop kicked into the annals of history as the Attorney General who spent more time in International Airports than he ever did in the Court Room, well he might be as lucky as Mataitoga was and become Fiji’s Ambassador to……. your guess is as good as mine.

I heard Bombay’s nice this time of year, then again maybe he can finally get all the camera time he wants if he breaks into Bollywood. Areh Fiji’s Singing Diplomat in ‘The Bourne Wrong Identity’ or ‘Die Hardor Just Die Reh!!’

Yeah break into Bollywood….more like break a leg ya mouthy !@#$*+?

Who’s A Pretty Boy Then, Eh???? Ai Yai Yai What An Ugly B#$?*!!!!

In response to the post Fool’s Gold I mistakenly referred to the Interim Regime Attorney General as Pretty Boy. Jean d’Ark was quick to point out that this name was inappropriate and uncalled for….then my wife told me what they refer to Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum as…………..Bloody Hell they could be twins, quick kiss the Pretty Boy and see what he turns into??!!

Are We There Yet??

As so many citizens are now realising, this Illegal Government is going nowhere and getting there pretty fast. The rash of military appointments to civil service positions may be a blatant display of nepotism, but look at it from another point. The reason the IG can’t get decent, qualified, law abiding citizens to take up positions is the travel bans from our neighbours and aid donors are having the intended effect.

The calibre of people that are taking up executive posts, case in point the Post Fiji chairwoman debacle, speak for themselves. Just like the current crop of Ministers who couldn’t get elected last year, these people couldn’t get a job even if they doctored up their CV’s with fake degrees from Harvard.

Just as a matter asides you want to have a laugh at imaginative CV’s take a look at Frank’s biography on the Wikepedia website link posted below. You will see the attempt to pass off attending overseas military conferences as the equivalent of obtaining a formal qualification. It is anyone’s guess as to what manner of gaffes he made while delivering research papers on defence. See the section on Pre 2000 Coup.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Bainimarama

A good friend of mine who worked at the UNHQ in New York recounted the incident of Frank’s best forgotten interview for a senior UN peacekeeping position. This all took place around the time the SDL government tried to ship him off overseas. Unfortunately for us his complete ignorance of military matters prevented him from getting the job. He couldn’t differentiate between the roles of Officers in battle and how many men they oversaw, while his doctored up CV saw him commanding a battle cruiser and an aircraft carrier that Fiji does not have. The Foreign Military Officers in the UN Department of Peace Keeping Operations had a hard time stopping themselves from laughing when they saw the Walter Mitty penned CV.

So what exactly is the point of this post you may ask? Lately people have been getting more frustrated and indignant with the latest going ons in Government circles. Well that’s a good thing because people need to get worked up to do something about what is happening. The only people that are going to rid themselves of this Illegal Interim Regime are you the people yourselves.

We need to combat this monstrosity on all legal fronts, if you thought the strikes aren’t worrying these people think again. I say to all civil servants to stand up and be counted it’s your livelihood and the day to day survival of your family at stake. If you’re a lawyer you better get up, stand up…stand up for our rights. Whatever race you are you need to rid yourself of the self perpetuating myth that you’re a victim and that the Government gave you a raw deal.  

The only legal and just recourse you have for settling scores with Government is thorugh the ballot box. Much has been said by the Illegal Junta and previous elected governments of democracy being a foreign flower that is ill suited to Fiji soil. While this may be true to a minor extent the fascist alternatives are much more terrifying and destructive, proof of this IG being a fascist regime in everything but name can be seen in the human rights abuses, travel bans and FICAC raids.

Totalitarian Governments around the world leave innumerable victims in their wake, but the first tragic victim is our innocence as we delude ourselves into thinking that things will get better if I keep my head down, I’ll be okay as long as I just do my job. Perhaps a better person to speak on this would be those people like Daniel Fatiaki, Olota Rokovunisei, all the Government CEO’s, Save and Tevita Banuve and countless others who have been suspended or terminated for no other reason than doing their job. 

Ask the pro democracy activists who were taken into custody on Christmas Day last year and the many people since then who have been subjected to torture and abuse at QEB, they were fortunate to live to tell the tale. Tragically the families of Verebasga, Rabaka and Malasebe are still waiting to hear the truth of what happened to them from a stalling DPP and Police Force.

Yet we hear of the manpower dedicated to catching the culprit who stole a laptop and mobile phone from Government Buildings as if it’s a top national priority. An already paranoid Frank realised that even with his beloved bodyguard detail security could still be breached, the coded message of an empty Sprite bottle and knife marks carved into his desk were enough to send him into conniptions. 

Ironically Frank’s veiled threats that Fijians would end up fighting each other if the Government was not overthrown is a very likely reality. Nature abhorrs a vacuum, whatever will take the place of those forcibly discarded traditional institutions  is dependant on  the choices Fijians make. I alluded to this in writing a post two months ago under the pseudonym Mick Dundee on Hyde N Ceek. The link to the post is provided below

http://hydenceek.wordpress.com/2007/05/15/will-we-survive-hurricane-bai/

To all traditional chiefs, the GCC needs to be firm in it’s resolve in making a stand to abide by the constitution and refuse to endorse this Illegal Government. Your very existence is at stake, the stance you take now will reflect on future generations of Fijian youth. The only legacy that this coup has left for young Fijians is that the manner in which you question authority is of no regard and damn the consequences.

If you are a soldier you cannot remain ignorant of the fact that you are being used to persecute your own bretheren and countrymen. I know after talking to many of you in confidence that you do not agree with how things are just getting out of hand. The underlying dissension amongst the officer corps and resentment is rife and there is an air of mistrust as people are afraid to speak out for fear of being victimised. Many of you lament the stained reputation for which you have now become infamous, a sharp contrast to the once proud traditon and legacy you enjoyed in the eyes of this country and the world at large.

I understand that it cuts to the bone for many of you to see incompetent and lesser qualified people rise to higher positions simply for saying yes to every idiotic thing that comes out of Frank’s month. To the command of the Fiji Military Forces remember loyalty that has been bought can be easily sold to the next highest bidder. At the end of the day the Army is a Fijian Institution and the way in which they are trodding roughshod over their traditional heritage is something that will only come back to bite them in the future.

For Bainimarama to remove Senior Military Officers who pledge their loyalty to the Flag and not to the incumbent Commander is one thing. For him to end the careers of a large majority of a once proud Officer Corps for the sake of the tiniest perceived infraction is another.

To those members of the armed forces keep this in mind, you serve a Commanding Officer who has shown his true colours on more than one occassion. When it comes to the crunch are you going to stand behind a man who can’t even stand up for what he believes in? Ask yourself this question: after all the misconceived intimidation tactics you used by attending the readings of the Qoliqoli Bill and RTU Bill in parliament, and campaigning against them within your own villages what purpose has it served? The SDL was voted into power by securing the majority of Fijian votes with CAMV. 

A good friend of mine said to me earlier this year that in the history of coups this one will go down as one of the worst planned operations ever for two reasons.  The first was you cannot have a coup and still claim to follow the constitution, a fact the Army is only waking up to seven months down the track. The other reason is they did not possess the full confidence of the Army Officer Corps, due to the illegality of their proposed action, as well as having no clear idea what they would do after they removed the SDL Government.  This came from no less than an Officer in the Fiji Military Forces… a force that is united 100 percent? Fuggedaboutit..

The telltale signs of this Regime beginning to buckle at the knees are there as they are constantly coming up against one brick wall after another, from the refusal of overseas aid and travel bans, a shrinking economy as the IG’s fiscal policies are coming to nought, the reluctancy of people to take up appointments in various bodies, to a growing public discontent through legal channels and critical media, the exposure of their cover ups and outright lies through blogs, not forgetting a cabinet ministry that can’t tell who’s leading and who’s following.

It takes an enormous amount of energy and subterfuge to sustain a conspiracy, and when one person turns the whole structure collapses like a house of cards. The one thing that is needed from you to accelerate this inevitable outcome is choose where you stand today. Granted there are no monetary gains to be made, nor any perceived rewards and public accolades for choosing to stand up for your rights. There is however the likelihood of persecution, public derision and vilification at the hands of this Illegal Government……..

…..but then for all who have chosen to do so it was never about any of those things, it was simply a matter of choosing between what is right and what is wrong, it’s the choice of living in light or in darkness.

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day who you will serve…..But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 23: verse 1 -5.

The Government you get is the government you deserve. You deserve better than these pretenders!!!

Don’t Let It Get You Down…

For those of you who may be feeling disheartened at the seeming lack of progress towards resisting this Illegal Junta take heart.

For those of you who have been sidetracked from the core issues by the mindless comments of venomous blog commentators  in support of the coup, don’t be discouraged.

Below is a copy of an electronic magazine that I subscribe to. I believe it will be a calming tonic for frazzled minds while smoothing over a lot of ruffled feathers.

For those of us who are falling into despair, wondering if there will ever be an end to this Regime remain steadfast and rediscover the faith.

For those of us who profess to having no particular faith, an invitation to understand is extended to you. Read the article and keep an open mind, you might be joyfully surprised and come away with something you never knew or felt before.

Anyways enjoy and Vaya Con Dios.

Like a Tree Planted
Jill Carattini

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” wrote Henry David Thoreau.

I thought of these words as I was playing tourist one summer in my hometown near the shores of Lake Michigan. On a guided ride through the massive sand dunes of Silver Lake, we stopped at the highest point of the dunes. With lines he’d been using for years, our guide offered a few statistics as he pointed out the scenes around us. From the hill we could see Lake Michigan, a historic lighthouse, and the endless shifting dunes that slowly engulf the small forests around them. Most of his words were lost in the beauty of the scene itself, but I tuned in as he described the survival tactics of the trees beside us. “These trees,” he said, pointing to trees that were no more than 10 feet high, “are upwards of 35 feet tall.” They are trees assailed each year by shifting sands and changing hillsides. When their branches are enveloped by sand, leaves die from lack of sunlight, but the branches become roots.

I don’t know why Thoreau’s words hit me at that moment as I took in the clever tactics of a handful of scrappy trees. I was impressed with their display of life, their fight to survive in a world that kept smothering them. Perhaps it was their quiet perseverance in an uncertain world that drew a sharp contrast to my own behavior in stifling moments and changing winds. Looking out from that which overwhelms me, I am easily resigned to a world without light.

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau left his pencil-manufacturing business and moved to the woods of Massachusetts. Walden is the lyrical record of the 26 months he spent in withdrawal from society in a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond. Written 150 years ago, many of his words still meet us as he hoped them to: like a “chanticleer in the morning, standing on his roost, to wake my neighbors up.” One of Thoreau’s concerns was that the world was being dulled by the bombardment of an unending flow of news, and a fascination with trivial events. “We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas” he wrote, “but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.”

Standing atop the mountains of the information age, it doesn’t take much to see the relevance of this concern. Turning on the news each day or jumping on the Internet for the headlines, a task I do faithfully, I am ashamed at how easily I am taken in by stories that are less “news” and more gossip. But then, even the stories that are certainly newsworthy can all too easily become a weight that buries me in fear, or engulfs me in concern that, though real, is riddled with the possibility that I will miss the point. Though neither Thoreau nor I would contend that news consumption is bad, information abounds in overwhelming degrees. Each fact, each story, owns the potential to move our emotions like sand dunes, cutting us off from hope and light.

We live in a world of shifting uncertainties where the potential to resign ourselves to fear or hopelessness is real. But so we are told the light of Christ is not overcome, no matter how dark the darkness. In Psalm 1 we are reminded that the one whose certainty is the Lord, whose hope is in God’s unchanging presence, is blessed. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” In this changing culture of disheartening headlines and distracting information, many lead lives of quiet desperation. Still many others grow roots where life buries branches, taping into the living waters of one who does not change.

Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Nai Bollywood, Reh!!! Us Gang Wonderland, Vacava That,Eh,Eh…???!!

Mandrake’s comments on Fiji’s budding Film Industry, well it was budding before the coup, received a brief but scathing review in today’s Fiji Times Letters to the Editor.

Wealth of actors

I REFER to Mahendra Chaudhry’s comments that Fiji has a wealth of actors (FT 19/6).He is correct. And they are not in Bollywood or Hollywood but running the Fiji government and will do what actors do best – take us on a journey of make-believe through Wonderland.

Filipe Tuisawau
Lami

Filipe, Mandrake and the film going public of Fiji thank you profusely for your kind words and spot on critique. For your perusal here’s a couple of  other performances that have been honoured in the inaugral Fiji Film Awards “The Interim Golden Banana Awards.”

Best Actor: This one was a real toss up because there’s so many brilliant performances in the Interim Regime from Frank’s deranged Idi Amin impersonation, to Machiavelli Chaudhry’s portrayal of an innocent bystander heeding the nation’s call to join the Junta.

But the winner hands down is the Incumbent President Ratu Iloilo for his show stealing performance as a corpse carrying out the duties of the Head of State in “Yet Another Weekend At Bernie’s!”

Best Supporting Actor: Again this posed many sleepless nights for the judging panel given the impressive array of talent in this category. In the end it was decided to give the award collectively to the Interim Cabinet as it is an almost impossible task to tell who is leading and who is supporting the cast of “Jackass 3 in FeeJee!!”

Best Comedic Performance: Recent performances from Bainimahendra and Codebreaker Driti nearly relegated Leweni’s performance as “Maestro: Rebel Without A Clue” to the shadows. But given the fact that his now trademarked catchphrase of , “AAah……aaah….aahh… AAH NOMU AA…., VOSA VA VINAKA YOU BLERRY FOOL!!” has become ingrained into the public psyche; it was unanimously agreed that the tunesmith should have a Golden Banana to accompany his conductor’s baton.

Best Actress: Slim pickings in this category as there were only two female opportunists in the Illegal Junta’s Cabinet, but it was felt that the ability of Dreadlock Holiday Ganilau’s Hairdo to remain undisturbed in the midst of all the toing and froing overseas was worthy of a Golden Banana.

Best Drama: Lai Qarcia’s ‘will he won’t he’ turn in the slow moving courtroom drama ‘In Absentia’ barely pipped the post.

Best Supporting Actress: Shyster Shameem in the legal comedy of errors ‘Stuff You and Your Human Rights, I’m Off For A Smoke!!’

Best Original Screenplay: Pita ‘CodebreakerwiththeBart Simpsoncut’ Driti for his intensely researched work on the diplomatic thriller ‘Read Between The Lines.’ 

Honorary ‘Interim Regime Golden Banana Lifetime Achievement Award’: In recognition of his entire career, albeit limited due to the number of years practiced and impending criminal charges upon Fiji’s return to democracy, the Lifetime Achievement award was bestowed upon Aiyaz ‘Saidee’sprettycluedon’ Khaiyum. This is an acknowledgement of his unceasing efforts to hog the limelight and uncanny ability to be center stage at all press conferences, while singlehandedly unravelling the foundations of Fiji’s legal system through unsound advice and utter incompetence….. a feat which would take most mortals a lifetime to achieve.

Subsequent awards to be announced as the year progresses, or should I say as the economy regresses…..Ai Carumba, all the reporting on these Ignoramuses is driving me to drink……. Bai Karaik.

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

   

Moonwalk Tale You Blerry Fools!!

                    Note: Click on images twice if text is difficult to read  

Blerry Fool No.1 Bainimahendra and his court jester Blerry Fool No.2 Naiulukau.                  

The current backtracking displayed by Frank in trying to justify Fiji’s expulsion of High Commissioner Green is a cringing effort worthy of winning the inaugral ‘Pote of The Year Award.’  Fijilive reported on Bainimahendra’s feeble attempts at rationalising his decision to expel the NZ High Commissioner. Frank’s now self evident ignorance of Foreign Relations has come to the fore, serving only as further confirmation that he is mentally lost at sea.

“Fiji wants to maintain all relationships with New Zealand, but only wants its High Commissioner replaced, according to the latest statement from the Fiji Prime Minister’s Office today.

Interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said that as ‘far as he is concerned, Fiji’s diplomatic relations with New Zealand remains intact.’ “

Perhaps someone should try and explain to Frank that if you want to maintain diplomatic relations with New Zealand, expelling their Representative is not the best way of going about it. The Foreign Head of Mission is for all intents and purposes the face and voice of  his country, therefore the New Zealand High Commissioner and New Zealand are one and the same.

While we are not at war with our Pacific Neighbours the Interim Regime’s recent behaviour is clearly aggressive and exerts unnecessary force in a situation that requires diplomacy and finesse, characteristics which are sorely lacking in the Interim Foreign Affairs Minister’s recent comments. Nailtikau should take a leaf out of his father in law’s ‘Pacific Way’ approach to fostering a better understanding of Fiji’s predicament from the Region and International Community at large.  

He should also start burning the midnight oil  beginning with the mending  of the Fiji/New Zealand common fence and by extension every other nation that has a diplomatic presence in Fiji. One personal area that needs immediate attention is his knowledge of International Treaties and Conventions. The Fiji Times front page recorded Nailatikau as saying that the basis for Green’s expulsion is located in a section of the Geneva Convention, when in actual fact it is the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Perhaps it may have been an error on the part of the reporter but in any case he better have something to show for that fraudulently obtained paycheque.

A large part of Ratu Mara’s recognition as a Leading International Statesperson was due to his expansive intellect and keen grasp of fundamental issues that formed the basis for National Policies. It has been said of the late Tui Nayau that in his entire career, from humble beginnings at the lower tiers of the Civil Service to his Prime Ministership and Presidency; he painstakingly read and signed off on every memorandum/document/project paper/policy/international agreement that passed his desk. He was well aware of how the shifting Global Economic tides affected Fiji’s development and his entire career was devoted to strengthening our future in the face of these rapid changes.

The role of a diplomat and a statesmen requires much more than simply attending  international conferences, cocktail functions and playing golf. While Nailatikau’s diplomatic career, military background and single term as Speaker of The House should give him a better understanding of the intricacies of improving Fiji’s  foreign relations; he has squandered the opportunity to prove he is capable of handling this responsibility.

There is a particularly humorous and distinctly Irish way of giving directions to someone who is lost, that should resonate with all members of the floundering Interim Regime.

‘Oh ya want to go thir, do ya? Well boyo, if that’s where ya headin’ I wouldn’t start from hir.’ 

The Interim Regime may not be required to explain their reasons to the New Zealand Government and Foreign Press for declaring Michael Green as a Persona Non Grata under the Vienna Convention. But at the end of the day they owe the people of Fiji a damn good explanation as the national economy is dependent on regaining lost ground in the international arena.

Where is the ’so called transparency’, that was one of the Illegal Junta’s call to arms?

I think I just saw ‘it’ moonwalk out the back door………

Where Are We Going?

How does a movement start? It begins with the individual and that person’s thoughts, they formulate those ideas into a coherent framework and they share those ideas with other people. Those people who are of the same mind add their contribution to the mix and the framework is revised while maintaining its core principles. But two essential factors that determine the movement’s success are its momentum and the further dissemination of its information.

We have reached a critical juncture in Fiji’s current crisis and whatever your views on politics may be, if we continue to remain silent in the face of the humans right abuses being handed out by the military then we may as well have given them carte blanche to act with impunity.

These days the Interim Regime has attempted to cloak itself in the veneer of the public crusader who will eradicate corruption from Fiji once and for all. But for the Interim Government to be seen as credible they should first ensure that their own conduct is of an impeccable standard. For those of us who may have a difference of opinion, or legal grievance with the Interim Regime our only recourse is the legal system and the ability for our voice to be heard through an independent media.

Recently those two bodies have shown themselves to be tainted by the Military’s influence and the widespread public silence that has accompanied it locally clearly suggests that we are not able to speak freely anymore. This can be seen when people are gathered in a public place such as a restaurant and the conversation takes on  a hushed tone. The safe bet is that they are not sharing the latest intra office affair gossip but are discussing the political crisis and how it is affecting their livelihood. The fact that an innocent conversation over the state of national affairs could see you doing advanced calisthenics courtesy of the men in green shows how far the situation has deteriorated.

But then the question you ask yourself is, “So what? As long as I keep my nose clean and mind my own business everything is going to turn out okay. Besides it’s not like we’re living in a country like Zimbabwe or another one of those troublespots that you see on the news. Anyways give these guys a chance….they have the right intentions maybe they can do a better job than the previous lot……….”

If that is the relativistic viewpoint that you wish to adopt then that is your right, although you might want to keep in mind that people with the best intentions can still end up doing the most dastardly deeds. But in the face of facts as they are realistically unfolding before your eyes ask yourself this:

1. Where is the so called ’smoking gun’ evidence that the Fiji Military Forces used as the pretext for removing the allegedly corrupt SDL Government?
2. Have the Pro Democracy activists who were tortured and abused by the Military on Christmas Day 2006 slipped our minds or have we conveniently forgotten them?
3. Has the Military Regime’s conduct since December the Fifth, 2006 been above reproach and have the people who have been installed in Government, the Private Sector and Statutory Boards since then gained personally from their appointments or were they appointed on merit?
4. Can you justify the deaths of two innocent civilians at the hands of the military and expect a truly independent investigation from the Fiji Police who literally have to ask the Army’s permission to carry out their work?
5. Has the manner in which the Interim Regime conducted itself in the International Arena combined with their handling of the country’s economy improved or decreased your confidence in them to handle the nation’s affairs?
6. If the Military suspects you of conspiring against them through opinion pieces in cyberspace; and it is found to be untrue does that give them the right to question you without legal representation and subsequently employ the use of physical force?
7. Suspend for a moment your dislike for the GCC and ask yourself objectively: In light of the current intimidation tactics that the Military has carried out towards the GCC’s Legal Representatives, and the dubious circumstances in which their overseas counterpart’s husband was assaulted in a home invasion where her laptop was the only item stolen, do you think this constitutes tampering with justice?
8. Just because it is called ’soft torture’ does it make it any less inhumane/painful?

I could go on forever raising more questions, but the fact of the matter is that if the Military truly believes it stands for the high principles it forced upon the nation then their actions to date have only proven otherwise.

And where does that leave us? Do we continue to try and act as if everything is normal? Or do we work under the cover of this vast network at our disposal and continue to highlight injustices and voice our thoughts and share opinions? Make no mistake when the time comes for you to defend your rights you may just find that there is no one there to come to your aid.  I recall a book I read which had a poem, the title of the book escapes me but the poem was pointed out by ‘Jean D’ark’ as being written by Martin Niemoller, a German pastor who had been imprisoned by the Nazis who had this to say in his poem ‘First They Came…’:

“They came first for the communists, I didn’t speak up because I was not a communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up.”

I don’t know about the rest of you but I am going to do my part and keep the momentum going. I can only hope and pray that should I be faced with a situation where I need help I can call on my fellow countrymen and not have to wait for the Good Samaritan. 

However if you value the same principles and are willing to help whittle away at the foundations of this junta, I’ll gladly accept help from whatever corner of our society or the globe you may come from ……………..and I promise if ever you are in need of help I will never turn my back on you.

God Bless Fiji.

Qu’es ce que T’as Dit Madame Rouse?

‘Mais vous êtes fou Voltaire?’

 In today’s Fiji Times Letters to the Editor, Prue Rouse of Vuda Point had the following to say:

Voltaire’s quotes

YES, it is reported that Francois-Marie Arouet (called Voltaire 1694-177 said: “I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

He also said: “On dit que dieu est toujours pour les gros bataillons.”

I use the French quotation because French is a language of the Pacific.

Translated to English, it is: “It is said that God is always on the side of the big battalions.”

Now one must make of this what one chooses.  St Michael the Archangel must have a view.

Prue Rouse
Vuda Point

French may very well be a language of the Pacific (in countries such as New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Tahiti) ,as well as being spoken by many citizens of this country, and if Mrs Rouse’s intention was to share her knowledge of French then “Merci Beaucoup. C’est très gentile.” 

However if the point of the letter is to make up our own mind on “Voltaire’s/Arouet’s” statement then thanks but Voltaire should have paid a bit more attention in Sunday School.

The Bible is replete with examples of God not being impressed by a show of force, or strength in numbers. From Noah, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Joseph, to Moses, to Joshua, to Deborah, to Gideon….to Samson…., to Saul, to David……to John the Baptist, to John, to Peter,to Paul, to Thomas…….the list is endless.

The biblical record consistently demonstrates God beginning with one person willing to humbly submit, and graciously allowing that person the privilege in being a willing instrument in fulfilling His mission.

May I suggest to Mrs Prue Rouse rather than taking the word of a dead French Author who was unreservedly anti Chrisitan and racist towards Africans and Jews; take heed of the words of a Jewish Carpenter from an undistinguished backwater town of Israel over two thousand years ago.

“….In fact for this reason I was born, and for this I came into this world, to testify to the truth. Everybody who is on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37

He lived an unblemished life and began to fulfill his mission transforming indivduals internally one at a time. Drawing followers by his miraculous deeds, inherent truths, exemplary kindness, and concern for good and bad alike. Although innocent he was executed for who he was rather than for any real crimes against the state. A testimony to his true identity was celebrated in an anniversarial celebration of his resurrection just over a month ago followed by the observation of his ascendancy just last Thursday.

And in the words of one of his greatest antagonists turned ardent follower:

” Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authorities is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong…..” Romans 13: 1 -3

I believe Paul’s words written to the early Roman church directly bear upon the actions of any Military that fosters a blatant disregard for the authority of it’s elected Government and seeks to overthrow it.

As to the truth spoken about by Jesus remember God’s words to the prophet Samuel in choosing Saul’s successor.

“…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Samuel 16:7

Truth is a valuable commodity that the Interim Government possesses in microscopic quantities and our hapless population is forced to “equitably share the burden and pain.”   Vinaka BainiMahendra you should be giving advice to Tony Robbins on motivational speaking. I don’t seem to recall being in league with the perpetrators of the 2006 coup that I should have to carry the burden with that lot?

I’m sure that if St. Michael spoke he would agree with the popular sentiment that “Voltaire” and the “Interim Government” backed the wrong horse. 

Mais ca c’est mon avis…..La force dans le nombres? Voltaire, Dieu a indiqué que, vous êtes fou!!

Translated as: But that’s my opinion…..Strength in numbers? Voltaire, God said fuggedaboutit u crazy!!