Fiji Media Resists Oversight.

Following up on an earlier S.i.F.M post on Fiji Media; the proposed inquiry into Fiji's media as reported by Stuff article, was scuttled by a combination of factors which include clash of schedules for the New Zealand consultant reported by a Fiji Times article corroborated by Dominion Post and predictable belligerence by the cartel of leading media outlets in Fiji.

Kiwi pulls out of media inquiry

Friday, July 27, 2007

A New Zealand consultant approached by the Fiji Human Rights Commission to conduct an inquiry into the extent of media freedom and independence in Fiji has indicated his unavailability.

Greg Fortuin was one of the individuals approached by the commission to help the commission in identifying ways in which it could promote media freedom and independence in the interest of the public and the profession.

Commission director Doctor Shaista Shameem said Mr Fortuin had indicated he had a personal commitment in Australia during the period they needed him.

She said they needed the inquiry to get underway next month.

Mr Fortuin is only one of the people on a list. We hope to engage another person from New Zealand. The inquiry is going ahead, she said.

Fiji TV news segment had aired footage of correspondence signed by the heads of Fiji TV, Fiji Times, Fiji Sun and Communications Fiji respectively. This marks yet another entrenched turf defense by this media cartel, who have escaped any independent assessment for years. It is this cartel who control the Fiji Media Council and have always resisted outside scrutiny into their empire.

Fiji has seen the dangers of media disinformation leading up to the 2000 coup, as well as the slanted editorial opinions and selective coverage. What is really disturbing, that this media cartel has labeled this inquiry on Fiji TV, as "selective" and highlighting a hypothetical risk that, Fiji Human Rights Commission could "invoke causes of Human Rights to control the media", according to the Fiji TV report.

How can the media be in an impartial position, when elements within itself is resisting any resemblance of oversight?

Unfortunately, this media cartel have often used the fear of control to wriggle itself from any independent review of their operations. This 'Red Herring' is designed to obfuscate attention from the putrid state of affairs in the news room. Fiji deserves a free-press and holding them accountable makes the industry more dynamic and independent of gate-keeping by the media owners. Fiji will never quantify this component, if the media companies refuse to have checks and balances on their own affairs.

Sadly, the arrows of dictatorialism launched by the same media cartel at the Interim Government in Fiji, pales in significance to their own dogmatic principles.



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Forging a New Direction in Native Administration?

In a follow up the S.i.F.M post on the debate on NLTB. There have been developments in NLTB; as a Fiji Live article outlines. Fiji Times article reports that the 3 boardmembers were on the Standing Committee which deliberated on the contract negotiations for MySAP software with Pacific Connex. Some reactions to this news story was posted on a Fiji blog- Hyde N Ceek.

Fiji Times article also covers a discourse on native administration, which was held in University of South Pacific (USP) and the speech circuit rider, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi addressed the issues of leadership and change in Fiji.
This is the excerpt of Madraiwiwi's speech:

Accept changes: Chief

Friday, July 27, 2007


[Guest speakers, from left, Eci Nabalarua, Dr Wadan Narsey and Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi at the public lecture on organised by the Queen Victoria School Old Boys Association on Wednesday]

Indigenous Fijians should be more broad minded and accept changes, former Vice-President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi believes.

Answering questions at a public lecture on Challenges facing indigenous leadership at the University of the South Pacific's lower campus on Wednesday night, he said Fijian leaders were reluctant to acknowledge changes happening around them and allow that to dismantle their traditional way of life.

Fijians have a responsibility to invite other communities to participate in a continuing dialogue about the values and the principles which they value, Ratu Joni said.

He said what was most pressing was articulating an inclusive vision for indigenous and non-indigenous people alike.

It must be one that embraces all the communities of this country and in which no one is made to feel they are an afterthought, as in the Fijians and the rest of the others. As the majority, it is not a contest or a competition.

To see it in those terms would be a futile exercise. It is seeking to build on what we have in common, in order to create a concept of nationhood and sovereignty that we can all share in as well as fitfully participate.

Ratu Joni said among Fijians, the economic imperative appears to have engulfed indigenous people to the exclusion of all else. I do not deny its importance and the profound effect it has in shaping the character of Fijian culture. However, I wonder whether we have reflected sufficiently on notions of Fijian identity, he said.

They are inextricably linked to the Fijian language and to the existence and survival of Fijian villages from which our social structure in a large part derives. Rural-urban migration for education and employment is a staple of modernising societies.

Fiji is no different.

Without sustained and creative approaches to reinvigorating both cultural icons, their decline would leave adverse implications for the manner in which Fijians regard themselves. Ratu Joni said the worry was the increasing prospect that a signification portion of Fijians in the villages may be caught in circumstances of poverty and disadvantage and aside from this was the redefining of notions of Fijian identity. Fijians have always responded to firm leadership. There remains a place for that quality in the present day. What is meant is not dictatorial in nature, he said.

Another interesting perspective was from local Economist, Dr. Waden Narsey appeared in Radio Fiji website, a view which the Fiji Times failed to cover.

This is the excerpt of Narsey's remarks:

Warden Narsey Questions the Role of GCC in helping their people
Thursday, July 26, 2007

Economist Dr. Wardan Narsey has questioned the role of the Great Council of Chiefs in helping their people who work overseas and remit money home.

Dr. Narsay told a panel discussion at the USP last night that individual chiefs and provinces may be helping, but not the GCC as an organization.

“Sound, timely guidance and assistance for their people of an opportunity in terms of earning income overseas. This has come up in the last five, six seven years as the largest foreign exchange earner for Fiji. Kind of things security guards, nurses, care givers, seasonal labor schemes and all that. Individual chiefs, individual provinces may be doing all kinds of things. But what has the GCC as an entity been doing about this very, very powerful avenue for improving the living standards of our people.”

Narsey said that remittances offer huge potential for the indigenous people, but the role of the Great Council in this area remains questionable.

“You read the household survey report that is put out by the Bureau of Stats, you will see that this remittance money goes throughout all our provinces, far more money going out there that in fact all, all the loans provide by all our commercial banks despite all their advertisements. So this is a massive area. What has the GCC been doing about this area?”

Other voices are now being raised, questioning the wisdom of the Great Council of Chiefs(GCC) new complex when compared to the poverty in the grassroots. Interesting enough, it took 6 years for Radike Qereqeretabua to speak out; since the GCC complex started under the SDL Government, a party which he was a sympathiser of and also Qereqerenatabua being a frequent invitee to the cocktail party circuit.

A monumental folly of our time

RADIKE QEREQERETABUA
Tuesday, July 24, 2007



Work continues at the GCC complex at Draiba near Nasova in Suva

Since the announcement by the ousted government of the approval to construct a $20million meeting venue for the GCC, a couple of years ago, I have been questioning the rationale and the wisdom of such a decision given the comparative disadvantaged position we Fijians find ourselves in today, in general terms.

The TV footage on the GCC complex tour by the PM on Sunday, July 8, has prompted me to voice my thoughts on the matter for what they are worth. The TV item said the complex will be opened later this year, and it will now cost $30million. Yes, $30m. Our chiefs, and top government officials are well aware of the grand expensive buildings that have been built around the country in the last few years for the specific purpose of hosting GCC meetings.

And we, the tax payers, have funded these buildings to the tune of millions of dollars. When this type of decisions are made by our Fijian chiefs, and Fijian-led governments, I wonder whether they are aware, I mean truly aware of the plight of the Fijians.

In the rural areas: The poor dilapidated villages; the hardships that Fijian women have to endure to get their root crops on Friday to the markets; the level of anxiety they suffer late Saturday afternoons when they sit on the hard concrete floors of the markets, faced with the prospect on taking their unsold bags of tavioka, and bundles of dalo back home, or give them away for nothing at close up time.

Hard work, sweat and hopes down the drain. Some of the women I interviewed at the markets travel on horse back for miles with their produce before they can reach rural roads where they can hire a vehicle to bring them to the market.

Most are just so disillusioned and disappointed at the lack of concern for them by Fijian authorities. For us from the outlying islands, life becomes harder and harder with the continuing increase in price of outboard motor fuel, to get us to Suva or Lautoka with our produce without an assured market which can guarantee us a fair profit.

What our disadvantaged rural Fijians need is an effective agency that buys produce from the village rara with hard cash. Our chiefs and Fijian government officials should be made duty bound to provide such an agency.

I say an "effective agency", since the National Marketing Authority had failed for whatever reason, and, I believe the newly formed Agro Marketing Authority (AMA) is failing since it is trying to muscle in on territories successfully serviced by established buyers instead of servicing neglected rural producers who desperately need assured markets.

The benefits of such a scheme are manifold: It should help attract Fijians with idle land to return to their villages to make productive use of them in the knowledge that a reliable agency is going to buy the results of their labour at the end of the day; it will reduce the squatter population in the urban areas thus freeing government (and taxpayers) funds to cater to other legitimate, pressing needs.

But the most important benefit would be in the restoration of self-esteem and national pride values that are fast becoming increasingly lost in Fijians today hence the increasing incidence of assault on persons and property, and the high Fijian prison population today.

In the urban scene, I wonder whether our chiefs and our Fijian government leaders are aware, I mean truly aware of the plight of the thousands of Fijian families that now make up a large portion of Fiji's squatter population. With all our mataqali owned land, Fijians should be the most well off and happiest race in Fiji, yet we are not.

I wonder whether, in deciding to spend $20-$30m on the GCC complex, they are remotely aware of the prevailing poor conditions of Fijian educational institutions in their own tikina and provinces. What educational facilities such as vocational education centres are provided out in the provinces for school drop-outs, to assist them find their feet in this increasingly competitive, and confusing world.

Are primary and secondary schools in the rural areas up to par with urban schools to help curb urban drift, and prepare Fijians for a better tomorrow. Successive Fijian-led governments in the last two decades or more have highlighted the need for Fijians to catch up to, and even emulate the academic successes and high standards reached in general by our Indian brothers and sisters.

We, commoners and ordinary Fijians could perhaps be excused for thinking that all this talk by our chiefs and political leaders for substantive advancement in Fijian education is just pure lip service when concrete evidence shows that while our Indian brothers and sisters establish the University of Fiji, our chiefs and political leaders propose, and agree to the construction of a $30m GCC complex.

Yes, thirty million dollars. The $30m could have gone a long way in improving Fijian educational facilities in the villages and provinces. This $30m of taxpayers funds have gone into the complex, while millions of dollars worth of GCC meeting facilities funded by taxpayers stand idle, or at best grossly underutilised around Fiji.

While Prime Minister, Bainimarama might have been a trifle flippant when he suggested that he "wished he could convert the GCC complex to the RFMF headquarters, but couldn't afford the rent the point he made was abundantly clear, and I agree totally with him the funds could have been better used if applied towards more deserving causes for the enhancement of the Fijian people.

I believe that what the Fijian people deserved, and needed from the GCC and our political leaders was not a monumental building complex that is now being built, but monumental decisions guided by the traditional, inherited wisdom with which our chiefs are supposed to be imbued towards improving the lives of the Fijian people.

And I sincerely believe that had our chiefs and political leaders made such monumental decisions in the past to have brought the Fijian race out of the depth of nonentity most Fijians find themselves in today, in their own land, Fijians wherever they are in the world would have been proud to freely contribute $50m or more towards a truly magnificent monument in honour of the GCC worthy of their true status, without touching a cent of taxpayers funds.

I commend the Prime Minister and the Minister for Fijian Affairs in their efforts to improve the lot of the Fijian people for the sake of all the Fiji Islanders in our nation today and tomorrow.

For that, I wish them all the success.

The only thing generic now in the eyes of the Fijian landowners, is whether criminal charges will be filed through FICAC (the corruption unit) or if any landowners who have been affected by NLTB's abuse, would even consider filing civil suit against these former board members for failing in their fiduiciary duties as well as leveling breach of trust charges, as a representative of the Native Lands Trust Board. This Case Law analysis of other notable cases using "Breach of Trust" involving Solicitor's liability.

The definition according to Lectric Law Library's Lexicon:

BREACH OF TRUST - The wilful misappropriation, by a trustee, of a thing which had been lawfully delivered to him in confidence.

The distinction between larceny and a breach of trust is to be found chiefly in the terms or way in which the thing was taken originally into the party's possession; and the rule seems to be that whenever the article is obtained upon a fair contract, not for a mere temporary purpose or by one who is in the employment of the deliverer, then the subsequent misappropriation is to be considered as an act of breach of trust.

[Above Image:Interim Fijian Affairs Minister announcing the resignation of 3 Native Lands Trust Board (NLTB)board members on Fiji TV.]




The question remains of what liability does NLTB have, since these abuses are no longer allegations but proven according to Court testimony heard in Nukurua Landowners Vs NLTB and the more recent case involving Fulton College. What is ironic is that the Mahogany plantations in Tailevu may have been a catalyst for the 2000 putsch in Fiji, according to a Times Magazine article.

This is an excerpt of the Times article:

TIME PACIFIC
August 20-27, 2001 | NO. 33


With the decimation of tropical rainforests driving up the price of hardwood, Fiji's mahogany plantations are more valuable than their British founders ever dreamed. So why can't the cash-strapped nation convert its green wealth into gold?
By ELIZABETH FEIZKAH Naimasimasi

Slicing away leafy obstacles with deft flicks of his cane knife, Kalipate Daunikuco hikes through the forest. Here and there, a pink ribbon nailed to a tree trunk marks the trail, but Daunikuco can do without such hints. After nine years as manager of the Nukurua mahogany plantation, 30 km north of Suva, he knows its tracks and trees as well as most suburbanites know their backyard. He's climbed fissured gray trunks to collect seed pods; carefully removed the winged brown seeds; weeded around saplings until they can fend for themselves, and scrutinized his charges for pests and disease.

Daunikuco says he likes it in the cool, dim forest, where the only sounds are the soft rustling of leaves and the whooping and trilling of birds. But he longs for the sound of chainsaws. The trees are ready to be felled, he says. "It's what we have all worked for."

After 30 years of tending, Fiji's 40,000 hectares of mahogany forests have matured into a potential goldmine. The hardwood they contain is worth billions of dollars; harvested sustainably, it could bring in

$40 million a year in perpetuity for the government, which inherited the plantations from the British colonial administration in 1970. Unlocking that bonanza should be as simple as cutting down the trees: all that's needed is an overseas investor with the money for logging equipment and sawmills and the expertise to process and market the hardwood. But two years after cutting was due to begin, Fiji's rich legacy has become a national ulcer, inflamed by greed, ambition and mistrust. And while landowners, bureaucrats and speculators jostle for a piece of the action, the country's 14 mahogany estates remain as quiet as ever.

There's not much bustle, either, in the handful of shabby hamlets that dot the road along Nukurua's jungle-clad eastern flank. In Naimasimasi village, three young men chat idly near the dusty co-op store; a squatting woman pokes at her garden plot. In his one-room house, 69-year-old Ratu N.D. Tawakelevu is adjusting the new wick on his kerosene lamp. There is no electricity or phone here, and the only reminder of the consumer culture is the Pepsi sign at the store. But the white-haired chief and his neighbors in this and nearby villages are rich in one thing: the plantation's 7,000 hectares-the floor beneath the vast green carpet that ripples across the adjacent valley-belong to them.

Sitting cross-legged on the grass mat that serves as his lounge suite, Tawakelevu explains that in the 1950s, local clan chiefs leased their unused land to the colonial administrators for 99 years, at "about sixpence an acre a year-now it's about two dollars." (Ninety percent of Fiji is owned by indigenous people, but the land parcels are held by clans, not individuals, and cannot be sold.) At first, says the chief, there was work for the villagers, clearing and planting. After that petered out, they didn't give the forests much thought. They didn't even have to collect the rent-that was done for them by the bureaucrats of the Native Land Trust Board, the state-appointed guardian of indigenous landowners.

But in the mid-'90s, says Tawakelevu, "we found out that this mahogany is very valuable." And he and his neighbors resolved to get a share of the treasure.

It's "for our young people," says the one-eyed chief, smoothing his Wesley Mission sulu skirt over his knees. "They should have something for the future."

The idea that landlords are entitled to a stake in their tenants' business enterprises might seem outrageous in the developed world. But in Fiji, where indigenous people's monopoly on land has failed to lift rural dwellers out of poverty, politicians are increasingly sympathetic to any scheme that might help them without the humiliation of handouts. In 1999, when the Labour government began preparing to harvest the mahogany, it embraced that view. "Our approach was that it would be a joint venture," says then Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, "between the government, the landowners, and the investor."

The only questions were what kind of stake the landowners should have, and who the outside investor would be. But on the last issue, Chaudhry's sober plans collided head-on with the ambitions of George Speight. As chairman of Fiji Hardwood Corp., the state enterprise that runs the mahogany plantations, Speight aggressively promoted the cause of a newly formed American company with no apparent ties to the timber industry. When Chaudhry's government sacked Speight for alleged bribe-taking and picked a British company that was already harvesting Fijian pine, Speight-whose family has a farm near Nukurua plantation-told the mahogany landowners they were being cheated and that, as Ratu Tawakelevu still believes, "the government was trying to harvest the mahogany by itself." The ensuing alarm brought several landowning chiefs to Speight's side when he invaded Parliament and took Chaudhry and his government hostage; three nights later, a group of Speight supporters burned Fiji Hardwood's offices to the ground.

In the lush, church-studded hill country where Nukurua and a cluster of other plantations are located, life today seems peaceful to the point of inertia. But beyond the grazing cattle and the roadside taro stalls, the mahogany issue smolders like a slow fuse. With Chaudhry's government deposed and any harvesting deal on hold pending new elections at the end of this month, the nation's mahogany landowners have split into several groups whose allegiance is being anxiously courted by lawyers, government officials, bureaucrats, would-be investors and powerful chiefs.
Tawakelevu's group, the Mahogany Landowners Association, was the first to move. In March, it signed a deal with a four-month-old Californian company to recover mahogany leases from the government and run the plantations in a joint venture.

At wailevu village, beside idyllic blue Savusavu Bay on Vanua Levu island, Ratu Kinijoji Maivalili is the high chief of 38 clans, many of which own mahogany land. "I have met some people who talk big, in millions and billions," he says. "but when I ask them simple questions [about their business plans], they can't answer them. This indicates to me that they're fly-by-night people."


Caretaker Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has pleaded with villagers to resist eye-popping offers. "You must not look only at this first harvest," he told the Mahogany Landowners Association in May. "You must consider this treasure a future, a permanent source of income if we do the right thing." But his predecessor Chaudhry fears that wise counsel is no match for greed: "Nobody thinks about sustainability and adding value by processing the timber," he says. "They just look at the trees, do a quick calculation and say, How much can I make out of this? Here we go! And in five years there will be no mahogany left."

It was to save indigenous Fijians from exploitation that the British colonists in the 1940s set up the Native Land Trust Board. Housed in a spruce white building opposite the decaying gray concrete of Suva's government offices, the board is the custodian of all indigenous land in Fiji. It has plans of its own for the mahogany plantations, and they don't include letting village bumpkins run their own show. The board hopes to buy back the leases on all Fiji's plantations and find its own investment partner to cut and market the timber.

"It's all for the landowners. We are fighting for them," says general manager Maika Qarikau, a prominent supporter of Speight's coup.

The stocky, gray-bearded Qarikau doesn't understand why some groups of landowners "seem to say we are against them." They need the board's protection more than ever, he adds: "With the troubles at the moment, there are a lot of sharks about."

But many landowners would rather swim with sharks than trust their official godfather. In recent years, complaints have multiplied about inefficiency, secretiveness and indifference to landowners' wishes. The way the board distributes income from leased land also grates: after it extracts a 20% administration fee and pays the local chiefs 25% of what remains, ordinary clan members-who could number 60 or more-are often left with a pittance.

Grassroots view of the NLTB


Unlike the land bureaucrats, high chief Maivalili is known for his scrupulous attention to the views of his people. "We are not happy with the way the nltb is running things," he says. "How can we move forward if the official people aren't looking after us? I feel we should do our own negotiations, because these people are sleeping-they are sitting on their backside." Chief Tawakelevu is just as wary of the board's protective hand. "Most of the top chairs, they just want to fill their pockets," he says. "That's why we decided to kick out those people and go with the American company ourselves."

The government and the board can quash any deal the landowners make, but the landowners hold a trump card: they can keep the trees in the ground. "We will just block the road to the plantation," says Tawakelevu with a grin. "Without an agreement with us, nobody will be able to get in to cut the mahogany-unless they have helicopters." But "there must be a peaceful way to solve it," he adds, "so everybody sits down for their piece of cake." Age has made him optimistic. "The Bible says we have three score and ten years," he says. "That gives me one more year. This mahogany will definitely be harvested before I die."

High chief Maivalili isn't in a hurry. "It is a resource," he says. "It can be left out there for 10 years and it will still be there. What would upset me is if people try to exploit it without the landowners." Fijians are proud of their traditional consensus-based culture, in which everyone comes together to talk out problems. But the mahogany issue is so highly charged that getting all parties to agree could take years. Still, any amount of talking is better than violence. And while it goes on, Kalipate Daunikuco will go on planting mahogany.

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Fiji's Fourth Estate Touches The Third Rail.

The proposed inquiry on media independence brokered by the Fiji Human Rights Commission, was considered a threat by Fiji Media Council, prompting the refusal of its Chairman Daryl Tarte to get with the program, as a Fiji Sun article reports.

This is the excerpt:

Media council shies from inquiry
Last updated 7/25/2007 7:41:08 AM

The Fiji Media Council has refused to be involved in an inquiry commissioned by the Fiji Human Rights Commission. Council chairman Daryl Tarte said the FHRC had been planning the inquiry for some time but had not contacted the media council for its contribution. Mr Tarte said he would not comment on the inquiry itself.

FHRC director Dr Shaista Shameem said the FHRC was an independent commission and did not need to consult anyone before it undertook its powers and functions. She said the Media Council and other stakeholders had all been invited to make submissions to the independent consultant.

“This is an inquiry into whether the Fiji media are free and independent and we would like submissions from everyone associated with the media.”

"I hope this puts to an end the baseless speculation in the media of the use of drugs within the national team management," FRU chief executive Timoci Tavanavanua said.
"Several officials have been severely hurt by these false allegations," Tavanavanua said. "I hope those media that helped spread this grog-bowl gossip will have the decency to come clean and apologise."

To date no apology was forthcoming by any media outlets which covered the story. Complaints into the media coverage was exacerbated with this story published by Fiji Times and other leading dailies regarding allegations of drug abuse by certain officials within Fiji Rugby Union. The story of the drug test was featured in
the Guardian article.

The proposed scope, is as follows:

The media inquiry will seek;

• - To provide a historical overview of
  the range of media available in Fiji,
  including ownership and scope of
  operations.


• - To review human rights and other laws
  and policies with respect to freedom and
  independence of the media and
  assess Fiji's compliance
  with them.


• - To review whether the Fiji media comply
  with international standards of corporate
  responsibility for media freedom and
  independence.


• - To review laws and policies on the right
  of the public to information.


• - To review the extent to which the public's
  right to accurate, balanced and up-dated information
  is protected in Fiji.


• - To review current systems in place to protect journalists and other media personnel from violations of their rights.


• - To review whether work conditions of media personnel comply with Constitutional provisions on fair labour relations.


• - To review whether journalists have freedom internally and externally to exercise their functions in the public interest to the extent required by international human rights law

The inquiry into whether the Constitutional right of every person to vote was fully protected in the 2006 elections. It will seek;

• - To provide an overview of international human rights laws on the right to register and vote by secret ballot and review whether laws, policies and institutions of Fiji comply with them.


• - To receive submissions from members of the public, including those in the minority and disadvantaged groups, on their experiences of voting in elections prior to 2006 as well as in 2006, and any recommended improvements.


• - To receive submissions on whether the current voting mechanisms and practice are effective and to make recommendations for review.


• - To make recommendations on required policy and law changes to ensure that the right to register and vote by secret ballot is fully complied with.

This inquiry is welcomed by S.i.F.M as an independent assessment of the media and the nation of Fiji deserves nothing short. This in-depth study should include stories of censorship and gate-keeping by the Editorials, the coverage of breaking news and the impartiality of those observing.

Sadly, these basic parameters have escaped scrutiny of the Fiji Media Council and Fiji Media Watch, both self-declared media watch dogs; realistically both organizations display traits that are usually associated with lapdogs-Silent, Timid and Obedient when called by the public, to sniff out the sins of their masters.




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Who Among You, Said Nothing, Did Nothing?

The remarks of FLS member Isireli Fa at the recent Fiji Law Society convention appeared in a Fiji Times article, alluding to the structural deficiencies of Native Lands Trust Board (NLTB).

Fa's comment on the issue of NLTB's recent track record and the increasing complaints from landowners, seemed to be dismissed and down played by two flamboyant chiefs, Joni Madraiwiwi, Filimone Ralogaivau as well by the NLTB's Deputy General Manager, Semi Tabakanalagi.

This is the excerpt:

Lawyers attack lands body

TIMOTHY NAIVALUWAQA
Monday, July 23, 2007




Isireli Fa and Dr Shamsud Dean Sahu Khan at the Fiji Law Society Convention (L)

THE Native Lands Trust Board came under a barrage of attacks from lawyers during the Fiji Law Society's 51st Convention that ended in Nadi yesterday.

Suva lawyer, Isireli Fa said there was a general agreement the NLTB had failed to handle land issues in an appropriate manner. Mr Fa said even though the Fijian community owned 80 per cent of the land in the country, they were still among the poorest.

Meanwhile, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi said the structure of the NLTB had to be more flexible to empower Fijians while strengthening the legal and economic base that would take the country forward. Ratu Joni said the NLTB had the pivotal position of controlling Fijian land since its establishment in 1940.

"There is a real debate going on quietly about how we deal with the NLTB and the issue giving landowners more autonomy in order to make up their own minds about the economic use of their own land," he said.

Ratu Filimone Ralogaivau said many Fijian people wanted to look after their own land rather than having the NLTB. Ratu Filimone said many were educated and could handle negotiations regarding the use of their own land.

NTLB assistant general manager, Semi Tabakanalagi said they were always open to landowners wanting to be involved in the process.

However, Mr Tabakanalagi said the problem was getting landowners to actually participate. He said many lacked the capital or skills to be part of the process.[Tabakanalagi] said if they had the necessary skills and capital then the board would be glad to have them involved.

NLTB Deputy General Manager Semi Tabakanalagi's cookie-cutter outline of the problems of Fijians, in the context of the development of native land needs to taken with a grain of salt. Tabakanalagi speaks of the lack of capital and the necessary skills, as if this was a new phenomenon. Perhaps it is true that, the landowners lack the necessary skills; it doesn't mean they can't be taught. Should landowners even trust Semi Tabakanalagi, who even defended Keni Dakuidreketi's conflict of interest at the beleaguered Natadola project, as published in an earlier S.i.F.M post which was sourced from a Fiji Times article:

Copy of the Fiji Times article on the issue.

Landowners query board loyalty
Monday, July 24, 2006

THE Native Lands Trust Board was last week required to provide landowners of one of the country's largest tourism developments the reassurance that they are committed to protecting landowners' interests.

NLTB's Deputy General Manager Operations, Semi Tabakanalagi was swamped with concerns regarding the loyalty of the board during a meeting with landowners from Sanasana Village in Sigatoka.

Seven landowning units from the village own the land on which the Natadola Marine Resort project is currently being developed. A delegation led by Mr Tabakanalagi traveled to the village on Thursday to address grievances raised by landowners.

However, during the meeting Mr Tabakanalagi and his team were bombarded with claims that the board was working more with the project developers and either ignoring or sacrificing landowners' interests.

Landowners' spokesman, former cabinet minister and senator, Apisai Tora said the four units he was representing were concerned about their rights and interests being sacrificed to ensure the project continued.

Mr Tora said a major concern of landowners was Keni Dakuidreketi's position with NLTB while being the main developer for the project. "This is a clear case of conflict of interest and this has raised a lot of eyebrows within the landowning units of Sanasana."

"Since Mr Dakuidreketi is the main developer, we are concerned that all decisions made by the board would be made to see that the project went ahead regardless of whether our rights were sacrificed," [Tora]said.

"Even though NLTB is our trustee, it seems that it is pushing the company's interests," said Mr Tora.

"We have some grievances with several works that the developers are carrying out so how do you expect us to trust that the board will address our concerns when the developer is sitting on the board," Mr Tora asked.

Attempts to contact Mr Dakuidreketi yesterday were unsuccessful.

"You do not have to worry about Mr Dakuidreketi because that is our job to see that he carries out his duties properly. NLTB is always for the landowners and your rights and interests are always our priority," Mr Tabakanalagi said.

But Mr Tabakanalagi said there was nothing to worry about because the board always fought for the rights and interests of landowners. He promised that no decision would be made in favor of the developers because Mr Dakuidreketi was a member of the board

The public now knows that, Tabakanalagi's reassurance was as genuine as, the gold paved streets of Suva. Keni Dakuidreketi, APRIL's CEO and NLTB Board Director has since been removed from his post, pending an in-depth scrutiny and overhaul into native institutions.

Was it appropriate for the NLTB representative to talk about the lack of capital with landowners; yet refuse to inform grassroots landowners about the secret slush fund NLTB has siphoned from, to loan out millions to a hotel developer in Denerau, a story published by Fiji Live. It is true the landowners don't have capital because they have been paid a pittance, compared to what the NLTB charges as fees.

Tabakanalagi's assertions that, NLTB wanted more landowners to "come forward" is misleading at best, bold-faced lying at worst. The case of Nukurua, Tailevu shows that NLTB had in fact, stonewalled the aspirations of this group of landowners. The land in question, has since been returned to the landowners; after several court cases lasting decades; as a Fiji Live article reports.
Although, Land is a subject which many native Fijians hold close to the heart; some Fijians hold it close to their hearts, yet refuse to address the underlying flaws in the system.
Bua chief, Filimone Ralogaivau is among that faction. His response was accurate, but belated nonetheless. Ralogaivau, being a senior member of the GCC for years, one wonders why he or the GCC did not attempt to change this archaic legislation of land, he now considers should be changed.

Sadly, the muted responses of these chiefs and many others, have irreversibly dogeared this chapter in Fiji history. Their chiefly inaction and hollow rhetoric in solving the decades old cases of injustice, underscores this dichotomy.

Time to put things in their proper perspectives

RATU JONI MADRAIWIWI
Monday, July 23, 2007

(Opening remarks to the Fiji Law Society Convention 2007 at the Sheraton Fiji Resort, Denarau, Friday July 20)

I THANK the president and the Council of the Fiji Law Society for the invitation to speak at the opening of its annual convention.

These are difficult times. There is no more potent sign of the divisions in our midst than the absence of the interim Attorney-General and the reasons he has given.

The coup of December 5, 2006 continues to sunder the profession and the judiciary.

However, the parallel paths we have respectively followed must not only be bridged but pointed in a common direction one that strengthens respect for, and adherence to, the rule of law.

It calls for engagement and dialogue in good faith and integrity. The process must begin with the restoration of the Hon Chief Justice to his position. Six and a half months after his arbitrary removal and suspension without charge, the members of the tribunal established to investigate his alleged misconduct have yet to be appointed.

The impasse has continued for long enough at incalculable damage to the judiciary. The Executive has demonstrated how fragile the concept of the independence of the judiciary is. Its actions in suspending the Chief Justice on January 3, 2007 without cause assumed guilt without more.

Although His Excellency has extended the period in which to find suitably qualified members of the Tribunal, the interim Government's inability to find appropriate persons in the first six months does not augur well.

It is now time to revisit the issue and return to the beginning. However, there can be no return to the status quo ante prior to December 5, 2006. The divisions within the judiciary date back to May 2000. They must be dealt with because they re-emerged in January of this year with a vengeance to compromise the good standing of the courts.

Consideration must be given to establishing a commission with broad terms of reference. It would inquire into the state of the judiciary and the role, if any, played by judges in the events of May, 2000 and December, 2006.

It would also make broad recommendations for the future, including sweeping changes of personnel if necessary. While the time to move on is now perhaps appropriate, the commission would assist in giving some directions to the judiciary and the profession.

In looking back on the operation of the High Court, one is non-plussed at the extent to which the protagonists have pursued conflicting agendas and motives oblivious or uncaring about the common weal. There is no place for such sentiments in the courts because the dispensation and delivery of justice require focus and attention to detail.

Lest it be thought that I am being disrespectful of His Excellency, that was not intended. The decision to remove the Chief Justice on January 3, 2007 was made by the Commander as Acting President.

It has been widely denounced because it violated the independence of the judiciary and the sanctity of the courts. This was compounded by the absence of any charges.
So, were the Chief Justice to be reinstated, it would be seen as a placatory and conciliatory gesture by the interim Government's opponents and the international community.

To charges that the interim Government has retreated' from its clean-up campaign', it could point to the Presidential Commission with its broad terms of reference as taking forward that task in relation to the judiciary.

A transparent, accountable and efficient court system serves the interest of the country and all its people. The recommendations of the commission would then be considered for implementation by the next elected government.

What personnel changes, if any, were recommended could be effected immediately as part of the process of rebuilding. In the interim, the plethora of cases challenging the validity of the events of December 5, 2006 and its related consequences must be allowed to continue without interference.

In the event, the decisions are adverse to the military and to the interim Government, we must not expect them to return to barracks or expect latter to resign.
These are the compromises that we will need to entertain if the deadlock is to be broken.

It is hoped that the process of consultations and dialogue the interim Government has envisaged would by then have delivered some results. Chief among these is an acceptance by all political parties and groupings that they await the next general election whenever that is called. The declarations made by the courts would have moral and historical value and remind us that coups, by definition, are extra constitutional in character.

The issue of amnesty is critical to any political settlement, although this may be anathema to the purists in our midst.Of necessity, it would have to be broadly cast to provide protection to the considerable members of soldiers and civil servants having participated in potentially treasonous conduct.

This will have to be incorporated as part of any political settlement and given some constitutional validation to confer the level of immunity that would be considered adequate.

There are parallels which have already been enshrined in the 1990 and 1997 Constitutions. The implications this has for condoning and extending the coup culture are self-evident. However, this initiative needs to be seen as a mechanism for furthering the political process.

Those adverse consequences would have to be dealt with by the Government, the military, civil society, the private sector, the faith communities and the vanua in moving forward. Coups are, by their very definition, divisive and destructive events, bespeaking a basic failure in dialogue.

Institutions such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) must be disbanded on the understanding that its proper establishment would be a priority of an elected government.

We have seen the breathtaking sweep of its powers and it is frightening. The end never justifies the means unless it is in accordance with due process and the rights of those affected are assured. The military personnel who are appointed to the commission must be returned to the barracks post haste. The combating of graft and corruption require highly specialised skills that the military simply do not have.

Let us all agree that suitably qualified and experienced personnel will be part of the commission when circumstances permit. The commission's misapprehension of its power may already have cost the Chief Executive Officer of FIRCA his position. He was well within his professional expertise to defend the confidentiality of FIRCA records as a matter of law.

The legislation establishing the commission is open to legal challenge.

Not being part of the Constitution, the commission is in no position to assert its legal primacy over FIRCA when its very existence is legally dubious. Another institution that has asserted centre stage since the events of December 5, 2006 is the Fiji Human Rights Commission. This has been purely because of the position adopted by its director, Dr Shaista Shameem.

I make no comment on the propriety or otherwise of her actions. Suffice it to say that it probably warrants an inquiry or investigation by an appropriate authority as to whether they did not compromise her position.

At a time when wide-scale human rights abuses of intimidation, thuggery and even murder were committed by the military, the position articulated by Dr Shameem can best be described as perplexing.

Her recent appointment as Ombudsman and chair of the Fiji Human Rights Commission is a slight to the many people who have been detained and ill-treated by the military. It reflects adversely on the credibility of both institutions and raises serious questions about the suitability of the appointment.

This is not about personalities, it is about preserving the integrity of the institutions concerned. Beyond that, the legal profession and the judiciary must rediscover their sense of inter-dependence and mutual reliance.

There appears to have developed a distance between the two where the courts have been left on their own to resist the manipulations and machinations of the Executive.

In the period after December 5, 2006, there was a sense of drift and disconsolation. The suspension of the Chief Justice was met with little reaction.

To be fair, most of the profession had little or no contact with him and while respectful were not attached in any degree. This relationship must become more dynamic, meaningful and reciprocal.

We are a small profession and the judicial officers in our midst constitute an even lower figure.

The point about a deeper and closer partnership is its efficacy when the rule of law is threatened. That was absent in present circumstances because neither side had invested much to nurture the process.

Let that be a lesson to all of us for the future.

And what of appointments made by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) since December 5, 2006? I have already foreshadowed the restoration of the Chief Justice. The other decisions by the JSC must be assessed on a case by case basis as in whether the criteria for judicial appointments have been met.

If so, then there should be no attempt to rescind those made after December 5, 2006 on that basis alone. There must be recognition and acknowledgment of merit for its own sake and avoidance of arid legal technicalities that may complicate already fraught relationships and connections.

This would be without prejudice to the inquiry to be conducted by the presidential commission on the state of the judiciary. It is envisaged that this commission would be empowered to make recommendations concerning current appointments as well.

The relationship between the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and ICAC must be more clearly defined. Under the Constitution, the DPP has conduct of all criminal prosecutions.

If ICAC is now to play a part in that process to be able to confront corruption graft directly, then there must be a demarcation of responsibilities. Left to its own devices, ICAC risks becoming a law unto itself with few checks on its considerable powers.

It is not in the draconian powers of search and arrest alone that the eradication of corruption lies.

It is rather in the careful and painstaking preparatory work of sifting through files, accounts and information, making the appropriate connections and forming conclusions that is critical. Unless these aspects are carefully analysed and remedial measures taken, the eradication of corruption will become bogged down in meaningless bureaucratic infighting.

In terms of institutional strengthening and reinforcement of the rule of law, those are issues for the bench and the bar to consider carefully.

However, the time has come for us to draft protocols that set out very clearly the appropriate conduct expected in extralegal situations. The purpose of the protocols would be to remind all of us about what is expected from the courts and practitioners.

As for the judiciary itself, the advantages of our relative size have not been fully taken advantage of. In a system which allows personal contact and familiarity, its sense of collegiality and unity must be enhanced.

The reality of judicial officers being masters of their own courts has too readily encouraged a discrete sense of autonomy that has not been countered sufficiently.
In times of crisis, there is a heightened disconnection caused by the lack of a greater sense of the whole. When solidarity and closing ranks is called for, it is not readily apparent.

What we need to reflect upon is whether the modus operandi in times of normality have a bearing on times of upheaval and instability. What is offered here is a few thoughts on how we might begin to narrow the divide. The starting point in my scenario is the restoration of the Chief Justice.

The interim Government's concern will be loss of face. As against that, the profession must be prepared to allow the establishment of a presidential commission with wide ranging terms of reference into the judiciary and possibly the legal profession itself.

Its focus will include judicial conduct in May 2000 and post-December, 2006. A wide-ranging amnesty is contemplated in the context of acknowledging the realities on the ground and the demand for engagement.

Many of you will oppose the principle. What alternative is there? Unless there is an accommodation, we persist on our parallel paths. The importance of political engagement on the part of the interim Government and its opponents will need to be considered in the context of legal rulings against the interim Government.

Last, the removal of certain people and the sending into abeyance of particular institutions have also been mooted. It is an untidy picture but we must begin somewhere if we are to restore confidence in our legal institutions and the rule of law. It is a duty we owe to the principles that we have sworn to uphold and the people whom we serve.

Where was the learned scholar of law and chief, Joni Madraiwiwi when his fellow Tailevu landowners were struggling to repatriate their native land?

Is this a measure of a man who read law and hails from the same province called Tailevu, yet never took on a case
( pro bono)on behalf of abused Tailevu landowners, who were challenging NLTB?

Although, the former Fiji Vice President, Joni Madraiwiwi has been quite vocal recently about putting things into perspective, which he addressed in his opening remarks to the Fiji Law Society convention and eagerly published by the Fiji Times; Madraiwiwi's silence on the gross and wilfull abuse of native lands legislation by the Native Lands Trust Board is deafening, notwithstanding embarrassing in the eyes of any kai Tailevu.

One would think, as a chief from the province of Tailevu and a legal expert, Madraiwiwi would be a leading advocate of landowners. Or to be bold enough to establish legal tools for native landowners in Fiji.
In fact, Maraiwiwi's repeated silence on these matters should only remind the grassroots that, legality is a convenient topic to preach about, but not followed.

What is concerning is that, seldom has Madraiwiwi used his legal abilities to contest NLTB"s abuse or represent landowners. The case of Fulton College in Tailevu reported by a Fiji Times article, bears yet another testimony to the history of lip service by countless chiefs; an institution to which Madraiwiwi and Ralogaivau are pillars of.

If pillars were to symbolize strength, pillars also represents an unmovable entity. An entity that was unaware, unmoved and unhelpful to the concerns of their own people, who took upon themselves to legally challenge this status quo in Fiji's land tenure system; a system which Madraiwiwi and the likes in his social strata, are benefactors of.




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Down Under Logic from Alexander Downer.

Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer has revealed a superior application of hypocrisy, in his latest interview reported by Radio Fiji.

This is the excerpt:

Fiji and Solomon Islands two major issues at the PFL meeting


AUSTRALIAN Foreign Minister Alexander Downer believes Fiji and Solomon Islands will be the two major issues at the Pacific Forum Leaders meeting in Tonga.

A Tongan Broadcasting Commission report carried by Pacnews says Downer told reporters in Tonga he didn’t think the Tongan situation was going to be at the forefront of the leaders' discussions.But, he said the Forum must focus on Fiji and Solomon Islands.

[Downer] said the reform process in Tonga was underway and there appeared to an emergence of consensus about where Tonga wants to go, Downer emphasised Tonga could not have foreigners come in to tell them exactly how to do this and that they had to do it themselves.

Obviously, Downer's comments seem to run against the grain, for Fiji and Solomon Island's case. If Tonga does not need foreigners to tell them how to run their monarchy, cloaked under the veneer of democracy; why can't Fiji or Solomon Islands be treated the same way.

Inextricably, these comical double standards of Australia and New Zealand, have placed their own foreign policies in the South Pacific, in an untenable position from a Melanesian perspective. It is certainly not surprising that China has been courted by Fiji and Solomon Islands, both of whom grown quite tired of this Nanny like diplomatic posture adopted by the ANZUS alliance; reflecting their dwindling influence in Melanesian regional politics.





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Fiji's Corruption Commission Wins Legal Challenge.

Radio NZ article reports on a case heard in Lautoka High Court, which dismissed an application to have the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption declared illegal. This particular case also represents a significant boost to the mandate of the clean-up campaign, undertaken by the Interim Fiji Government, which found massive irregularities in Native Institutions.

These discrepancies, could find the deposed Prime Minister of Fiji, Laisenia Qarase culpable for abuse of office. Earlier, Qarase had denied abusing his position to enrich himself or cordoning corrupt practices under his watch. Qarase counter accused the Corruption Unit of selectivity, by steering the investigations clear of the Fiji President, who was also appointed as President of Native Lands Trust Board, while Qarase chaired the board. Qarase's accusations, actually acknowledges that, the crime(s) took place.

It was during this time, approval of several questionable projects involving Pacific Connex and the illegal de-registering of native land without consent or approval of the native land owning units occurred. Other case that may involve Qarase includes the projects at Natadola and Yaqara; both locations of proposed major development projects, without the ownership and approval of the landowners. These projects placed NLTB and Fijian Institutions under scrutiny following complaints, involving coercion, misrepresentation and transactions under false pretenses.



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Media Matters in Fiji

Fiji Media Council Chairman, Daryl Tarte who also chairs the Capital Markets Development Authority (CMDA) made a remark about the gender imbalance in financial institutions in a speech reported by a Fiji Times article.
It was unclear from the context of Tarte's speech, whether the turn around of Fiji as he advocated; also extends to the "gender-imbalance" issue.

This is an excerpt:

Let us turn Fiji around: Tarte

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

BUSINESSES are operating in a confused, negative and stressful environment paving the political way ahead with uncertainty, says Capital Markets Development Authority chairman Daryl Tarte.

Speaking at the welcoming ceremony of new CMDA chief executive officer Mereia Volavola, he said people often invested at a time when there was blood on the street.

"Fortunately, we do not have any blood on the street but there is an incredible challenge for all of us. Times like this present a great opportunity for lateral thinking, to be innovative, to be bold, to be visionary," he said.

Strong, dynamic and wise leadership was sadly lacking, Mr Tarte said.

"We all know there are opportunities here in Fiji and we are all in a position to stimulate the capital markets.

"It is incumbent on us all to think positively and turn Fiji around. We the stakeholders in the capital markets must make this happen," he said. [Tarte] called for more brainstorming sessions by stakeholders.

In welcoming Ms Volavola, he said CMDA had come full circle after a succession of two CEOs, Julie Apted and Suren Kumar who was unable to make it to the handover as his wife was taken ill in New Zealand.

"Looking at the staff of CMDA, I see we have a serious gender imbalance. It is female dominated. Even the South Pacific Stock Exchange is led by a woman," Mr Tarte said.

He said Mr Kumar had to hand over by phone and email with Ms Volavola.

"What attracted him ( Mr Kumar) to us was his obvious energy, motivation and passion for the capital markets industry. We have not been disappointed. For him, it has been a 24/7 job. That was a tough call, succeeding Julie," he said.

On Mr Kumar's leaving he said "none of us are in control of the events that shape our destinies".

Does Tarte implicitly declare that there is a 'glass ceiling' for men, in the stock brokering industry? Tarte's ability to chair the boards of both entities, raise serious questions of conflict of interest. Where does the line of demarcation lie; when the Fiji Media Council is asked to provide an impartial review of media coverage in CMDA's performance?

One can only wonder how Fiji's Old Media can fathom the issue of wrong messages; as the Fiji Times Editorial accuses the Interim Government of.

This is the excerpt of the Editorial:

The wrong message

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

THE move by the interim Government to block prominent Suva lawyer Graham Leung from leaving the country sends a terrible message to the world.

Mr Leung is not under investigation for any suspected or real wrongdoing. He has no court order against him preventing him leaving the country.

Mr Leung's "crime" it seems, is to have said things that do not meet the approval of the interim Government. Certainly he has been forthright in his views on the December 5 takeover and subsequent events, speaking at a recent Hong Kong law conference about how he believes our nation's judiciary risks being seen as compromised through what he contends are some legally dubious appointments.

Mr Leung is an internationally respected lawyer. He is a vice-president of Law Asia, itself one of the world's most respected bodies of legal minds. Perhaps that position is now working against him too. Law Asia president Mah Weng Kwai was set to head the Fiji Independent Commission Against Crime until there was an uproar about it, with much of the outrage coming from within Law Asia itself.

And Mr Leung had been in the interim Government's sights before that. His law firm has been black-banned from doing work for the interim Government because it is involved in legal challenges to the legitimacy of the regime. The interim Government claims it is a conflict of interest.

Mr Leung has applied for a judicial review of the travel ban and is awaiting a hearing date.

In the meantime, it seems the only person who can fully explain why he cannot leave the country is interim Home Affairs Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, who has so far refused to tell Mr Leung why he is on the immigration watch-list. He is, of course, not the only person in such a situation and joins a seemingly ever-growing group.

The interim Government is desperate to tell the world that all is normal in the country. It is also desperate to win international acceptance of its actions and continually argues it should not be punished because it is acting for the greater good of the nation.

Banning dissidents or people who do not meet some mystery criteria is not the action of a government that has nothing to hide but reeks of a repressive regime intent on silencing alternative viewpoints. The truth is that in this electronic age, banning people from travelling will not stop them being heard and therefore the bans come across as, at the very least, petty vindictiveness.

Once again, the nation has lost ground in the eyes of the world and yesterday's events will do nothing to redeem our reputation in that arena.

T he FT Editorial begs the question of, what is the right message?
Is the Fiji Times along with the cartel called Fiji Media Council, the sole determiner of whether a message is right or wrong; right or left?

The Fiji Media mongols defended the role of the media's coverage in a Fiji Times article.

This is the excerpt of the Fiji Times article.

Media is only 'playing its role'

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

AT least two media organisations have labelled the comments made by interim minister for health Dr Jona Senilagakali as a mistake.

Dr Senilagakali said on Sunday the steadfast stand taken by the Fiji Nursing Association were due to the union leaders who were paid to make noise and the media for the headlines it used.

Fiji Sun publisher Russell Hunter said the comments by Dr Senilagakali were the usual tactic of pinning the blame on the messenger.

"I think he's making the usual mistake of blaming the messenger," Mr Hunter said. He said the media was only there to report on what the nurses wanted.

Communications Fiji Limited managing director William Parkinson said he did not know how the media could be blamed on the issues raised by the nurses. "The media shouldn't be blamed because they are there to cover the story and that is our role."

Mr Parkinson said the media was not a player as it was between government and the FNA.

The Fiji Times, in an editorial comment yesterday, said Dr Senilagakali should sit down and address the nurses' problems rather than blame the media and the union.
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Death of Fiji Man Unites Sacramento Residents.

Sacramento Bee article covers this tragic death of a Fiji man, Satendra Singh, described by family members as 'the lucky one'. Singh, who was a recipient of the green card lottery in 2000, enabling his relocation to Sacramento from Fiji. Singh's death prompted a vigil and was even attended by State politician Darell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

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Gauging Fiji Media Council's Journalism Standards. (Update)

Fiji Village article describes Fiji Media Council (FMC) Forum's archaic focus on Fiji's economy and can be described as a loss of direction by an entity that, was supposedly established specifically for the discussion and discourse of the media's performance in Fiji. Nothing more or nothing less.

"However, Mr Tarte said blogs

were a scourge and were generally full of defamatory information and were inflaming an already politically-charged situation, Pacific Radio News reported".

It is highly questionable to ascertain how the media performance in Fiji has a correlation with Fiji's economy, despite overseas articles stating that, the Fiji Media Council Awards is a ceremony for
excellence in media journalism, not a forum for discussing the
financial abilities and economic performances of Fiji.
Although, bloggers in Fiji have been painted with a

broad brush by the Fiji Media Council Chairman in a

Fiji Times article.

It is rather unfair for Tarte, to "throw out the baby
with the bath water" in his dishonest view of Fiji blogs. A desperate attempt to defend the turf of the old media in Fiji. But, given the
Fiji Media Council's seemingly biased conjecture on journalistic standards in Fiji ; it is highly applaudable for Fiji blogs to fill in this vacuum, using respectable online resources like Media Law Resources Center.

This vacuum which has been long forgotten and scorned by the Fiji Media Council, Media Law Resources exceeds these limitations by FMC; by focusing on matters like Blogger legal case studies and other journalistic issues pertinent to Fiji, like:

• Libel
• Defamatory
  
• Meaning
  
• Opinion
  
• Truth/Falsity
  
• Fault • Republication
  
• Privileges
  
• Damages
  
• Motions to Dismiss
  
• Discovery Issues
  
• Trial Issues
  
• Appellate Review
  
• Remedies for Abusive Suits
  
• Retraction
  
• Constitutional/Statutory Provisions
  
• Summary Judgment

Although, the Fiji Media Council's own ethics on accuracy, balance and coverage is far beyond their industry practice and realistically unenforceable by Fiji law. The following is an excerpt of Fiji Media Council rules:

1) ACCURACY, BALANCE AND FAIRNESS

a) Newspapers and magazines, radio and television broadcasting organizations, web sites and internet newsletters, and journalists working for them, should report and interpret news and current affairs honestly. They should aim to disclose all known relevant facts and should take care not to publish material, which is inaccurate, misleading or distorted by wrong or improper emphasis or any other factor.

b) If a significant inaccuracy, misleading or distorted statement is published it must be corrected promptly with due prominence and, where appropriate, an apology.

c) Media must distinguish clearly between the news, comment, conjecture, fact and paid advertising.

d) Media organizations are free to be partisan. Each has a duty to be balanced and fair in their treatment of news and current affairs and their dealings with members of the public.

e) Editorial comment in any medium must be clearly identified as such and kept physically separate from news reports.

f) Media should report fairly the result of any legal action brought against them and have an obligation to publish/broadcast, without diluting the finding, any adjudication by the Media Council on a complaint made against them.

One factor not addressed by any ethical rules produced by Fiji Media Council, is the aspect of Incitement Standard also not covered in Fiji media laws. This particular "Incitement Standard" is an international standard in objective journalism, which was obviously breached by the Fiji Times coverage of former Fiji Vice-President, Joni Madraiwiwi's speech published in a Fiji Times article, quoting Madraiwiwi, who labeled the 2006 coup as an Indian Coup; without offering, attaching or disclaiming empirical evidence to support that outrageous claim.

Madraiwiwi's incendiary statement alluded to the racial support of the 2006 Fiji coup, and realistically was an opinion and not a fact. No disclaimer was ever satisfactory offered, published or added by the Fiji Times or the speech author ascertaining that and perhaps sums up the editorial hallmarks of 'The Fiji Times' to mislead.

UN Human Rights Index highlights certain issues of media coverage which the Fiji Media Council had conveniently sidelined.




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One Door Closes, Another Opens!

According to a Radio NZ article and collaborated by a Fiji Times article, Fiji is on the verge of establishing a oil refinery provided if the feasibility studies give clearance, to the project commissioned by a Dubai Petroleum company currently in discussions with the Interim Government. Fiji Live article describes the proposal as a comprehensive vision for a Sea port complex in Fiji; using the expertise of Dubai Ports World, an industry heavy weight.
Another project publicized by a Fiji Times article through approval from Fiji Trade and Investment Board (FTIB)shows South Korea's interest in Bio-Fuel projects in Fiji.

Undoubtedly these projects exceed any aid programs from Australia, E.U or New Zealand by an embarassing margin. The historic Aid programs provided by these nations are welcome but, what has been a rising concern for several decades is that, these aid programs seldom include technology transfers.



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Gee, hasn't Clark done well on Fiji?

Whale Oil gives an honest opinion on NZ Prime Minster's reactions to Fiji.

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The Common Knowledge of Editorial Stove-Piping in Fiji.

Fiji Media Council was rather quick to denigrate the travel ban placed on the former CEO of Fiji Broadcasting Corporation in this Fiji Times article and FT Editor was only too happy to publish the concerns of one SDL apologist, to another.
This is an excerpt:

Media council berates ban

Sunday, July 08, 2007

THE Fiji Media Council is disturbed that former Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited chief executive Francis Herman had been stopped from leaving the country.

Council chairman Daryl Tarte said Mr Herman was a senior member of the media and his treatment was quite disturbing.

"I think the media council is very disturbed that a senior member of the media was treated this way," he said.

Mr Herman was stopped from leaving Fiji for a media conference in Australia last Wednesday by the Fiji immigration after his name was found to be in a watch list.

Meanwhile, the FBCL board has come to the defence of Mr Herman who is being investigated over allegations of alleged abuse of office.

Board chairman Daniel Whippy in a paid advertisement in the local dailies "vehemently denied allegations of abuse of office" against Herman and the company.

"The allegations are mischievous, baseless and considered acrimonious campaign by a former disgruntled employee whose aims are to discredit the FBCL and Mr Francis Herman," he said.

Mr Whippy said FBCL was appalled that both the company and Mr Herman were subjected to vilification and vindictiveness by the former employee.

"External audits of the company's finances have always been carried out by reputable external auditing firms under the supervision of the Office of the Auditor-General," Mr Whippy said.

Mr Herman yesterday confirmed he had met with Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption deputy commissioner George Langman on Thursday.

He said he met Mr Langman on Thursday to clarify why his name was on the watch list.

FICAC media relations officer Loraini Seru said another meeting had been arranged with Mr Herman next week to deal with the allegations.

Immigration director Viliame Naupoto said yesterday Mr Herman's name was still on the watchlist.

T his reaction is rather predictable given that Fiji Media Council is embedded with several Fiji media personnel and any endorsements, or opposition from this cartel should be realistically viewed with extreme caution.

Frequently, any editorial positions from this cartel has been analyzed to sing a unified tune and often echoing sentiments raised from their own stove-piping information or news flow.
An overwhelming amount of evidence supports that premise of bias in the Fiji Media and the burden of guilt now weighs heavily on the conscious of well informed readers.

Unfortunately, it rather misleading to feature alone this incident of Herman's travel ban; without appraising readers of Herman's dark past of muzzling an experienced and well appreciated radio journalist, and further remind readers of this amazing twist used by the media elite in Fiji; which provides lip service to the so called ideals for "Freedom of Expression" and "Media Independence" under a so called "Democractic Elected Government". Mass produced tags that ride a cushion of half-truths, compounded by this entrenched layer of corruption.

Case in point: In March 2006, Messr Herman fired the renown radio personality, Sitiveni Ratulala for interviewing Army Commander Frank Bainimarama, regarding the military truth campaign before the 2006 elections.

It is rather unfortunate for the Fiji Media Council to defend Herman, and disappointingly choose not even raise a finger for Ratulala, let alone issue a statement denouncing it. In the eyes of Fiji Media Council, Herman has more rights of Freedom, than Ratulala. S.i.F.M denounces this hypocrisy and calls for the Fiji Media Council and Fiji Media Watch to step up to the plate call a strike, a strike and a foul, a foul.

Avoiding, Evading, Denying an even playing field in media coverage is among the classic uses of turf protection displayed by the Fiji Media Council.

It is quite simply appalling to observe this degree of selectivity employed by Fiji Media Council. Quick off the mark, to raise the issue of freedom of expression
and defend all and any ethical violations of the media elite;
yet embarrassing slow and cumbersome to even
issue any statement decrying the recent coverage of
the Interim Finance Minister, which unfolded in
a Fiji Times article,
with overtones of sensationalism.

The reporting lines of some of these "Free media" advocates are now being drawn in the sand; separating those despotic media robber barons in Fiji and those on their payroll directly or indirectly, from honest readers and observers. The same readers and observers, who now are increasingly disgusted, with the glass house belonging to the ilks of Fiji Media Council; a corporate ogre, which routinely throws stones of clique idioms like freedom of expression. But only when it suits their agenda, purchased and designed by the highest bidder.

Fiji Media Council does not represent the public, which the Fiji media are duty bound to impart factual information. Fiji Media Council has no representation from native landowners, whose concerns of their native land being abused, fitted their campaign of fear; using the ethno-nationalistic talking points that created a series of divisive political fractures in Fiji society. Fiji Media Council does not have any cohesive grassroots representation from any segment of the multi-racial fabric of Fiji; all of whom have been their silent victims of the media's calculated campaign of defamation, first seen in 1987 and magnified in 2000.

Fiji Media Council, is in fact a culpable mouthpiece and an accessory to capital crimes; for their abysmal effort in encouraging public discourse on abuses of NLTB and native land. Some Fiji media outlets have even used the status quo in native land as a solid revenue stream, rather than providing readers of Fiji with investigative articles, to solve, trace and discern these reoccurring and grave abuses of office(long complained by Fijian mataqali landowners)now being unraveled in the clean up campaign.

Freedom of Expression in Fiji is a two way street, which the media have long exploited. Freedom of the Media, as one scholar exclaimed, is restricted to those who own one. This inconvenient truth, is slowly being understood by the masses in Fiji.


S.i.F.M post titled Fiji Media and Ethical Deviations had pointed out instances of this blatantly unfair coverage that has surprising roots in the 2000 putsch.

The following is a article covering the reactions to Ratulala's dismissal from an earlier S.i.F.M post:

Druavesi warns FBCL

Fiji Broadcasting Corporation chief executive officer Francis Herman should come out publicly on who gave him the directive to sack popular Fijian talk back show host Sitiveni Raturala. Soqosoqo Ni Vakavulewa Ni Taukei Party secretary Ema Druavesi yesterday warned Mr Herman to be careful, as he had been used to fire a Fijian, who had a huge following in the Fijian community for many years.

“The Fijian community is not happy with the actions of the FBCL,” she said. “Mr Raturala’s talkback show has a huge following throughout the country and now the Fijian people are not happy. There was nothing wrong in his interview with the army commander. Actually, it was well received by the Fijian community because they now have heard straight from the horse’s mouth.

“Mr Herman should be careful not to be caught in the web because the Fijian people will see him as a villain even though he is innocent since he is acting on higher orders to safeguard his job as well.” Ms Druavesi said the Government should appreciate the fact that it was through Mr Raturala’s popularity and ways of conducting his talkback shows that had helped the FBCL stay afloat.

Mr Herman said the FBCL’s editorial policies like all other independent and credible news organisations, reiterated their strong commitment to promoting and upholding the free flow of information, the principles of democracy and respect for human rights.

“It also demands objectivity, balance, impartiality and requires that we maintain a high degree of balance, fair play and justice in all our broadcasts,” he said.

However, Ms Druavesi said Mr Herman may have his reasons but the Fijian community did not see that. “Mr Herman should come out publicly whether the directive came from the Prime Minister’s Office but if he refuses he should not blame anyone because now he has been used,” she said. Ms Druavesi said the FBCL for its survival should apologise to Mr Raturala and reinstate him before it lost its Fijian listeners.

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