Political Square Dancing in Fiji.

The subject of GCC's recent suspension was revisited in a Fiji TV interview by the former GCC Chairman, Ovini Bokini, who acknowledged the receipt of the suspension notice and appears to be coming to terms with the Interim Government's decision in suspending the GCC and its members.


(Above image: GCC's former Chairman on Fiji TV)

Undoubtedly, the GCC Chairman has sought to re-negotiate his way back onside with the powers that be. A similar such move was exercised by Bokini, subsequent to the events of Decemeber 5th, 2006. Later, Bokini reversed any notion of the GCC's cooperation in being apolitical and belligerently stonewalled the road map outlined by the Interim Government.



In concluding the Fiji TV interview, Bokini remained adamant that the GCC was acting within their brief, to instigate a head on collision with the central arm of Government, using democracy as a convenient battle ram.

Clearly, the trappings of the GCC has gone to the heads of some its members, who now are making numerous appearances to the Fiji media, in a last ditch effort to improve their P.R.

Leading the charge on opinion shaping, was a slanted editorial, by the Fiji Times, in support were two published infomercials on the G.C.C.

Getting bored

Friday, April 27, 2007

ONE of the hallmarks of good governance is to consult the people who are going to be affected by a decision or policy to be made.

Great leaders listen to others' views, including those under their authority. They are also good planners and, equally importantly, recognise and accept their limitations.

At the outset this interim administration had stressed the importance of good governance in the running of the State's affairs. They say the previous administration lacked that vital leadership quality thus the military takeover to clean up and put things right.

While that's arguable and people have their own views on the reasons behind the ousting of a democratically elected government, it needs to be pointed out to those who hold the reins of power today to seriously look back at their four-month-old track record.

They will find out that it is not very encouraging. In fact, they ignore some of the essential and fundamental ingredients of good governance they have been vigorously advocating.

Some of these had been aired by members of the public in the open column of this newspaper, in media reports locally and overseas.

This fact needs to be pointed out now so that members of the interim Cabinet are fully aware that they themselves are not above the very practices they say are tantamount to bad governance.

There is little or no consultation with the people on important decisions which touch their lives, even at grassroots level. One glaring example of recent times is the decision to suspend the Great Council of Chiefs pending the review of its membership structure. One would have thought the interim minister in charge would have mapped out a way to go down to the people, especially the indigenous community, who will be affected by this decision and seek their views.

Another is the decision to cut the pay of civil servants by 5 per cent even before negotiations with the public sector trade unions were completed. They'll do what they want and no questions expected and accepted.

It becomes clearer to the people as days go by that only a handful of so-called leaders, who themselves know they have no mandate from the people to lead them, are making these decisions on important issues. The sad fact is that they have no-one to question them on the decisions they make.

They basically are accountable to no-one except themselves. Yet accountability immediately appears at the top of the list whenever good governance is discussed and put into practice.

This is a sad state of affairs as far as the managing of the national affairs is concerned. The solution lies in the return to democratic rule, to where we were before; to what the majority of the people in this country want. If the interim administration doubts this, the best way to gauge what the people want is to hold a public referendum. Anyone who champions good governance would certainly vote for that.

Right now, many people are getting bored, frustrated and fed up. And that's not a good sign.

One article featuring, Teimumu Kepa, GCC member from the Rewa Province. This is the second of such articles published by the Fiji Times, exclusively featuring the Paramount chief of Rewa.

This is the excerpt of the article:

Chief queries State's agenda

Friday, April 27, 2007

A CHIEF has questioned the decision by the interim administration to suspend the Great Council of Chiefs meeting and review the Fijian Affairs Act.

The paramount chief of Rewa and Burebasaga confederacy Ro Teimumu Kepa asked what the administration was "trying to achieve with what they were doing". She was responding to comments by interim Fijian Affairs Minister Ratu Epeli Ganilau the GCC would not be meeting "for a long time" because of the review.

Ro Teimumu said issues which affected the Fijian people and their institutions needed wide consultation as had been the practice in the past.

"There is a need for wide consultation on the issue and the review should not be done by only a few people or a committee because the decisions made affect the Fijian people," she said.

"What these people are doing is that they have eroded the Fijian establishment and the Bose Levu Vakaturaga is something that we hold dear."

Ratu Epeli had said all council members had been sent suspension letters. "We have issued the members with their suspension letters and this is something that we have been working on for the time being," he said.

GCC chairman Ratu Ovini Bokini said he received his suspension letter on Wednesday. He said the letter would not change the resolution of the chiefs to uphold the 1997 Constitution.

Ro Teimumu said if the United Nations, European Union and Eminent Persons Group recognised the GCC, then she did not understand why interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and Ratu Epeli were causing such commotion on the issue. She said these foreign institutions held the BLV "very highly and it is a respected body".

"I just want to ask them what they want to achieve out of this and what legacy do they want to leave for their children and grandchildren," she said.

"Especially when they are Fijians and it should be understood that Fijians are people of great patience." Ro Teimumu said the vanua had "eyes and ears and it is a living spirit". Bua chief Ratu Filimone Ralogaivau said he had not received his letter.

"We are appointed by our province to be members of the BLV and if we are to be suspended it has to come from the province," he said.

"I believe the ministry should be looking at the six nominees to the BLV appointed by the Prime Minister because it was the people of our province who appointed us," Ratu Filimone said. He said he had been a member since 1999 and the council had managed to work out a system "to stand alone without any political influence over the years".

Ratu Filimone said in 1999, they elected their own chairman and they were part of the 1997 Constitution. "We are an independent body and we have managed to stand on our own with an investment of $10million in the Fijian Trust that has now amounted to $60million," he said.

He said from the funds in the Fijian Trust, $600,000 was allocated every year to cater for the council meeting so the GCC "really did not need assistance from the Government".

Tailevu chief Ratu Timoci Vesikula said he had not received any letter but had been hearing the news from the media on the issue. "I have not received it but if they do give it I will just accept it because what else can we do about it," he said. Roko Tui Macuata Ratu Jone Matanababa said the three members nominated by the province remained as GCC members.

He said Ratu Peni Sogia, Ratu Wate Saviri and Ratu Apenisa Bogiso were still reps of the Macuata province to the GCC.

Apparently, fair and balanced coverage has never been a strong suite of the Fiji Times. It is only accurate and objective journalism to provide both sides of the story. Sadly, this is the only side of the GCC issue, which these gatekeepers of Fiji media have long peddled.
David Robbie's 2000 podcast seems to have parallels in 2006.

These are excerpts from Pacific Media Watch, quoting Times of India article in 2000.

FIJI TIMES DRAWS FLAK FOR 'BIASED' CAMPAIGN

Times of India, 19 December 2000

SUVA: The Rupert Murdoch-owned Fiji Times newspaper came under fire over the weekend for allegedly waging a "bitter campaign" against ousted prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry and the People's Coalition government after their election last year.

Journalism lecturer David Robie made the attack at a media conference in Mooloolaba, Australia.

Robie, a New Zealander, circulated a paper titled "Coup Coup Land: The Press and the Putsch in Fiji," in which he questioned the professionalism of Fiji journalists and the news organizations the worked for.

He claimed some female journalists practiced skirt journalism to the point of being sexually involved with politicians in order to get information.

The writings and editorial slant were frequently based on the journalist's race and personal political opinions, added Robie, the head of the USP's journalism school.

The Fiji Times, he said, raged a relentless campaign against the Chaudhry government not long after its election in 1999.

"In spite of its claims to the contrary, that it treated all governments of the day similarly, the newspaper was blatantly agonistic," Robie claimed, adding that the "newspaper's reporting was spearheaded by a journalist with close ties with opposition indigenous nationalists."

He also hit out at what he said was an unusually close relationship the media enjoyed with coup leader George Speight and the hostage takers in the early weeks of the May 19 coup, saying it raised serious ethical questions.

There were no immediate comments front he management of the Fiji Times. The 120-year old newspaper is the largest selling daily and most profitable media organization in Fiji. (India Abroad News Service)

Cafe Pacific online article analysing the use of Fiji media before, during and after the 2000 coup.

For sociologist Premila Devi, this was nothing new. In a paper almost a decade earlier, analysing the 1992 general election campaign, she had found that both daily newspapers of the period, The Fiji Times and the Daily Post, had a "bias towards a certain ideology":

It is the same ideology that is shared by the [Great] Council of Chiefs, the military, the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) and large segments of the ethnic Fijian population. That putting this ideology in practice relegates a half of Fiji's population to a third-class citizenry did not matter. (Devi, 1992: 35)

The second article published by Fiji Times was written by a former diplomat, Filimone Ralogaivau.
This is the excerpt of the article:

Looking back at the GCC

Friday, April 27, 2007

The following is a paper prepared by RATU FILIMONE RALOGAIVAU, a member of the Great Council of Chiefs from Bua, on the history and role of the chiefs' council.

THE Bose Levu Vakaturaga (Great Council of Chiefs) comprises 56 members.

They are the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, six chiefs, 42 provincial council members, three Rotuma Island Council members and the sole life member Sitiveni Rabuka.

The quorum for a meeting is two-thirds of the council's membership.

As for the Fijian Affairs Board, it was resolved by the BLV in April 2000 that it comprise seven chiefs' council members, five parliamentarians, the Minister for Fijian Affairs and the chairman of the BLV.

Total membership is 14 and the meeting is to be chaired by the Minister for Fijian Affairs.

Background

In 1876, when the Fijian administration was established, two opposing views were seriously considered.

One was the private enterprise point of view according to the capitalistic concept of self-reliance and self seeking with the notion of ultimately developing independent individuals as in democratic societies.

Two, to avoid social disruptions, Fijians must be ruled according to their social/cultural and traditional systems as was promised to them before Cession. This second option was considered best because it augured well with existing customs of the land.

In 1915, the colonial administration was dissatisfied. The natives had lost the respect their forefathers had for the Government of the colony. Fijians must be given the opportunity to adapt before being inducted to changes taking place. Any form of administration under the chiefs was no longer desirable by the colonial administrator.

The Fijian administrator as a separate entity was then abolished. District commissioners and stipendiary magistrates ruled over the people but communalism proved difficult to break.

In 1944, Sir Philp Mitchell, the then Governor, examined the Fijian administration and concluded that those running it had no authority to do so.

Together with Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, they put forward bills with proposals considered beneficial to the Fijian people.

Various regulations put in place during between 1944 and 1967 caused the emergence of a golden era in the annals of the Fijian society. Significant features in the change included:

Law and order prevailed in Fijian villages;

Poverty was non-existence

People live in beautifully thatched traditional houses with secure food supply and unity in socialising with neighbours;

General respect for the institution was realised;

Appointment of district administrators (Buli) provided solid leadership.

In 1965, the Fijian court system and various regulations were abolished. People were free from the yoke of communal work. As a result, sharp increases in lawlessness were realised widely.

In 1975, the central Government was very concerned and the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Crime was appointed.

Governor Sir Grant, a former Chief Justice of Fiji, observed that "the abolition of the bulk of the Fijian Affairs regulations led to the lack of control in the villages and an alarming decline in village discipline".

In 1981 the Royal Commission on the Treatment of Offenders was appointed and was very specific on certain parts of the Fijian Court:

Re-introduction of the Fijian Court set-up to be incorporated into the centralised court system;

Desirability of incorporating customary laws;

In 1984, the Cole Review. Re-instituted the tikina and village councils and appointed the turaga ni koro (village headman). This was the beginning of the district and provincial administrative system still in use today.

Roles of the GCC

It is clear from the analysis of the GCC's history that its establishment was associated with the various attempts at the formation of governments in Fiji.

The Cession of the Fiji Islands in 1874 bears testimony to the desire of the chiefs for the creation of a confederacy of native states under Queen Victoria. Fiji was united in peace under British protection and rule.

Past roles of GCC

In 1875, the Colonial Government took steps to build into the political structure of the colony a system of Fijian administration based on existing organisations.

Such a step provided for the improvement of the existing institutions so that natives could manage their own affairs without exciting any suspicion or destroying their self respect.

The apex of the colonial Fijian administration was the Native Council, (the forerunner of the GCC) which saw the linkage between the village authority to the Governor himself. Notwithstanding the council's absence of legislative powers, (as its resolutions are mere recommendations) Governor Gordon saw the Council's influence in the following light:

"But though not possessing no direct legislative authority, it is impossible not to see such a body wield far more influence on the course of legislation than can be enjoyed by a half dozen natives sitting as members of the legislature otherwise composed wholly of white men, as is the case in New Zealand and other states.''

Present role

While the constitutional role of the GCC is to appoint the President, Vice-President and 14 members of the Senate, its primary function as an advisory body, is to submit to the President such recommendations and proposal as it may deem for the benefit of the Fijian people.
It also considers such questions relating to the good governance and well being of the Fijian people as the president or the Board may from time to time submit to the GCC and to take decision or make appropriate recommendations as stipulated under the Fijian Affairs Act.

GCC secretariat

The secretariat of the GCC was established in September 1998, with the view of facilitating the transition of the GCC to a fully independent and autonomous body. The GCC elects its own chairperson and deputy.

The function of the secretariat is to administer council meetings and to provide necessary information on social, economic and cultural issues considered to be for the welfare and good governance of the Fijian people, for the Great Council of Chiefs to deliberate and decide upon.

In this respect the council through its secretariat has shifted from a passive institution to a proactive one, where it initiates researches and subcommittees to conduct investigations and report on issues that are or may be in the interest of the Fijians.

Achievements

The council's resolutions and recommendations since 1876 are beyond the capacity of this paper, suffice for the purpose of the same to highlight a few:

Recommendation on the proprietary unit of native land to be the mataqali (clan/tribe);

Recommendations to establish the Native Land Trust Board;

Role after the two coups of 1987;

Role in severing its ties to one political party so as to embrace all Fijian political parties to foster Fijian political unity and paramountcy.

Constraints

In view of the enormity of the task that the Council and its secretariat had been asked to perform, its efforts has been impeded by the lack of funds and the imposition of certain restrictions preventing it from acting independently especially with regards to staffing and other administrative functions which has to be sanctioned by the Ministry and the Board.

Future role of GCC

It is evident from the 1987 and 2000 political turmoil that the GCC has had to change from an advisory body to an executive one when there is a political vacuum.

The future direction and role of the Great Council of Chiefs can thus best be summed: " the maintenance of the GCC is a necessity, if the system of government through natives is to be kept up. It acts as a safety valve to many grievances that might otherwise rankle and swell to dangerous proposition, as a touchstone of feeling of the utmost value in gauging the tendencies of the natives and as the most powerful auxillary in carrying out the wishes of government.

"With the aid of the Bose Vakaturaga the Governor can without effort do in native matters whatever he pleases.

Without it the management of those affairs would be a matter of extreme difficulty."

It is respectfully submitted that the above quoted observations of former governor Sir Arthur Gordon is, with modifications, a true body as it was in 1875, some 126 years later, and will hold true for a lot of years to come for as long as there exist a bona fide indigenous Fijian race.

(Above image: Official Notice of the GCC's suspension, signed by the Interim Fijian Affairs Minister, Epeli Ganilau)





Club Em Designs