01/09/2009 23:07:00
Indian Newslink
Editorial
One of the most astounding aspects of Fiji and her people is their resilience on the face of adversity and international ire and even apathy. While the onset of the military regime on December 5, 2006 following the overthrow of the Laisenia Qarase Government sent a gamut of emotions in many parts of the world, it was amazing to observe the country carrying on its activities with incredible normalcy.
A visit to Fiji was a journey of revelations, of how people are oblivious to the current military rule and how they go about their daily lives with ambition and without fear. Government offices operate as any other and if anything, with efficiency and promptness that was hardly the norm in the recent past. Corruption, which was endemic even at the higher echelons of public service, is largely absent, although the process of cleansing was evident at all levels.
Crime appears to have somewhat ebbed as retailers and owners of the ubiquitous convenience stores say that they never felt safer. Contrary to what has been portrayed in some sections of the international media, courts continue to hear cases and hand out verdicts as they did prior to the latest coup.
Commercial banks, all of them foreign owned, continue to mark their presence accepting deposits, operating schemes to attract customers and providing loans and advances to institutions and individuals. Almost all of them account for expatriates in their top management. As a senior manager, who is completing his three-year tour of duty this month, said, “I am likely to be transferred to Auckland. I would have preferred to stay in Fiji longer. It is much better here.”
Democratic obsession
Businesses are optimistic of the future and as many have said, “Coups and upheavals have hardly hindered commercial activity and we take these events in our stride.”
Schools, hospitals and other public utility services carry on their activities without hindrance, save for the flash floods that uproot their lives and property.
What then is the problem? Why is the West so critical of a military regime that apparently has been done better than a democratically elected government in the past? If the people have expressed their will that there should be changes – long needed reforms to rid their country forever of the ‘coup culture,’ why are we in the so-called progressive First World so obsessed with democracy?
Have the people of Fiji (save for a few cronies of Mr Qarase) sought international interference to put their house in order? Is there an outcry of human rights violation (again save for a few opinions here and there) from the common people?
True, there are several challenges that Fiji and its government must address on priority – even on a war footing (pardon the pun). Infrastructure is poor and leaves much to be desired. The government must improve its road network, electricity and other public amenities to encourage economic and social development.
Health services are stated to be in a pathetic state and most people suffering from serious afflictions and diseases are forced to go to New Zealand or Australia for treatment, the cost of which they can ill-afford. Hospitals and public health centres are in need of a revamp and more funding.
While literacy rates are reportedly on the rise, education at the formative levels needs immediate attention. A number of private organisations, including the International Congress of Fiji Indians (ICFI) based in Auckland (which recently donated more than $F 100,000 for distribution to poor children) have been working behind the scenes to help the poor to get on with their studies.
The Government recently announced a number of incentives to attract foreign direct investment and encourage its former residents and citizens (who fled the country in the wake of coups from 1987) to return home and participate in the development process. The reinstatement of the Dual Citizenship Scheme is expected to achieve its objectives as the country’s commercial potential becomes more evident.
Foreign government and foreign media apparently cannot come to terms with the reality that a military regime can be benevolent. Their constant accusation that Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama had stopped the wheels of democracy to grab power does not seem to wash with the business community, ordinary people and even tourists. While the muzzling of the press is perhaps an argument that may go against the present Interim Government, Mr Bainimarama was of the view that a ‘Free Press is one that also carries with it National Responsibility and not just the licence to report without verification of facts.’
Viewed from any angle, Fiji, its leader, its Government and its people need a chance.
Countries like New Zealand and Australia should take a fresh look at the ground realities and realign their strategies and political approach.
Conciliation and not confrontation is the need of the hour.
Save Page As PDF
Social Bookmarking
No comments:
Post a Comment