The deviation of law as instigated by this Bill is a dangerous precedent. For sake of arguement, what if the perpetraitors of the 2000 coup operation was actively financed by Al-Qaeda. Would they still be recepients of the amnesty provisions designed by the crooked Attorney General?
How about if those currently held in custody for the coup charges, by some remote twist of fate was found in possession of hard drugs and accused of a prior offense of sex with a minor. Will their new offences fit the amnesty clause?
How about if the same people stormed a meeting of Great Council of Chiefs and forcibly disrobed every member and paraded them under the blue skies of Fiji. Will the G.C.C then, still want to endorse the Bill?
Having both camps( supporters and opposers) advice the G.C.C is the only way to prevent the institution from being swayed to the agendas of the corrupt. Even if their translation of the R.T.U Bill is published, the contents of the translation must be scruntinized by an independent body, to ensure no mis-information of the legal wording.
The comments of the C.E.O of Fiji Prime Minister's office is beyond the pale of comprehension and shows how far Kotobalavu is isolated from reality on the ground. Human Rights is an international concern, that is why Fiji is a signatory to international treaties. If Fiji wanted to operate independent of other nations, then why take the time in sending diplomats to the U.N? Fiji is not a nation in a vacuum. It must abide by it's obligations. No lip-service or rhetorical comment by any civil servant can change that indisputable fact.
The Fiji Government is seriously out of money to pay for it's obligations. How can Fiji go on living beyond it's means. Even water which is a basic human right is not forthcoming in suburbs of Suva.
Selected F/T Letter to Editors of Mon July 18th 2005.
What is Government afraid of?
This latest effort of the Government to rein in the debate on the Reconciliation Bill is contradictory, counter-productive and truly pathetic.
The Prime Minister spends a great deal of his time wooing foreign business people and investors in the hope of encouraging more of them to bring their money into the country. And yet, when these same people voice their concerns about the destabilising effect of the Reconciliation Bill, the Ministry of Home Affairs tells them to shut up or be kicked out of the country.
According to the Ministry, expats' work permits forbid them from engaging in political activities in Fiji. I have yet to locate the source of this restriction. However it raised a number of questions.
First, the Ministry clearly assumes that engaging in political activities including making public statements about matters of public interest. But that is an activity protected by the right to freedom of speech, which is a constitutionally guaranteed protection enjoyed by everyone in the country, not just citizens.
Secondly, as the Fiji Employers Federation has pointed out, the current sorry state of local politics is not just a matter of passing interest for many business people and investors. It hits them right in the hip pocket.
Businesses do no flourish in an unstable environment because instability increases uncertainty and multiplies financial risk.
Having failed to control the RFMF Commander, and as more dissenters in the indigenous community voice their objections to the blatant railroading of provincial councils, the Government now appears to be venting its frustration at the mounting public opposition to the Bill on a group it sees as more pliable.
Peter Ridgway was perhaps the first to experience this. We have yet to learn to what extent his ejection from the country has damaged Fiji's relations with Australia but we can be sure that our Government's ingratitude and rudeness did not go unnoticed.
What a shame it would be if the many wonderful expatriates from all over the world who grace Fiji's shores stopped coming. How much poorer would we be without them.
They contribute enormously, not just to our economy but in every sphere - enriching our diversity and overall quality of life.
It is only natural that expats should speak our on matter affecting them and the Government's hostile reaction is really a measure of its inability to withstand criticism. Since the Prime Minister says the debate is healthy, let everyone participate.
What is he afraid of?
Rev Akuila Yabaki
CCF Executive Director
Be truthful
Since my letters (FT 25/4, 11/5) the only response from FNPF came from its public relations officer (FT 22/4) who, by implication, induced the readers to sail with Sinbad to the Seven Seas. This is an insult in the highest order to all the contributors who are members and beneficiaries of the FNPF.
They have been rubbished, ignored and not told what they wanted to know, which is their right.
What game is the chief executive officer and board of directors of the Fiji National Provident Fund playing? They must not lose sight of the fact that primarily all of them are servants of the contributors who are member and beneficiaries of the fund.
I must keep on reminded the FNPF board of directors and its CEO not to forget that as custodians of the members fund they must ensure that there is adequate retirement funds for its members. They must also tell members in a very clear explanation the method and logics the FNPF administers the distribution of each member's dividend include of 6.5 per cent.
FNPF explained that it would undertake a 12 months awareness program to register people who would hitherto considered by them as employees.
The fund is roping in more employees now to contribute and become members of the fund. What about spending three to six months to explain in this column to the members how they administer the FNPF members' dividend income.
Any person who understands the virtue of responsibility must consider duty bound to explain to members who the fund is answerable to what they want to know within their rights.
Why the evasion? Why are they silent? It is one year now since I questioned the CEO and he is not talking. Has he been instructed by the board to shut up? If you think that in the passage of time I will give up questioning you , you are making a mistake.
Come down from you ivory tower and tell the members how you administer the distribution of dividend income. Once again I shall wait for your detailed explanation.
Manu D Korovulavula
Nasinu
Spot on editorial
I fully agree with your editorial comment (FT 12/7) and the issues that were highlighted on the amnesty bill.
Your suggestion that the PM needs to set aside his personal dislike of the military commander and accept the fact is indeed what the people of this nation have been looking forward to for a long time now.
It may be a big task for the PM but it is high time he came out of the world of assumptions and saw the reality for once. The country cannot afford the consequences of the PM and his government members' unfounded dislike of a capable person like the army commander.
Fiji has gone through one of the most trying times any country can go through and the citizens of this country owe a great deal of gratitude to the military for the stability we enjoy today.
Had not it been for the tireless efforts of the army, the judiciary system that is in place now would have been replaced with the law of the jungle.
To ridicule the views of the people who saved the country from a major disaster is really dumb and it just goes to show the shallowness and greed prevalent in some people at the helm of leadership in Fiji.
The commander, like most of the citizens of Fiji, would not like to see the country held to ransom by power hungry goons as in 2000. His outbursts are an indication that he senses trouble and a chance of the events of 2000 repeating if the amnesty Bill goes through.
The people who are hell bent on seeing the Bill through parliament will sleep in comfort of their homes if an event like 2000 surfaces. It will then become the job of the military to steer the country back to normalcy.
The people of Fiji should throw their support behind a person like the army commander who is trying his best to avoid taking the country back into the doldrums, rather than opportunist politicians who will take cover at the first sign of trouble.
The commander is trying to wake us up to the face that prevention is better than cure and he should get the support he deserves
For starters, I would like to assure him that he has my family's support for his good intentions and we are grateful for his organisation's efforts in giving us a stable environment to live in.
Sarita Kumar
Nabua
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