Justice
Last updated 10/22/2007 8:56:18 AM
I can't really disagree with Mick Beddoes contention that justice delayed in justice denied. An argument he raises in accusing, rightly or wrongly, the Fiji Human Rights Commission for not doing anything for the victims of the 2006 coup. He of course assumes that these people who he is advocating for have been denied justice and that it was indeed the commission that denied or deliberately delayed it for reasons that have not been disclosed by Beddoes. Of recent Beddoes has been commenting rather negatively on all matters pertaining to the governance of Fiji by the Interim Government.
I wish he had shown the same level of enthusiasm in criticising the governance of this country when Qarase and his cronies were rather blatantly engaging in corruption and racism. I wish he had shown the same courage in raising issues, in the relative immunity of the Parliament, in exposing corrupt practices of the Qarase government. I wish he had shown the same due diligence, that he seems to rather hypocritically show now, when the nation's coffers were be pillaged and scarce national resources and assets exploited for personal gain by Qarase and his gang of rogues.
I am equally flabbergasted why Beddoes has never raised matters of justice that were so blatantly denied to other victims of the 19987 and 2000 coups. Many lost all they had toiled for in Fiji and in fear of further persecution and in complete absence any one raising a voice for them, they left the shores of Fiji for good to live abroad, in what for many them is tantamount to 'self imposed exile'.
Where was Beddoes then? What has he done about these thousands who were so blatantly denied justice? Or does Beddoes like other self proclaimed leaders of human rights who have mushroomed so suddenly in Fiji is only an advocate on a selective basis?
Beddoes would be well advised to be equally selective about when he should open his mouth. For Beddoes it might be prudent to remain silent, for as soon as he opens his mouth the world will know how hollow and biased his human rights rhetoric is.
The following letters was in response to the SDL stalwart, Mere Samisoni's perception of the proposed People's Charter:
Move forward
We hear much these days from the interim regime on the need to "move the country forward".
But if that is really such an over-riding concern, then surely the question needs to be asked as to why the military leadership found it so unavoidably necessary to "move the country backward" in December 2006.
The SDL-led Multi-Party Cabinet (MPC) had already set itself about the task of bringing the kind of desirable changes suitable for the 21st century information civilisation.
This was well documented in the Strategic Development Plans (SDP) 2006, rolled over to 2007-2011, which incorporated much of the legitimate manifestoes of the two major parties in the MPC.
That means that a workable and legitimate system was already in place to "move the country forward" pre-coup. Whats more, it was based on market metrics, implemented through the rule of law, and achieved through the democratic process as representative of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society.
This represents a far more legitimate and sustainable foundation for "moving the country forward" and "bringing the races together" than what the IG is trying to shove down peoples throats.
Despite this, the Military Council (MC) supported by the Fiji Labour Party (FLP), and other opportunists in the IG (MC/FLP/IG) still saw it fit to impose an illegal coup that violated those democratic and administrative processes already in place under the 1997 Constitution.
And now, the illegitimate regime is simply trying to achieve the same goals as the ousted Government, but from a far less popular and legitimate policy foundation framework, and with dictatorial style of leadership that is far less effective and popular.
Moreover, we now have the anomaly of the Peoples Charter (PI) with its Council of decision makers that renders the IG essentially redundant.
What is of concern, is the idea that the PI or what I call the Military Charter did not come from the people, it was not written by the people, there is no ownership by the people and it serves no obvious purpose for the people. That means the idea of a Military Charter is fundamentally disconnected from reality and peoples daily lives.
Moreover, the Military Charter and its dictatorial and impositional management style are incompatible with the new economic order of win-win relationships based on community human values.
Therefore, in the bigger picture, the MC is doomed from the start.
Also, at a global level, the latest trend in strategic business planning is to differentiate and segment markets along group demographics and psychographics so as to achieve better market servicing.
This marketing "best practice" is certainly transferable to the work of Government, where it can help to tailor and target policies according to specific and measurable demographic needs, values and aspirations, where these differ. Despite this, the MC/FLP/IG is still moving toward the complete opposite philosophy by embracing an obsolete 'one size fit all vision.
This just sweeps everything under the mat, including diversity of human and community values and choices, by preferring instead to manage things via an "out of sight and out of mind" approach.
How is the MC going to measure motivation, performance and success of target groups without differentiating its policy "market" for felt needs, values and special aspirations?
Mere Tuisalalo Samisoni
Lami
Apparently, the talking points issued by the SDL Headquarters was to resist and desist the People's Charter proposed by the Interim Government. Obviously, SDL's idea of movement for the nation of Fiji is akin to a crab's motion: side to side but never forward.
Back to the future
Last updated 10/22/2007 8:55:45 AM
We have heard of the saying that one becomes wiser after the event. However, Mere Samisoni's academically garbled theory and analysis of the Military Council's action and the people's charter shows that some people lose all sense of reasoning and logic if they are removed from their cushioned positions.
Being a post graduate student myself, I could not comprehend her far- fetched theories, so I feel sorry for the common Tomasi, Deepak and Hamid on Suva streets who would be scratching their heads and wondering what group demographics and psychographics mean.
She talks about transferring the latest trend in strategic business planning on differentiating and segmenting markets along group demographics and psychographics to government to achieve better market servicing, whatever that means.
She also spoke about tailoring and targeting policies according to specific and measurable demographic needs, values and aspirations, where these differ.
It is a pity she did not give this lecture to SDL caucus, and especially the chiefly minister and aunty- in- law of two existing interim Minister when she was the Education Minister. Assuming if they could understand what was lectured to them; one would assume that the country could have been saved from the doomsday that supposedly 5 December, 2006 spelt. Was this not the policy of one size fits all that she is accusing the Military Council of having now?
Qarase's blanket racist policies, based solely on race rather than needs dictated that a rich Fijian parent with a combined income of $200,000 could have free Form Seven education for their child while an evicted Indo Fijian with an income of only 2per cent of the Fijian parent still had to pay full fees under Qarase's racist policies. Where then was this bright academic who is acting holier then thought and preaching theories that common mortals like me, and many others, cannot comprehend?
Bread is a basic staple food that people would eat despite the falling economic situation of the country. Perhaps that is why Mere Samisoni could not have her finger on the pulse of Fiji's economy that was sliding down to bankruptcy. Just a basic example is sugar mills. People who could hardly maintain their vehicles and repair falling mufflers were made to run multi- million gadgets which never had preventative maintenance and capital input on a progressive scale.
No wonder, like a wrecked car in the heart of Suva City, the sugar mills are being rendered to scraps by an incompetent regime. Where were then these market servicing theories of the gold medalist graduate of SDL party?
You need not be a rocket scientist to see what was wrong with Fiji's sick economy which was exaggerated by equally sick racist policies that went against all the grains of academia.
I wonder where then were the arm chair critics and MBA graduates, masquerading as coup victims and professors from academic institutions, now coming out of woodwork and pontificating on the state of economy that a common cane cutter already knows.
Now that Australia and New Zealand has twisted Fiji's arm for another election, who will give a guarantee that this election will stick? Who says that elections are a panacea to Fiji's problems?
But my concern is, how democracy can save Fiji from a racially divisive party like SDL and how the country can be saved from academics who say so much without telling anything.
Fiji Times also published another letter responding to the Ex-Officio from Lami Open, Mere Samisoni.
Racist policies
I think I must be a masochist but I forced myself to read Mere (I will use 10 words when one will do) Samisoni's letter, of 19th October, 10 times to understand what she was saying.
In brief, the first part basically said the SDL led multi-party Cabinet was doing a fantastic job moving the country forward and the there was no need for the military takeover.
The second part was that the People's Charter was doomed for failure.
The third part interestingly says modern governments should use targeted marketing to give the different sectors of the community what they need. We have seen examples of this from the SDL. The Qoliqoli Bill: very targeted towards the indigenous community
The reconciliation Bill; again very targeted towards the indigenous community; not many Indians were going to be released from prison due to that? The list of such targeted policies is endless.
We also had the agricultural scam: you may think that only benefited the indigenous, SDL voting, rural poor. But, hold on a few rich shop owning Indians allegedly did very well. So that's okay. That was multiracial.
When you use market segmentation as a government and only put forward policies that benefit just one segment of a community and forget about the rest, then that is called a racist government. That sort of government has no place in the 21st Century.
So Mere, you have answered you own question. The Interim Government is definitely moving the country forward because amongst other things, they are trying to end racism in Fiji.
Mere Erasito
Brisbane
Seed Newsvine
Club Em Designs
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