Smoky Backroom Deals.

Above image: Fiji P.M and convicted perptraitor in the 2000 coup and current Minister of Fijian Affairs, Niqama Lalabalavu at the recent GCC meeting.

Fiji Times article reports that, the Army will not accept the Biketawa Declaration application to Fiji. Clearly the Army believes that the obscure declaration designed by the Australian Government, infringes on Fiji's sovereignity and also has the ability to supercede the legal foundations of natural justice.

Much have been said on the Army Commander refusing to adhere to maligned wishes of the tainted Great Council of Chiefs(GCC). The cancer of truth impairedness has been counter-pointed by Commander Frank's new remarks, covered by Fiji Times article.
Commander Frank B unravels the absence of fresh perspectives seen in the speech of Fiji P.M to GCC (posted at the end).

The debate on the 2007 national budget in Fiji Parliament, also reveals an interesting angle in the content of these speeches by Ministers of the Cabinet, who have chosen to ignore the negative aspects of the proposal.

Below are links to 2007 Budget Address for the following Ministries:

1.) Hon. Kepa, Minister for Youth and Sport

2.) Hon. Qoro, Minister for Commerce & Industry

3.) Hon. Lalabalavu, Minister for Fijian Affairs Board and Provincial Development.

4.) Hon. Dutt, Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations.


Certainely Maverick individuals who actively fight for the silent majority are few and far between in Fiji. Among them are the Fiji Army Commander, another from that same mould is the Minister for Energy, Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi(FLP-Sigatoka Indian Rural)who revealed his moral courage and voted against the 2007 Budget; as well as rejecting any pressure to resign his post by the Prime Minister as described by this Fiji Times article.

The Ministerial 2007 Budget addresses posted, have been included on the Fiji Government website.

It is rather disappointing to learn that, the same 2007 Budget speeches have not yet been published on the Fiji Parliament website even though the speeches were part of the Parliamentary debates. This only further confirms suspicions that the digital divide in Fiji, is a really a function of ill-funding and misplaced priorities. Another question worth asking the Parliamentary Secretariat, if democracy is truly transparent in Fiji?



Although, the British Government was kind enough and responsible enough to provide funding for the project to create the website for Fiji Parliament; not enough allocation was assigned to the regular tasks of updating and maintaining the website. Is this merely a clerical oversight or indeed a part of a larger picture of
perceived and hollow good-governance, by design?

Inextricably, the democratic ideal of 'equal carriage' has not been given much credence by the past and present Fiji Governments. The Fiji Times Editorial comments on the rhetoric of Fiji P.M.

Yet these Fiji politicians and Government officials are quick to cloak themselves under the skirts of democracy; when the circumstances suit them. Equal carriage means equal treatment of individuals and equal allocation of resources. An E.U website provides some resources on the subject of discrimination.

Important questions must be thrashed out, on the ability of the Fiji Parliament to keep up with the recent Budget debates, as well as updating their website content of Hansard. The index of the Handsard page shows the new Parlaiment session of November 8th, 2006; However, the contents of the page are from the past August session.

Fiji P.M's speech to the Great Council of Chiefs has been published by Fiji Government website reveals the extent of how the mis-information and mis-representation has been layered thickly among the uneducated and out-of-touch layer of Aristcrats.

Hon. Qarase - Remarks at the Great Council of Chiefs meeting
Nov 9, 2006, 14:20

Hon. Laisenia Qarase
Prime Minister and Minister for Sugar and Investment

Tradewinds Convention Centre
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
LAMI 10.00 a.m
(English Translation of Fijian-language text)
Chairman and Members of the Great Council of Chiefs


I am grateful for this opportunity to speak to the Chiefs and representatives of the Fijian and Rotuman people (na i Taukei kei Viti kei Rotuma) at this Great Council.
It is one of our most revered institutions of State, with important constitutional responsibilities. Throughout its history, the Council has had a pivotal part in helping government authorities to maintain peace and order and to safeguard the well being of all the citizens of Fiji.

Its primary responsibility is, of course, to the Fijian and Rotuman people in all matters directly affecting their welfare.

We meet when our country is facing a major crisis with a direct bearing on long term peace, the rule of law and good governance. The immediate challenge is to bring an end to the fear and uncertainty that hangs over our country. The solution is clear. We need to put right the relationship between the Government elected by the people, and the State institution of the Army, charged with responsibility for national security.

I come before you to ask for your support and understanding on the approach I am taking to seek a resolution to this.


RESPECT FOR THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT

My first duty is to extend sincere gratitude and thanks to their Excellencies the President and the Vice President for their efforts to heal the Government-Army relationship.
I thought it would be helpful and relevant for me at this point to briefly outline the constitutional position relating to the office of the President.

It is specified in the Constitution that the President is Head of State; the executive authority of the State is vested in the President.

The Prime Minister is constitutionally required to keep the President generally informed about issues relating to the governance of Fiji. In fact, I regularly brief the President and the Vice President about decisions of Cabinet and other businesses of Government. I regard this as a vital part of my duties.

There are specific circumstances in which the President may act on his or her own judgement, as in the appointment of a Prime Minister. But, generally, the President acts only on the advice of the Cabinet or a Minister, or of some other body or authority prescribed in the Constitution.

These, then, are the constitutional measures that apply.
But, as a Fijian, I see them not just in terms of what the Constitution says and requires. There is a cultural context here as well.

The holders of these high offices carry with them the mana of high chiefs. That chiefly mana, from their respective Vanua, extends, through their appointments, to the whole of Fiji.

Let me reaffirm, therefore, that although I am the elected leader of the political Government, I have the greatest respect for the President and the Vice President and the roles they play.

As eminent traditional leaders, their Excellencies bring to their duties the Fijian way of dealing with issues. This draws on the inclusive approach of dialogue and discussion, where all views are heard and consensus is reached. At all times, there is an atmosphere of restraint and respect. The objective is to reach agreement through mutual accommodation.

Both the President and the Vice President have done their best to use this approach in dealing with our current problems. They have employed the traditional way while being guided, at the same time, by the provisions of the relevant law.

COMMITMENT TO DIALOGUE

I particularly appreciated the willingness of the Vice President, when he was acting as President, to use his influence and good offices to convene a meeting of the Army Commander and me. This was on 16th January this year.
The purpose was to establish procedures for direct dialogue between us, and for the issuing of public statements.

Chiefs of Fiji, allow me to say that if, in your view, I have fallen short in my efforts to improve the relationship between the Government and the Commander and the Military, then I offer my apologies and ask for your understanding.

In my broadcast to the nation last Wednesday (Nov 1st), I publicly renewed my pledge to engage positively with the Commander on issues that concern the Military. I can report that yesterday I received from the Army, a document setting out the matters they wish to discuss. I have sent an immediate reply, with an assurance that the Government is ready to meet with the Commander and his senior officers for consultations.

I will contribute to that dialogue with a view to finding answers that serve the best interests of Fiji.

I believe the basic difference between the Government and the Army involves the legal scope of the Army’s role in the nation.

INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTION

According to the Commander and his advisors, the Military has a wide mandate to ensure the wellbeing of Fiji and its people, as well as national security. They believe that this mandate, given to them in the 1990 Constitution, has been transferred to, and continued under, our present 1997 Constitution.

The Government’s position is that the current Constitution is limited to legitimising the continued existence of the RFMF as an institution of the State. It does not, in our view, give the RFMF the broader responsibilities included in the 1990 Constitution. This view is shared by many legal experts.

Clearly, the way to get a final answer on the question, is to ask the Supreme Court to give its opinion. We are doing this, in accordance with constitutional procedures. The Supreme Court will deliberate on the issues and give its opinion. This will help us to move forward as a nation.

I give an assurance that this is not about scoring points. It is about seeking the legal truth, to enlighten us all on the constitutional and statutory role of the RFMF.

This function of the Courts in resolving constitutional issues was demonstrated in our first term of office after the General Election in September 2001.
I had questions and misgivings about the setting up of a Multi Party Cabinet as stipulated in the Constitution. However, the subsequent ruling by the Court of Appeal provided the clarity that was sought. It paved the way for me to establish a Multi Party Cabinet after the May (2006) Elections.

This new approach in the Government of Fiji has received wide support locally and overseas. It has taken us into a new age of inter-ethnic co-operation in Government. What we are doing is regarded as a model for other multi-ethnic societies.

The Military have expressed concern about several items of legislation we have introduced. These are the Promotion of Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity Bill, the Qoliqoli Bill, and the Indigenous Claims Tribunal.


PROCEDURES FOR ENACTMENT OF LAWS

Permit me to explain at this point the political and democratic procedure that brings legislation into effect. This is extremely relevant in light of some of the statements being expressed by the Army.

When a political party contests a general election it offers to the electorate a manifesto of policies it will enact if elected. If that Party wins office, it then has the authority to enact the legislation and policies it promised to the people. That is how democracy works.

Under Fiji’s Constitution, it is our Parliament which enacts laws. In proposing legislation in Parliament, Government has to follow certain procedures.
The first is that the Cabinet gives instructions to the Attorney-General and his Chambers to draft a particular law, or Bill. This drafting is not done in isolation.
The State Law Office, with the support of the Ministry responsible, consults the stakeholders who are directly concerned.

Once a draft is ready, it goes to a Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation. This sub-committee scrutinises the draft in terms of policy aspects, the resources needed for implementation, and to ensure its compatibility with other laws.

The Minister responsible for the legislation tables the Bill in Cabinet. This is then considered, taking into account the recommendations of the Cabinet Sub-committee.
When the draft is approved by Cabinet, it is ready for presentation to Parliament.

With the Multi-Party Cabinet in place, proposed legislation has the blessings, not only of the Prime Minister’s party, but also the endorsement of the entitled party. In the context of the present SDL-Fiji Labour Party Cabinet, a Bill tabled in Parliament has broad political support.

In the House of Representatives, a Bill has to go through three stages.

It is given a first reading and a second reading, when full debate takes place; it is then dealt with in a Committee of the Whole to allow for a clause-by-clause examination. When this is finished, a Bill is given a third reading. When it is approved, it is referred to the Senate.


CONSULTATION WITH THE PEOPLE

A new feature, introduced in the 1997 Constitution, is a system of Sector Committee deliberation that provides yet another stage of democratic consultation within Parliament, and in the community at large.
The Sector Committees cover broad areas of policy, including Justice, Law and Order, Foreign Relations, Economic and Social Services, and Natural Resources.
Ministers do not take part in the work of the Sector Committees. Membership of these comprises Government backbenchers, and the Parliamentary Opposition.
The Committees travel the country to give as many citizens as possible the chance to have their say on proposed legislation.

This is about government by the people, for the people.
Once this democratic process is complete, Committees prepare reports on their findings, summarising the views of the public, and making appropriate recommendations for the House of Representatives as a whole and especially for Government, to consider.
These reports help to determine the final form of the legislation, which maybe somewhat different to the original.

A prime example was the report of the Sector Committee that carried out very wide consultations last year on the Reconciliation and Unity Bill. This was, perhaps, the largest exercise in democratic dialogue that Fiji has ever had.

The Military was part of this. It had the opportunity to make its views known to its own Ministry, as well as to the Sector Committee.
The Committee delivered a very thorough and well- considered report that has been carefully studied and widely welcomed. It illustrates perfectly why it is important to subject proposed legislation to extensive community consultation.

The purpose of legislation is to serve the people and the country. Citizens will readily identify with the law if they feel they have had a voice in its formation.


RECONCILIATION AND UNITY BILL

Let me comment now on where we stand with the Reconciliation and Unity Bill. Government is using the report of the Sector Committee as the foundation for a comprehensive review of the original draft. This review continues. A redrafted Bill has not yet been referred back to Cabinet.

However, I can confirm that the Government has listened carefully to the many concerns expressed on the amnesty issue. Due consideration has been given to the views of the Military and important agencies such as the Fiji Human Rights Commission, and community groups like the Fiji Law Society.

The amnesty clauses have now been dropped. Factors we took into account included the constitutionality of the initial proposals and the comment by the Commissioner of Police that investigations into those implicated in the upheaval of 2000 are nearly complete. Most of those involved have been charged.

In the light of this, the legislation will now provide for a Reconciliation Commission with a limited and specific role. Its main purpose will be to bring together in reconciliation, victims of what happened in 2000 and those who acted against them.
These perpetrators would be people who were involved but could not be charged because of insufficient evidence.

The Commission will encourage the victims and the offenders to come together. Offenders will have an opportunity to confess and ask for forgiveness. Victims will have an opportunity to extend forgiveness and seek some form of reparation.

This reconciliation procedure will be particularly helpful to victims who might find the Court process too costly and complicated. They have a basic right to have their grievances considered and to be assisted.

People who have already been charged and sentenced can only seek relief by direct application to the Prerogative of Mercy Commission. They are also free to seek the assistance of the Reconciliation Commission. The Commission can then examine individual cases, on application, and submit a report to the Prerogative of Mercy Commission.

I emphasise, however, that any recommendation for mercy to His Excellency the President, can only come from the Prerogative of Mercy Commission.

The Reconciliation Commission will not have amnesty power as envisaged in the original Reconciliation and Unity Bill.

This means that the process will remain within the existing machinery of the law.

The rest of the Bill will focus on the establishment of a statutory body to be responsible for promoting national unity.
At present this is undertaken by a National Reconciliation and Unity council appointed by the Government.
Transferring this role to a statutory authority will create an independent entity with its own mandate and representing all the communities of Fiji.

I stress again that the revised Bill will in no way interfere with the independent authority of the Courts, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police.


QOLIQOLI AND INDIGENOUS CLAIMS TRIBUNAL

The Qoliqoli Bill and the Indigenous Claims Tribunal Bill are going through the same consultative processes as the Reconciliation and Unity Bill. We must allow this parliamentary and democratic procedure to be completed. The Government awaits the reports of the two sector committees concerned. The reports will provide the basis for complete reviews of the two original Bills.

I stress that these proposed laws are important to the Fijian people. They are an integral part of the Government’s Blueprint for Fijian and Rotuman development, which was endorsed by the Army and this Council.

I ask the GCC to look back to its meeting of July 13, 2000, when I was Prime Minister in the Interim Administration, with Commodore Bainimarama as Head of State. I had been appointed Prime Minister by the Commodore on July 8th. On July 11th, the Cabinet considered and approved the Blueprint and I informed the Commander on the same day.

The Blueprint contained measures I felt were crucially important for lifting the economic and social status of the Fijians and Rotumans. Included was the transfer of the administration of Crown schedule A and B lands from the Government to the Native Land Trust Board.

We have done this.

There was a proposal to set up a Fijian Trust Fund which would give the Great Council of Chiefs an independent source of income.

We have implemented this.


BRITISH PROMISE ON QOLIQOLI

The Qoliqoli Bill and Indigenous Claims Tribunal were part of the Blueprint’s legislative component.

The Qoliqoli law proposes to confer on Fijians the full proprietary rights for the ownership of their customary fishing areas. The Land Claims Tribunal will provide Fijians with a forum to present long-standing grievances about the alienation of some of their ancestral land.

The Qoliqoli Bill will finally bring to reality an undertaking given to the Council of Chiefs by Governor Sir William Des Voeux in Ba in 1881.

At a meeting in Bau in 1982, the GCC asked the Government to honour that undertaking.

This issue has been raised regularly ever since.


CONCERN OVER ANCESTRAL LAND

The Native Lands Commission and the Native Land Trust Board have in their records more than 500 petitions from landowning units detailing their grievances over loss of ancestral land. Many felt this had happened unjustly.

Right from the start of my service as Prime Minister, I have felt strongly that it is wrong to ignore the pleas and the oft-expressed wishes of the Fijians over these historical grievances.

So long as the undercurrents of unhappiness and discontent associated with them continue, we can never be assured about long term stability in Fiji.

When I first came into office in 2000, our Administration established a Commission, led by Professor Asesela Ravuvu, to review the Constitution and canvass the views of citizens throughout the country.

There were two significant features in its findings. One was that Fijians turned out in greater numbers to make representations to it than they did in response to the Reeves Commission whose work led to the 1997 Constitution.

PROTECTION OF FIJIAN INTERESTS

The second point was the widespread concern among the Fijians relating to the role of Government in the protection of their interests. The British colonial administration had accepted a specific responsibility for the wellbeing of the Fijians, as well as for Fiji as a whole. This created the belief among Fijians that Government has a duty to govern them righteously and in accordance with native usages and customs.

Following Independence in 1970 Fijians expected a continuation of this role by Government. However, the Election results in 1987 and 1999 were a harsh reminder that Fijian leadership in, and control of, Government could no longer be guaranteed in a democracy. Fijians now felt they could no longer look to the Government of the day for that protective role the British had established. This concern was exacerbated by what they perceived to be the anti-Fijian policies of the Peoples Coalition Government.
Their recommendations to the Ravuvu Commission proposed that the best way for the Fijians to safeguard their interests was through their own institutions.

The 1997 Constitution is the supreme law of Fiji. Among the principles of good governance it enshrines are equality under the law for all citizens and communities, and the prohibition of discrimination based on ethnicity.

We have all accepted this.

I have to say, however, that many Fijians are concerned that some constitutional principles are being used to challenge the constitutional validity of the various affirmative action programmes introduced by the Government. These are a sincere attempt to narrow the opportunity gap between Fijians and other communities and bring Fijians into the mainstream of the economy.

So, while Fijians have accepted democracy as integral to good governance, many also feel the safeguards they previously enjoyed are no longer there.

This is why there is such widespread support among the Fijians for the Qoliqoli legislation and the Indigenous Claims Tribunal. Through these pieces of legislation they will safeguard their interests through their own institutions of Fijian administration.
There is authority for this in Section 186 of the Constitution, dealing with customary laws and rights.

These two legislative initiatives formed part of the election platform of the SDL Party in the last elections (May 2006). Our Party received the overwhelming backing of the indigenous population.

Given the significance of these draft proposals and the endorsement they have received from the Fijians, they will not be withdrawn.

BILLS TO BE REVIEWED

But I give an undertaking that when the Sector Committee reports are tabled and studied, there will be extensive reviews of both Bills. These reviews will not only concentrate on the interests of the Fijians. They will also take into account the interests of the entire population.


IMPORTANCE OF GCC

Questions have been asked about why I decided to consult the GCC in all these matters. I say, with respect, that those asking these questions do not have a full appreciation of the legal and political significance of this Council in our affairs.
There is, of course, a specific requirement in the Fijian Affairs Act for legislation directly affecting the Fijians to be referred to the GCC.
But as all communities have acknowledged, the GCC has assumed a position of higher national importance. It is recognised as a fount of chiefly wisdom and authority.
Both the former Leader of the Opposition, Mr Jai Ram Reddy, and Mr Chaudhry, as Prime Minister, have appeared before you. They accepted, on behalf of their communities, the Council’s importance in building long-term peace, security and prosperity.

I come to you in accordance with the law and out of respect for your chiefly authority. I do not wish to pass to you a problem the Government must solve.

I do feel duty-bound, however, to share my thinking with you. At one level, the current crisis is between a Government and an institution of the State. But when we look deeply into it, we see that this concerns the relationship between a Fijian-led Government and a Fijian-led Army.

It is about us, koi keda saka na i Taukei kei Viti kei Rotuma. The GCC is the paramount council of the Fijian and Rotuman communities. I request you to give your blessings, to the Commander and to me, as we find our way to the path of peace and reconciliation for all.

May God bless this Council and may God Bless Fiji.


-End-

Club Em Designs

Cry Havoc

The news of corruption only reveals that the statistic has propogated to astronomical proportions and this has become the norm in Fiji, sadly but surely at the demise of the quality of life.


Sitiveni Rabuka trial has started off with a controversial note. Without a doubt the issue of tampering, influence of the judiciary system raises its ugly head.

Further to the subject of interference, Fiji Police continues to fast track the Sedition case on Commander Frank B whilst placing stumbling blocks before the treasonal case of the 2000 coup which is still pending.

Fiji P.M trying to force the Cabinet members into his line of voting is detrimental to transparency, democracy and makes a mockery of independent thinking and voting.



Above: Sitiveni Rabuka at his present trial.

Fiji Times reports that, the matter of Australia micro managing Fiji's domestic affairs and not withstanding their recent stunt of importing arms and men via Nadi International Airport, has been viewed by the Fiji Army as a clear and present danger.

This obscure Biketatwa declaration ratified by this Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) organization.

Undeniably the first congratulatory reports on the success of applying Biketawa declaration originates from an Australian Foreign Affairs official with a job title called Special Coordinator for the RAMSI mission.

Fiji Sun article on the financial discipline demonstrated from the P.M's office proves the point that on a national level those misappropriations are magnified ten fold.

Qarase’s staff have access to advances

By SAMANTHA RINA

Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office were allowed to take advances although their previous advances were not accounted for. The Auditor-General report revealed the staff failed to follow procedure where their advances have to be cleared within sevens days and if not the interest should be charged on all outstanding accountable advances.
The report showed that staff took advances ranging from $67.50 to $20,000 mainly when on overseas assignment with the Prime Minister.
“Although these advances have remained outstanding over a considerable length of time, no evidence was sighted of recovery actions,” it stated.
The A-G stated that towards the end of last year the outstanding advances to be recovered stood at $33,267. The PM's Office said that officers had been verbally advised by the accounts section to clear the outstanding advances, but clearances are only made on piece meal basis regardless of repeated reminders.
"We will have to seek the approval of the CEO to advise the Minister of Finance to activate deductions from salary to recover outstanding advances."

Letters to the Editor inFiji Sun online issue of Tuesday November 14th underscores the frustration of the Fiji public.

An interesting one echos the sentiments of S.i.F.M.

Tell the truth, Mr Hughes.



Well, well, well, the cat is finally out of the bag and Commissioner Hughes will have to answer a lot of questions basing on what is unfolding before our eyes.
He has to try and shake off the lingering suspicion in the minds of the people of this country that his actions in the last week were totally independent and free from any political influence by government on the part he played in complementing the strategy to sack Commodore Bainimarama in absentia. He has gone public accusing Captain Teleni and the Army of taking by force something that rightfully belongs to them and was legitimately brought into the country for normal military use. And mind you they have had that container of ammunition at QEB for over a week now and still there’s no coup!!

May I ask Commissioner Hughes as to who came up with this funny idea about the coup in the first place? It was due to that funny assessment according to Hughes that he suddenly wielded his absolute licensing power for the whole world to know and went ahead to try and stop the ammunition consignment which was then still in high seas from reaching QEB. It is now obvious that the real reason lay elsewhere!!

It is now questionable whether his powers under the constitution are still being exercised with absolute independence and untainted by politics. I think not. Lately, there is a lot of suspicion that he was influenced politically to do what he did and was actually advised not to consult the army but to blow up the ammunition issue publicly when the time is right using the element of surprise.

I say that because it is really hard not to believe that a part of the strategy was for him to kick-start the whole move the day before the actual sacking of Commander Bainimarama was to take place. But as fate would dictate, the strategy failed when the new appointee informed the President that he did not have the support of the soldiers.

Any sensible strategist would have stopped everything there and then and find a middle ground for the sake of national security, but it was not to be the case and it escalated to a different level a day later and when finding out he was isolated, he began issuing nasty press statements against the Army and even vilified Captain Teleni in the process.

He should now know that quite contrary to his own interpretation, Teleni was the Commander at the time and not subordinate to him in any way. In that sense he also holds constitutional powers equivalent to his as the Commissioner of Police.
And what in heaven’s name would you describe the man, when after doing all he did to offend the Military institution still comes back smiling and says he is the Commander’s friend and has a very good relationship with him!! Come on people, would anyone believe that?

It is common knowledge that prior to the Pacific Forum Meeting in October, Commissioner Hughes and the Prime Minister both went to Canberra for some meeting. Hughes came back for the official opening and returned to Aussie for some other reason. This was while one of the most important meetings of the region was taking place in his own constituency.

He arrived back in the country only a few days before creating a stand-off with the Army, a day before the actual sacking of the Commander was to take place. And too soon after that Australia and NZ started telling the world they were sending their warships to Fiji for the flimsiest reason of conducting evacuation of their embassies staff by reason of the imminent coup with the suspected mercenaries following soon after by plane.
Hughes again denied knowing of their arrival until Minister Downer told us the truth.

So perhaps Mr. Hughes and the Prime Minister could tell the nation more about the whole saga and the involvement of Australia and NZ in messing around with Fiji’s sovereignty. To Hughes, I say - you have failed your part of the plot and you are now clearly seen by the people as the instigator in creating a crisis within the security forces and provoking the Army to do what it did at the wharf.

You should now step aside! Relinquish your constitutional powers to someone else and allow a fair and impartial investigation to take its course. You were party to the whole episode and you ought to know this is the first time ever in the history of this country where the Commissioner of Police is giving his statement both as a witness and as an “agent provocateur” to his own complaint.
It is also the first time ever that a Commissioner has used his powers to stop any military consignment from reaching QEB.

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Beddoes and the Minister of Home Affairs are both missing the point here. They should not be seen to blindly take the Commissioner’s side because this involves a whole lot of legal issues including the conduct of a fair and impartial investigation as required under our legal system. And there is no such laws here in Fiji to stop anyone calling for the resignation of anyone in government if the person has fallen below the standard of service so required of him.
Lastly, the tension created so far has put Commissioner Hughes’ position in a very awkward situation and his relationship with the military may never return to normality, as was the case in the last three years.

The extension of his contract should therefore be carefully assessed along this line and past Australian degrading treatment of other island nations in the region should not be blatantly disregarded. The PNG and Solomon Island sovereignty issues are still fresh in mind. So, Mr Hughes should go back home in the national interest because his position as Commissioner of Police is no longer tenable in the prevailing situation.


Filimoni Qio
Nasinu

Club Em Designs

The Dullest Tool in the Shed.

Above image: Fiji P.M under stress.

The steadfastness of the Fiji Army commander on the ideals of truth, law and order has forced other institutions including some of the media (both domestic and international)into differing camps.

Despite the recent the online Fiji Times poll stating the true sentiments of the people of Fiji, the past track record of these native institutions have yet to been analysed throughly by any stretch of the imagination. The title of BBC article "Indigenous Heads Helps Fiji Crisis" could not be any further from the truth.

S.i.F.M has be pointed out in earlier posts, on the awkardness of involving the Great Council of Chiefs as a mediator to the current conflict in Fiji politics.

Fiji Daily Post Editorial advocating the sphere of Institutional Soverignity should be applied to the test of Customs enforcement to validate it's validity.

To consider the Fiji Daily Post's editorial stance (posted below)as logically sound; Fiji Daily Post's rational must also apply to the case of, Fiji Police and Australian SAS soldiers colluding to circumnavigate Fiji's immigration and custom control at Nadi International Airport.

Respecting institutional sphere sovereignty
Fiji Daily Post 14-Nov-2006

Governments will come and go, but the state, in a manner of speaking, goes on forever. Military leaders may come and go, but the military goes on forever. Even chiefs come and go, but the chiefly system may go on forever. No one is indispensable or permanent where power is concerned; only our institutions of power rightly outlast us.

It is folly to imagine that each or anyone of us has a monopoly of significance. It is egoism to suppose that without any of us holding down our place in the world, the world would be unable to function properly. Governments will fall over simply if their budget appropriation bills are not passed in the house. Military leaders may fall on their swords (as it were) if they fail to win the battle of legitimacy and moral authority. And chiefs have been clubbed for less than failing to support the will and livelihood of their people.

Our point is that society – every society – is a balance of powers and institutions that are purposed to work for the good of all in an integrated and harmonious fashion. No single leadership group or institution should imagine it is superior to others because the obverse principle is also true: all social institutions are necessary and without each of them operating properly in their sphere of sovereignty, a society would collapse under the weight of lopsidedness. Thus when one cog in the institutional balance claims for itself more power than is functionally useful, it throws the entire system out of alignment.

Or, as the apostle Paul put it, the entire body politic suffers if, the eye disdains the function of the hand, or the head discredits the need for feet. Or if, as in our present case, military leaders usurp the institutional role of the parliamentary majority. This may seem like a little thing, but, as we have seen, it throws the institutional balance of forces into a spiralling orbit and everyone is affected. Restoring the balance can never therefore be a privately settled matter without the entire nation looking on in earnest.

Fiji is out of balance because the principle of ‘sphere sovereignty’ has been abused. What are required are calm institutional heads and a renewed commitment to sphere sovereignty: letting governments be governments; letting military leaders be; and letting chiefs do their chiefly duties.

This is an excerpt from outstanding writer on Viti affairs in a Fiji Times opinion article.

The Fijian dilemma

FRANCIS WAQA SOKONIBOGI
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

The qoliqoli is one of three issues the Government needs to solve with the military+ Enlarge this image

The qoliqoli is one of three issues the Government needs to solve with the military

From the outset, it must be impressed that the Fijian problem is Fiji's dilemma. Unless we identify the conditions that led to past coups we cannot be too hopeful for a rosy future.

Fijian grassroots landowners are again being exploited in the impasse.

In whichever way and manner the stand-off is reconciled, Fijian land and qoliqoli owners will be reduced to a state of non-people.

On one hand, should the Government achieve its objective of enacting the Qoliqoli Bill, the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) masquerading as for the Fijians' will virtually become owner of the qoliqoli as it did of all native Schedules A & B Crown lands.

On the other hand, should Commander Voreqe Bainimarama have his way, the Fijian loses the last evidence to its claim as collective owners of these islands.

And ownership is not the last bastion of indigenous hopes. The sacrosanct umbilical chord and link to between the Fijian and his/her vanua as i taukei is under threat of being severed forever.

The Fijian has already lost his land to the NLTB and now he is at the point of losing his qoliqoli (traditional fishing ground) to either the State (should the army get its way) or again to the NLTB (if the three controversial bills are enacted).

Whatever the result the Fijian landowner is at a point of no return and trapped in a catch-22 situation by the very people and institutions they have entrusted to redeem their heritage.

Thus, effectively Fiji is converted into a terra nullius' by the Fijian people themselves and no one else.

Fijian leaders are voluntarily alienating their heritage through the Torrens system.

All over the world, colonising powers have fiercely pursued the commercialisation of native lands and this was ideologically supported by the terra nullius or vacant land doctrine.

When applied, this doctrine deprived indigenous peoples of their birthright as suffered by the Aborigines of Australia.

It would be informative for the purpose of this argument to be reminded that the system of registering real property in fee simple adopted by the colonial Fiji Government and continued in the post-colonial period was sourced by the Torrens system.

The system was named after Sir Robert Torrens who was from South Australia where the doctrine of terra nullius was applied by the colonisers. According to the terra nullius doctrine the aborigine had no title to his land. In that regard, the system is purchaser or settler-friendly. The relevant part reads:

"When a man holding property under deed wishes to have it placed under the Act (Torrens system, our emphasis), he takes his deeds, which are his title to the property, to the office. The deeds are carefully examined by the solicitors to the Lands Titles Commissioners; and if there is no difficulty, and after all due publicity is given and precautions taken to prevent fraud or mistake, a certificate is issued, and the old deeds are cancelled. From the moment the land is brought under the Act and a certificate becomes indefeasible, unless it has been fraudulently obtained; and he can hold the property against the world."(South Australia its History, Resources and Production, Harcus William JP (ed), 1876: 77-79)

This shows that the title may be indefeasible except if fraud is proved.

Because the Aborigines were considered non-humans and are not the owners of the land, fraudulent land dealings were impossible to be claimed by the natives of Australia.

During the Torrens system's establishment aboriginal status written in the terra nullius language was as follows:

"The natives have no settled place of abode, but each family wanders over a space of several miles, an aggression upon which by another family is invariably punished. And they have no fixed habitation; when the family, either from the vicinity to the grubs, or other strong inducements to settle for a time upon a particular spot, they pulled down some branches of trees, and construct a few huts about four feet high and in the form of a bee-hive cut in half; they are thus quite open on one side and at night they keep up a large fire. The instruction to the resident commissioner contains the following special directions on this subject.

"The Government having appointed an officer whose especial duty it will be to protect the interests of the Aborigines, the Commissioners consider it necessary to do more than give you a few general instructions as to the manner in which they are desirous that your own proceedings with regard to the native inhabitants should be regulated. You will see that no lands which the native may possess in occupation or enjoyment, be offered for sale, until ceded by the natives to your self"(Caper's SOUTH AUSTRALIA by Henry Capper pp 60-62).

Fijian land ownership

The Fijian situation on the Western real property interpretation is diametrically opposite to that of Australian Aborigines at approximately the same time of the enactment of the Torres system in the South Australian Parliament.

In Fiji, Commodore Good enough and Consul Layard were the last land enquiry commissioners before the 1874 Cession.

Their report became the guidelines for all British adopted laws of land tenure in Fiji.

Any deviation from the intention spelt out by their report is, to our contention, is therefore, contradictory.

We quote here the relevant paragraph on this subject in the report dated 13th April, 1874, and reads as follows:

39 We have made the native tenure and ownership of land in Fiji the subject of sensitive study; and have obtained from J.B. Thurston, and from Mr. C.R. For wood and other gentlemen, explanations and papers on this subject worthy of consideration purchases have been made from natives to a large extent, as will be seen by an accompanying, but there remain seen tracts of unoccupied tracts of lands, though, as is said with perfect accuracy by Mr Pritchard, formerly Her Majesty's Consul in Fiji Every inch of land in Fiji has an owner. Every parcel or tract of land has a name, and the boundaries are defined and well known the proprietorship rests in families, the heads of families being representatives of the title. Every member of a family can use the land attaching to the family.

40. In order to make a purchase secure and beyond the possibility of dispute, present customs would require the assembly of the following persons, viz: the great chief or his representative, the lesser chiefs and the principle men of the adjacent town. These should walk over the land, define it, and conclude the sale on the spot. The natives should then build a house or plant yams for the purchaser, in recognition of his lordship over the soil as things now stand, if the purchaser were to deal with the great chief alone, he would only buy his rights as lord of the manor, or whatever they might be, and would not acquire exclusive possession of the soil.

Every inch of land in Fiji has an owner whereas in Australia where Fiji's real property laws were borrowed, the natives were declared nomads of no consequence. That was why we commented from the very beginning of this paper that whichever way the current dilemma is reconciled the Fijian land and Qoliqoli owners will be reduced to a state of non-people.

The Fijian and his land are one. The land in the western concept is dry land. In Fijian, the land means the vanua. Last but not least the vanua includes in its composition the chiefs and the people who install their chiefs.

The vanua is a holistic entity that envelopes the land, the sea and the air and all its biodiversity.

It encompasses culture, ideology and belief systems which are inextricably linked to these natural environs. Every Fijian knows, or should know, his link to all the components of his earth because they are part of a holistic whole.

Take one component of this holistic vanua equation out and the Fijian man is similarly reduced in stature and dignity.

This applies to any indigenous or autochthonous peoples of the world. Thus the recognition in the international human rights system, which has led to the evolution of indigenous conventions and declarations on the indigenous and tribal peoples' rights. These rights were evolved to give some semblance of balance and to justify the indivisible concept of universal human rights. The indigenous rights are subservient to the right to the State and their protective articles only apply to independent countries where the indigenous peoples are a minority.

This puts Fiji out of the picture as the State is dominated by Fijians. Therefore, any claim by government, which, by the way, functions through revenue afforded by all the people of Fiji and the international monetary network, that a certain Bill is for the Fijian people is nothing less than a political ploy and at best, a constructive fraud.

Who are the indigenous peoples who qualify for protection under international conventions, particularly in Fiji? They, among others, include:

Landless Fijians as a result of original land sales; Fijian landowners who do not approve of their lands to be controlled by the native Lands Trust Board;

so-called extinct (kawa boko) but still existing Fijians; those Fijians who are not given accounts of where and how their land income are distributed by relevant perpetrated Fijian institutions; anyone with Fijian blood or ancestry; displaced Fijians when their old tikina (district) boundaries were tampered with to facilitate changes in the colonial administration; displaced chiefs or tribal leaders.

Therefore, the Government, being the legal inheritor of the colonial government and its legacies, cannot justifiably or effectively claim it is for the Fijian people, because by right democratic governments are for all the people, with no exclusivity. Thus, the imposed indivisibility of human rights.

Now our dilemma is being taken up to the Great Council of Chiefs to solve.

The very council that over-rode the wishes of the Fijian majority in the adoption of the 1997 Constitution and the very institution that rewarded Major-General Sitiveni Rabuka, who beheaded the Fijian people in 1987.

The Queen was the Fijian head and now the Fijian collective organism, with the GCC being a national entity and indebted to the national government for its existence, is like a chicken with its head chopped off.

The GCC rewarded the executioner of the Fijian people with a life membership of their council. Some of its members were heavily involved in backing George Speight's farce of 2000.

It is time to look at the Fijian picture minus its chiefly cosmetics and let us analyse the PM's denial and the Army Commander's stance, not in anger and judgement but, in essence and in fact.

As we have always claimed, our destiny lies in the correct option our leaders opt for and in doing so Fiji may well avoid the coup syndrome. It has now become, not only the PM's and commander's personal political agenda, it has become a question affecting both the responsible leaders and the innocent bystanders and what Mahatma Gandhi calls the national karma' (cause and effect).

It is time not for pointing fingers but taking advantage of what our problem is trying to tell us.

Our problem is trying to tell us that the solution to the problem is within the problem. The first step in conflict resolution is conflict prevention. And to achieve that is to first identify the problem. We hope we have done that through this contribution.

Francis Waqa Sokonibogi is with the Fiji Ownership Rights Association.

E-mail: francis_sokonibogi@yahoo.com

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Fiji English & Country Grammar.

Australian Radio conglomerate-ABC's audio magazine "In the Loop" has produced a segment (Podcast) on the the recent publishing of Fiji English dictionary.

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Ad Nauseum - Fiji's Aristocractic Tyranny

News of CEO for Ministry of Home Affairs being suspended from duties, only adds to the track record of interference by the SDL Government. The debate for the 2007 Budget has yet to be seen and indications from the FLP on their opposition to the budget marks further problems for SDL. The budget vote is usually a prime test of loyalties of all parties in Government. Fiji Chamber of Commerce head reveals that SDL Government is not genuinely listening to critics of their fiscal policies.


Fiji Daily Post's Editorial of November 10th resumes the tact of mis-information often applied liberally recently by Australian and New Zealand media outlets.
This is the excerpt:

Time for the Qarase Doctrine
10-Nov-2006

By now everyone will be wondering whether Frank Bainimarama is fully aware of the likely consequences of his action. By snubbing the request by the Great Council of Chiefs to attend yesterday’s meeting so they can find and progress some solutions to his complaint against government, the military commander is wearing thin the goodwill of those he needs to win over to his point of view – not just the chiefs and the multiparty government, but the people of Fiji and the international community looking on in disbelief.

The more the military leadership insists on driving its own agenda into the path of the Qarase government the more it ‘doth protest too much’. It implies too much of its own desperation – desperation which suggests it has something to hide. The latest demand that the rule of law be suspended in regard to its own activities in dealing with the CRW uprising in 2001 contradicts its own demands that the Qarase government deal justly with the perpetrators of 2000. On one hand the military is insisting that justice be applied to the coup culprits it says are still free, yet on the other the military is avoiding facing justice in relation to its own dealings.

The law of the land cannot be tailor-made to suit one institution and not the other. All must fall under the same code of conduct and application of justice to violations. A true democracy cannot have one set of moral imperatives for its military and another set for everyone else. Moreover, to hold the government to ransom until it conforms to the military view of justice is simply wrong and an audacious bluff by our military commander. There is no warrant for any democratically elected government that derives its legitimacy from the will of the people to submit or surrender to the will of an unelected military leadership.

Frank Bainimarama is out of control and must be called to account for it. He and his military are potentially, collectively guilty of treason (against the state) and mutiny (against their commander-in-chief). And now, they have sullied the respect due to their traditional chiefs - implying by this action that there is no moral authority in Fiji to which they owe allegiance other than themselves and their own misguided commander and his colonels.

Standing on edge of the nuclear era, American president, Harry Truman, in 1947 proclaimed what has become known as the ‘Truman Doctrine’. He said, ‘it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures’. The time has come to declare unequivocally a Qarase Doctrine similar to that of Truman’s: ‘it must be the policy of Fiji’s government and chiefs to support the freedom of their people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures’.

Unlike the Truman doctrine which had an external force, a foreign policy application, the Qarase Doctrine would apply firstly and primarily to our own citizens. Frank Bainimarama has handed the Qarase government, our chiefs, and presidents, a rationale par excellence for demilitarisation. This will be the first and necessary, though not sufficient, step under the Qarase Doctrine for ridding this great region, once and forever, of the endemic ‘coup-culture’ that breeds like dengue in the infested minds of ambitious and renegade military leaders and which threatens the welfare of the nation.

The tendency for the S.D.L Government to frequently consult the Great Council of Chiefs(GCC), a non-elected body of Nobles exceedingly reveals the conundrum faced by Fiji's Government and Aristocracy, in the age of Constitutional Rights.

This same Supreme Court has been consulted by the Fiji P.M in determining the limits of Army Commander. Perhaps the honored judiciary should also factor into account the limits of the Great Council of Chiefs as well.

The Government derives their mandate from the people from all backgrounds, using the General Elections as the king maker. On other hand, the GCC is a patriachical and cultural based entity, with blood lines being the only criterium.

The issue now becomes, who is the final datum of authority in Government? The quasi-feudal marriage of cultural lexicons with democratical institutions in Fiji is analogous to having a 'state within a state'.

The use of the Great Council of Chiefs(GCC) meetings, often raises to the surface the prudent question, of whether the elected in Government are legally able to form an interest sepearate from the electors?

Or should the elected be able to consult an entity alien to the electors and the entire process of elections?
Although, the Great Council of Chiefs supporters are fond of marketing the hype that, the institution of GCC is the highest pinnacle of Fiji leadership. Unfortunately the GCC has neither the mandate nor the authority to supercede unalienable rights outlined in the 1997 Fiji constitution.

This is the height of the legal absurdity of the composition and roles of this organization using the flawed nexus of Vanua.
A Vanua that does not pay taxes, should be subservient to the central Government of Fiji and the principles of democracy.

A Vanua that does not follow democracy, has not and will not have the ability to empower or serve the welfare of its own populace and should not be exalted, elevated or respected for that simple reason.

The Vanua and GCC have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that their very premise and existence continues to erode the foundations of democracy: fair play, law and order and honor and integrity.

Great Council of Chiefs really does make a mockery of the tools of democracy in Fiji. It also confirms a logical fallacy that, an institution which excludes the common person from their membership, are often dependant on the common person for guidance, know how and their wealth of experience in Governmental matters in Fiji.

The same members of this GCC are unable to manfacture their own homes, cars and clothes. Yet the GCC members have this ingrained attitude that, they are absolute and above the supreme law of Fiji. GCC often lacks the modesty to acknowledge their limited abilities. This lack of honesty is reflected in the GCC inability to permit knowledgeable citizens of Fiji to lead, irrespective of color, creed and caste.

What is so inherently flawed about these layers of institutions in Fiji that exalt, elevate and worship a group of people who have flowing within their veins; blood and DNA of self-centered superiority ?

Does this DNA give superhman powers, the ability to stop poverty, stop wars and other mindless acts of destruction occuring on this planet?
This archaic process of honoring such a minority group over others in Fiji cannot be jusified with the Holy Book either. The words of "Render unto Caesar, the things which is Caesar's" is the acknowledgement.




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Blue Crush-Democrats claim Senate.

The overwhelming reversal of political fortunes for the Republican party has left many clinging to the straws of yesterday. The last fumes of political capital given to George W Bush's and often touted by the Republicans evaporated in the past 48 hours. The control of Senate was confirmed after the Republican nominee for Virginia, George Allen lost

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Dobbering Dailies from Down Under.

Audio comment from Stuff-N.Z captures the essence of Commander Frank B's speech.
Australian newspaper article on the Commander Frank's verbal "dressing-down" of Fiji P.M, has used overly hyped words, such as "attack".

This is the excerpt of the Fiji Sun article.

Lies,lies,lies
Commander: I say Qarase lied from the beginning

By CHEERIANN WILSON

Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase is a liar. That'’s the latest salvo fired by Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama in his war of words with the Government.

In his first public statement since his return from the Middle East the commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces accused Mr Qarase of lying to the people of Fiji.

“I say Qarase lied from the beginning when he was elected PM and did the opposite of what was expected of a PM in laughing at the rule of law by releasing coup perpetrators and coming up with racist policies that have divided this country more then ever, [Bainimarama] said.

He has never educated our people in the villages about the wrongs of 2000 which have resulted in the ever present coup mentality.
Cdre Bainimarama said the military no longer had fence sitters to provide liars with support and at any rate the events of 2000 had yet to concluded.

Qarase lied when he told the nation that he did not know the true agenda of the meeting to which he invited me at the Fijian Holdings Boardroom in 2000 after the Tui Vuda was nominated President, said Cdre Bainimarama.

Qarase lied when he and the present chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs conspired to dilute the President'’s nomination of his Vice President after Ratu Jope was removed.The intent to change the nomination after it had been received by the chairman of the GCC is, I believe, unconstitutional. He said the indigenous community had been fed with lies in the form of the controversial Bills.

“Mr Qarase has been on record to say that Fijians have been waiting for these Bills for donkey’s years when we all know that only a handful of people will gain from these,he said.

Let me say that corruption is about lies and in the indigenous context the greatest lie is when it is told by a PM, a talatala or a chief for personal gain for the simple reason that these are the three entities that we hold dear and look up to for advice. This was seen in 2000 in parliament when people in positions of leadership in our society lied to the people of this nation that George Speight was correct in all senses of the word when we knew that these were losers and opportunists jostling for positions and money.

We in the RFMF represent the silent majority of this land and say we are tried of being lied to. Stop now or our children and grandchildren will suffer.”Attempts to obtain comment from Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase yesterday were unsuccessful.

The subtle choice of words to describe the exchange of ideals has many dimension and purposes to them. Timing is everything as someone once noted. Certainly the timing for these editorials barrages from the Australian media is no mistake. The similar editorial 'black-balling' has also been used by the New Zealand media.

A.N.Z's overreaction to Fiji's politics has caused the market speculators to lower Fiji's credit rating yet again.

The Guardian article titled: "Australia Fishing in Fiji's Troubled Seas" was far superior, to the writings extracted from other Dailies from Down Under.

Dramatics by the Army Commander of Fiji has sent negative shock waves through Canberra and Wellington. For one thing, his actions only reveal that their idea of democracy in post-coup ravaged locations, have virtually no clothes. Australia and New Zealand's attempts to cling to the moral high grounds in darkness, reveals in dawn that, their actual tenuous position is pivoting high above the rocks of blind suasion.

Whether Fiji should turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present; the conduct of these Trans-Tasman nations by their vocal sound bites and media frenzied condemnations of the Fiji Army Commander are equally hideous and distasteful.

If S.I.F.M has the ability, it would clasp both of the condemming nation's ear and apply a twisting motion of harsh magnitude.

S.i.F.M would pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. In the same process unravel, outline and define the hypocrsiy of Australia and New Zealand.

Australia is the same country that disgraced a nation of Aborigines. Australia is the same country who, was more bombastic to sign up with the Bush coalition's ill-defined invasion of Iraq; Australia is the same country that, is so fraud laden and riddled with deceit that it impels them to steal the oil belonging to East Timor; Australia is the same country which, is plagued with impropriety, impiety, and hypocrisy that; their Politicians attempt to spread such a similar veil of immoral turpitude in Fiji.

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Aussie-Oi, oi, oi.

Image above: Commissioner Hughes relishes the rewards for blind obedience.

The embarrasing news thread of diplomatic pouches gone wild, has now officially become an ubiquitous symbol to the scandalous cover up in Fiji; actively contributed to by the Australian Government.

The billigerent and systemic abuse of diplomatic priviledges outlined by the Vienna Protocol of 1961 ratified by the United Nations has now been brought to utter disrepute by Australia.

Vienna Convention document Article No. 27, Clause 4 clearly states:

"The packages constituting the diplomatic bag must bear visible external marks of their character and may contain only diplomatic documents or articles intended for official use".

S.i.F.M believes that, the stainless-steel containers spirited out of Nadi International Airport with the use of Fiji Police liason, were not responsibly marked in any form or function; as seen by the cabin and ground crew of the transiting commericial airline.

Furthermore since, foreign diplomats are extended the right of safe passage under the same Vienna Convention; there is no other justifiable reason why the incoming diplomats are circumnavigating the customs enforcement checks at the Airport terminal. This shady detour of unknown persons debussing flights has become a common occurence in Fiji. A similar occurence happened in Nausori Airport early in 2006.

Fiji Village reports on the questioning of a Protocol Officer employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by representatives of the Army intelligence. This questioning would undoubtedly have prematurely revealed the plans of maliscious intent.

The latest news of Australia's interference with Pacific domestic politics has stepped up unceremoniously to higher levels.

An article from Radio Australia's online magazine called Correspondent's notebook reveals that, this interference by Australia also involves a media component. The author-a relative overnight expert sensationalist of Fiji politics, has added the role of history revisionist to his slim repertoire.

This is the excerpt of the article:

Fiji on coup watch
Monday, 6 November 2006

With all eyes in the Pacific on Fiji, Radio Australia's Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Graeme Dobell, explains how the current crisis has its roots in the in the political chaos that rocked Suva in 2000.
For a really bitter fight, watch what happens when a king maker falls out with the king he created. That's why this battle is so personal - Frank Bainimarama is the military strongman who put Laisenia Qarase on the throne.

This showdown has its roots in the strange saga of the George Speight siege in Suva in 2000. Speight was the frontman and the mouthpiece for the rebels who seized the parliament and held the prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, hostage for 56 days.

Speight's coup amounted to little more than a drawn-out criminal act, that cost two lives. The true coups were actually mounted outside the parliament. First the president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, dismissed the Chaudhry Government, because - as hostages - its ministers could not discharge the duties.

But Mara himself was gone within days. Commodore Bainimarama stepped in, abrogated the constitution, imposed martial law, and effectively banished Ratu Mara from Suva, sending him back to his home island.

So we know Fiji's military chief can mount a coup - he's done it once already. The successful coup in 2000 was mounted by Frank Bainimarama, not by George Speight.

The Fiji military is starting to sound like the Indonesian Army under Suharto, when it claimed to have a dual function - political as well as defence.

According to one of Fiji's leading historians, Professor Brij Lal, the three coups in 20 years have caused a militarisation of Fiji's culture: "I think the army sees for itself a permanent role in the broader public sort of life of Fiji, and one officer told me that some of them see Pakistan as a model where the army is because they think they know best what the people want. So I think this tension that is present today between the army and the government won't go away even if you replace Bainimarama."

Perhaps this crisis will do away with one of the lines that has been useful to Suva's elite in stirring trouble - that the political volatility is caused by ethnic tension, the divisions between indigenous Fijians and Indian Fijians.

There is certainly a divide in Fiji's society. But the political fight that causes Fiji to lurch towards coup and crisis is more about the struggle between different elements of the indigenous Fijian community.

Railing against the danger of an economic and political takeover by the Indians plays well in the villages. That was the initial language of the Speight siege, but it quickly became apparent that Speight was really fighting other factions or regions within his own Fijian community.

Or to be crude, arguing about whose snout should be deepest in the trough. In that sense, both Commodore Bainimarama and Prime Minister Qarase present as Fijian chauvinists - they are far too intelligent to be racist.

And unfortunately, the military commander is proving again that Fiji's army has become a powerful tribe, well able to flex its muscle to protect its interests, while proclaiming its own true vision of what is good for Fiji.

On the surface the work by Graeme Dobell- Foreign Correspondent extraordinaire has similar undertones, syntext and talking points with those of the truth-impaired Opinion pages and articles published by Government owned paper: Fiji Daily Post.

The over-reaching of Australia onto the Pacific stage has also revealed that, the Oberfurher role in the regional drama could not be potrayed adequately, than this actor of low morals. Perhaps the Aussie suffering under the 1000 year record drought is an example of universal applications of karma. Along with the negative opinions of Australia's foreign policies by Asian nations.

The option of finding other dominating players with a higher degree of sensitivity, is often the more responsible option that is never removed too far from the Pacific table of negotiations.

Other selected Letters to Fij Times Editor.

Fair dinkum

I was disappointed with the standard of delivery of a news item on the Australia Network on Monday November 6, 2006.

The correspondent, a widely respected journalist in the Pacific, Sean Dorney, delivered a report on the RFMF's take on six Australian nationals who arrived in Nadi with 400kg of "gear" last week.

What I found disconcerting was the fact that his studio back in Australia saw fit to play scenes from a Natabua High School passing out parade during the delivery of his report.

Some one in the ABC video library must have looked under "Fiji" for anything with "guns" in it and submitted it for use with Sean's report.

If some Australians see us as the North Korea of the South Pacific, they really only have themselves to blame. And that's fair dinkum, true blue and dinky-di.

B Hong Tiy
Suva

Naval support

Could Prime Ministers Howard and Clark please explain why no naval vessels or so-called support staff were sent when elected governments were toppled in 1987 and 2000?

Dr Bavadra and Mr Chaudhry were treated so shabbily by these so-called bastions of democracy and given lip-service back then. Such blatant hypocrisy.

If the coup culture had not been perpetuated back then we would not be in the situation we are in today.

It is indeed ironic that the same military, having had exposure to civil wars and injustices in other parts of the world, is making a stand.

Making a stand to wipe out nepotism, corruption, injustice and bigotry, making a stand for good, transparent governance that does not line the pockets of corrupt politicians and greedy businessmen.

What the military espouses is commendable and idealistic. One can only hope that matters are resolved amicably.

D Prasad
Manukau Auckland

Why now

I am surprised to see that Australian Prime Minister John Howard is being so vocal about the army's involvement in the current situation,

I wonder why he did not say the same things he is saying during the coup of 2000?

Emmanuel Pratap
Sydney

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Of Arms and Men.

Fiji Times online Poll on the Commander Vs Qarase news thread demonstrate interesting factors within Fiji politics.

1.)Most online readers of Fiji news are better informed and this correlates to their intelligent choice.

2.)Frequent use of the internet, reinforces one's knowledge about the socio-cultural and socio-economical issues in Fiji. The same issues that make up the voter's mind.

3.)Not all perspectives taken by the current Prime Minister's office is taken as the Gospel Truth.

4.)The cognitive dissonance in Fiji's political arena is now increasing.

It's a delicate one, but it needs asking: Who is right in the current political stand-off?

The Commander ... his call to tackle key 2000 coup leaders is the key (55.6%)

The Prime Minister ... the Commander has no legal right to make threats (21.6%)

They're both wrong ... and bigger men would sit down to resolve this (22.8%)

Total votes: 602

There is some correlation between the online poll and the sentiments outlined in Fiji Times Have Your Say online forum.

On the eve of American election day(1st Tuesday in November), there is a silence before the storm of change. The ripples that emanate from U.S voter's decision ultimately and inevitably touch the lives of every human being on this planet- either directly on indirectly.



Above image: Fiji Police chief in an interview and defends the indefensible. Hughes also is unable conceal his lying eyes.

Fiji Police were quick to enforce outdated Sedition laws but sadisitically turns a blind eye to illegal arms importation, a more serious offence particularly in the global climate of state exported terrorism.


Fiji Prime Minister's office C.E.O was forced to comment and defend matters under the normal jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This involvement by Fiji P.M C.E.O confirms beyond reasonable doubt that, this is yet another ill-designed scheme waiting to be unravelled in embarrasing circumstance.

Protection of overseas diplomatic missions and their staff
Nov 7, 2006, 09:14

The Chief Executive Officer in the Prime Minister’s Office said today that Foreign Embassies, High Commissions, United Nations and other international agencies based in Fiji are fully entitled to use their diplomatic privileges to bring in staff from overseas as additional measures to protect their office premises and staff residences along with the safety of their staff and families.

Mr. Jioji Kotobalavu said that there is nothing extraordinary about this.

“It is part of their normal diplomatic entitlement under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations and the Fiji Diplomatic and Consular Privileges and Immunities Act.

“All they have to do is to notify the Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs of their intention, and to request the provision of normal courtesies and facilitation on arrival in Fiji.

“The Fiji Police is responsible for the general security of diplomatic missions and their staff in Fiji. However, these missions are free to bring in their own security staff based on their assessments. Some already do this and in certain circumstances they may bring in additional personnel. It is part of their normal entitlement.”

Mr. Kotobalavu stressed, however, that security personnel brought in by overseas missions are strictly for the protection of their diplomatic premises and staff, and nothing else.

Mr. Kotobalavu said that whilst the diplomatic chanceries and premises of these overseas missions are considered to be an integral part of their sovereign jurisdiction, all overseas diplomats and their families are required to fully respect the laws of Fiji.

-END-

The response by the P.M's office is related to the news of Australian arms and men being inserted cavalierly into Fiji, while circumnavigating the basic tenets of law and soverignity of a nation under the U.N charter.

Furthermore this arms smuggling case also underlines the uncanny and un-apologetic abuse of diplomatic previledges by the Australian Government. One can easliy deduce that this incident is really a serious use and misuse of diplomatic pouch services into Fiji.

This unique courier service once reserved for the most enduring functions of diplomacy and foreign relations has been emabarrsingly stained and misappropriated. The offense further highlights the flawed character of the Fiji's current Prime Minister( Laisenia Qarase)by approving the schemed and conniving invasion of arms and men.

It also be shows how diplomatic functions can be maligned, misapplied and misrepresented for malicious and despotic intent of those in Fiji's political circles.

Fiji Times article quotes the Australian embassy officials acknowledging individuals who arrived in-country were really Defense Attaches with special training in subterfuge. Not Australian Federal Police as assumed intially.



This is the excpert of the article:

Aussies beef up security

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

AUSTRALIA has confirmed it has sent defence force personnel to Fiji to bolster security at the Australian High Commission in Suva.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer and defence officials yesterday would not identify the number of personnel, their roles or their equipment, apart from saying they were "people to assist with coordination and administration".

On Sunday, Fiji's Land Force Commander, Colonel Pita Driti claimed that Fiji's sovereignty had been breached by the arrival of a group of Australian nationals and 400kgs of equipment on Friday.

He said the group had bypassed normal immigration procedures.

Col. Driti warned that the military would not accept foreign intervention. Mr Downer, speaking on ABC Radio, confirmed that some extra staff had been sent to the Australian High Commission in Suva.

"We have sent in some additional coordination and administrative staff in the event that there is a coup and there is some violence associated with the coup," Mr Downer told ABC Radio.

"They obviously have some equipment with them, but I'm not going to go into details of that because it's important that if worse comes to worst, we can do the job effectively."

It is believed that some of the group are members of the army's elite Special Air Services, based out of Swanbourne in Western Australia.

Some of the equipment they brought in is believed to be communications gear to contact two Australian warships, HMAS Newcastle and HMAS Kanimbla which have been sent to stand off Fiji's national waters in case they are needed to evacuate Australian citizens.

Last night, Fiji military spokesman Major Neumi Leweni said they were still trying to find out who the Australian nationals were that entered the country on Friday through Nadi airport. "It could possibly be the SAS. We are yet to confirm that," he said.

More supporters for Commander Frank B use the main arm afforded by democracy in Fiji-Dissent via Letters to Fiji Times editor.

Last man Standing

Your paper and other writers in your paper have heavily criticised the commander of the Fiji Military Forces for opposing the Government on important issues like the RTU and Qoliqoli Bills. I also agree that his threats may be making life uncomfortable for many, but who else in Fiji is opposing these proposed changes to legislation? Suddenly, everyone has gone silent.

What has happened to the opponents of the Bills? Where are the NGOs and their campaign? Where is the Opposition? Have Chaudhry, Bune, Beddoes and others nothing to say? What about the learned academics at USP and the University of Fiji? Where does your paper stand on the issue now?

The military's role is not to oppose the Government, but when political opposition is weak, when there is no effective opposition to a government with a sinister agenda, when civil society neglects its role, when academics refuse to create forums for discussion, I believe that men like Bainimarama, who stand up for what is right should be supported, not abandoned.

Pranesh Nair
Brisbane

Amnesty clause

The dropping of an Amnesty Clause in the about-to-be-reintroduced RTU Bill on the grounds of its 'unconstitutionality' would surely set a precedent.

If it has been discarded on this ground alone, thenlogicallyother Billsmustfollow. May we assume thatthose responsible for drafting and advice willnecessarily meet a similar fate?

Unconstitutionality was apparent and evident from tabling andapplies also to the Qoliqoli Bill and other relatedbills.

Meanwhile, the constitutionally prescribed Code of Conduct and Freedom of Information Bills languish unseen.The prioritisation of legislation seems oddly skewed. Constitutionality was never a previous concern. Indeed, it was summarily overlooked as being of no consequence: a mere inconvenience.

Are we nowtodeduce that of a suddenconstitutionality isall (as it should be)? Or are we being yet again hoodwinked by deception and manipulative deceit?

We have been continuously let down in Fijiby clumsy internationaldiplomacy,by professional men and women who have failed to speak out for justice for all Fiji's people.

The immediate response to the 2006 budget reveals the lack of moral courage and the utter self-interest of Fiji's largest business concerns.

There can be noexcuse for such self-delusion and greed and the crisis we are now in may be laid in large part at their respective doors.

Cowardice is a reprehensible but omnipresent trait. A period of close,quiet self-examination is required by us all. Many of us will not enjoy what we see.

Prue Rouse (Mrs)
Vuda

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Fiji Police Chief facilitates Arms and Men insertion.

Startling new revelations from Fiji soldiers on watch at Nadi International Airport, observing the intrusion of several Australian individuals who debussed a flight and led off by Fiji Police circumnavigating normal customs check points at the terminal complex. Fiji Army intelligence have reasons to believe that the individuals were importing arms.

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Political Satire.

Events in Fiji are providing excellent material for cartoonists and bloggers alike.




Fiji Visitors Bureau have gone to extreme lengths of reassuring Australian travel consultants.

Fiji Times has reported that state funds amounting to $1 million dollars has been set aside for the construction of a new official residence for the Prime Minister. At the same time the P.M has commanded that the civil servants must operate more efficiently at the recent Civil Service awards night. However the head of the civil service has remarked that major improvements will not take place until reform process begins.
This obviously open up a chicken and egg debate on the entire exercise.

The C.E.O for Prime Minister's office has proudly annouced that decision, in the wake of the new Budget provisions to increase the Value Added Tax(VAT) from 12.5% to 15%. The second increase in taxes during Laisenia Qarase's term as Prime Minister.

This is the excerpt of the report of Fiji P.M's new residence.

$1m for PM's new residence

BRENDA RAGI
Sunday, November 05, 2006

ONE million dollars has been set aside next year to build the official residence of the Prime Minister.

This will be the beginning of a construction project taken on by the Government to renovate existing residences of senior government officials like judges, the Chief Justice and the Vice President.

CEO in the PM's Office Jioji Kotobalavu said six acres of crown land on Queen Elizabeth Drive close to the Muanikau Police Post had been identified.

"There is no official residence of the Prime Minister," he said.

"The one that the current Prime Minister lives in at Richards Road is not the official residence, it's a government quarters and is in a bad state.

"It leaks when it rains." Mr Kotobalavu said government decided in all fairness to the position of Prime Minister that an official residence should be built.

Like Government House, the new residence will be divided into two one would be the private living quarters of the Prime Minister and his family and the other would be the public area where the PM could host dignitaries and guests.

It will also have an office for the PM.

"This will start next year," Mr Kotobalavu said. "The Ministry of Works will take charge of the architecture and technical aspects of the project. This is why we'll need six areas of land because it'll be a whole complex with plenty of public reception area."

Mr Kotobalavu said whoever held the position of Prime Minister was entitled to a fully furnished, fully equipped and fully secure official residence. He said the proposed complex would also house support staff, their families and security.

"This is part of the bigger plan to improve residences of key state and government office holders like the Chief Justice, the Vice President and judges of the High Court.

"So it's starting with the PM because the government quarters he's staying in is not suitable and leaks when it rains and the PM can't hold official receptions there.

"This is why there is a provision next year for this," he said.

The current official residence of the Vice President on Ratu Sukuna Road was originally built to house the Prime Minister.

When Sitiveni Rabuka and his party lost in the 1999 general elections to the Labour Coalition, PM Mahendra Chaudhry offered it to then Vice President Ratu Josefa Iloilo.

Mr Chaudhry opted to remain at his private residence at Suva Point, which he later renovated using government funds. When Laisenia Qarase became PM, he stayed at rented quarters in Muanikau until moving to government quarters on Richards Road.

Mr Kotobalavu was unable to say what the complex would contain but added that a local competition would be held among architects.

The Ministry of Works will call for tenders on the design. "I can confirm that the Ministry of Works will invite a competition among the local architects. They should have the idea that the design should take into account the local culture and traditions," he said.

The $1m is expected to cover construction, security and finishing costs.

Judging from the report, the main justifications given for the construction of the new palace is that:
1.) No room for official cocktail parties.
2.) The current residence of the P.M leaks when it rains.

C.E.O Kotobalavu also mentions that there is no official residence for the Prime Minister's office. Clearly this is exuberance on the tab of Fiji taxpayers.

One can safely assume that the C.E.O of P.M's office will also have an adjoining mother-in-law type of flat in the rear, in addition to having some sort of financial gain to the entire project.



Below the cyclic trend of coups in Fiji has become more of a joke.




Probably these rumours of another coup borders on media sensationalism.
The newspaer AUSTRALIAN published an article on November 4th 2006, that fits that definition to a tee.

The most intriguing thing about these rumours, is that a greater portion of the foreign media are guilty of placing the cart before the proverbial horse. Australian Minister of Defense has downplayed the suggestion of "Gun-boat dipomacy" on the recent reports of Destroyers(HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Newcastle) steaming towards Fiji.

U.S State Department also issues a statement on the situation. The news thread of the Army collecting the consignment of pre-ordered ammunition has also added fuel to the fire of media pundits. Threats by the Police chief Andrew Hughes to arrest the Commander when he returns from his tour of the Mid-East, also makes a mockery of Hughes' authority over security in Fiji. The return of Commander Frank B to Fiji has been downgraded as a non-event by the Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase; as he dances the night away.




Noticed this cartoon depicting the Great Council of Chiefs involvement post 2000 Fiji coup.




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Blazing Saddles.

Vakaivosavosa regurgitates the hollow threat of Fiji Police Commissioner of arresting Army Commander Frank B.

Get Frank is the under handed diversion attempt to cloud the minds of Fiji's greater public from the issues of original crime. This begs the question of why the Australian born Police chief has sided with the those who abuse the fundamentals of democracy and allowed the investigation momentum into the 2000 coup, to slow down like molasses. This demonstrates the double standards of law applied by the Fiji Police.

These defenders of the law will gloss over the systematic crimes of religious intolerance and allow the perpertraitors of the 2000 coup to escape justice scott free, condone the mismanagement of state funds, turn a blind eye to the preceding seditious and treasonal offences by the legal minds who swore in the rebel government (post 2000 coup).

Frank will undoubtedly provide a sense of undiluted panacea to this ingrained corruption in Fiji. This same loss in moral turpitude led by the most influential individuals in the nation, whose ethics are no better than the floor of a poultry yard.

This is an excerpt of P.M's speech (similar to the fear template used extensively by George W Bush). Albeit far removed from any legitimate standards of honesty and integrity.


Image above: Fiji P.M drinking Kava.


Above image: Commander Frank and Minister of Home Affairs, Josefa Vosanibola.

Honorable Laisenia Qarase
Prime Minister and Minister for Sugar and Investment.

Address to the Nation/Comments at Press Conference
Nov. 1st 2006.


Good evening my fellow citizens.

I address you this evening about events involving the Republic of Fiji Military Forces that are causing so much anxiety, uncertainty, and fear in our land. This is related specifically to public threats by the Commander of the Army to overthrow the elected Government of Fiji.

This is the Government I was given the mandate to lead in the May General Election.

I can affirm that the Police are continuing their investigations into the threats by the Commander. I expect that the Army will respect the authority of the Police and will fully cooperate in these investigations.

Now, over the past few months, I have exercised great patience in my attitude to the various statements by the Commander, condemning the Government for a whole variety of reasons.
Following developments yesterday and renewed threats as reported in the media, I called meetings this morning of the National Security Council and the Multi-Party Cabinet, comprising SDL and Fiji Labour Party Ministers.

I now wish to explain the actions we are taking.

To begin with, let me take you back to a meeting convened earlier this year by His Excellency the Vice President, in his capacity as Acting President. I attended that meeting along with the Commander of the RFMF. Its purpose was to create a positive and open atmosphere for dialogue on issues of concern raised by the Military. I readily agreed to this because I have always favoured this approach to solving problems. It is consistent with the good-faith principles called for by our Constitution for settling differences.

There was also agreement that the Commander would not make public statements without clearing them first with the Prime Minister.
I met with the Commander under these arrangements. The problem that immediately arose was he expected me to virtually follow his orders.
As Head of a democratically-elected Government I could not do that.
It wasn't long before the Commander again began to go public, in breach of the agreement he had reached with the Acting President and me.
To justify this, he attempted to argue that the Army had a broad mandate to ensure the well being of Fiji and its people. This, he claimed, had been transferred to the 1997 Constitution from the 1990 document.

The prevailing view among legal experts, however, is that the Commander's interpretation is wrong. Our present Constitution legitimises the existence of the RFMF, but not the broadened responsibilities given to it in the 1990 Constitution. In other words, the constitutional and statutory authority of the RFMF is strictly confined to maintaining and safeguarding national security within a democracy.

The Cabinet, therefore, decided to seek clarification from the Supreme Court on the role of the Military. This was a reasonable position to take, given the circumstances. It also reflected our desire for a conclusive legal finding. The Constitution allows for this procedure. The Minister of Home Affairs was asked to consult with the RFMF to establish joint terms of reference for the approach to the Supreme Court. The Army did not respond.

And then, in view of the Commanders continuing verbal attacks on the Government, the Cabinet decided it would go ahead with its proposal for a legal opinion from the Supreme Court. It, therefore, asked His Excellency the President to refer the issue to the Court, in accordance with the Constitution.
For the Government and the RFMF, the sensible course was to await the clarification by the Court.

Unfortunately, instead of doing this, the Commander and the Army have launched a campaign of threats to force the Government to resign.
The Police, as I have said, have now started an independent inquiry into the Commanders threats to remove the lawfully elected Government of Fiji. The Commander makes many untruthful allegations against the Government. He regularly expresses unsubstantiated accusations about widespread corruption.

My position on this is very clear. The Government has taken a strong stand against corruption. Draft legislation to combat this is being prepared. In the meantime, the law enforcement authorities must be allowed to do their duty when allegations are made. Those making allegations against the Government must provide evidence to the Police.

When they do not do this there is a suspicion that these accusations are just a cover for a deeper agenda to overthrow a democratically-elected Government.

We must ask whether the Commander is being used or influenced by unscrupulous people opposed to certain items of legislation introduced by the Government. Is the Commander being manipulated by those with a certain political agenda?

If this is so, those involved are acting to serve their own purposes.

I declare emphatically that there is absolutely no question of me resigning in response to the current situation, or of my Government stepping down.

We have the constitutional authority and the support of the people to rule now and for the next five years.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Army is an important institution in Fiji. It is an agency of the State which has won international respect and acclaim for its service to international peacekeeping.
Whoever is Commander should be ever vigilant in protecting its integrity and reputation, and ensuring it follows the rule of law.

It should be a matter of serious concern to us all that officers who have stood for the professional values of loyalty and legality, are being pushed aside and relieved of their appointments.

Now let me repeat, that the Government I lead was legitimately elected in May this year. I was constitutionally appointed to form a Government by the President, acting in his own judgement.

His Excellency determined that I had the confidence of the House of Representatives. That confidence remains. It enabled me to appoint Fiji'’s first Multi-Party Cabinet, comprising elected representatives of Fiji'’s main communities. The Multi-Party Cabinet, as the executive arm of Government, is proceeding with an agenda that reflects the wishes of all the people of Fiji.
Members of the Cabinet together contributed to a new Strategic Development Plan that was recently endorsed at a National Economic Summit. The Plan provides a clear course and targets for Fiji's growth in the next five years.

On Friday we will be announcing our 2007 Budget setting out our spending priorities and goals for the country in the next 12 months.
These policy and development initiatives are what we were elected to do.

As part of the GovernmentÂ’s response to current events, I have today, with the authority of Cabinet, requested the Minister for Fijian Affairs Lands and Provincial Development, to consult with the Chairperson of the Great Council of Chiefs on convening a special meeting of the GCC next week.

It is crucially important for us to seek the advice of the GCC because the legislative measures the Commander says he is opposed to are being undertaken with the specific authorisation of the Council.

Furthermore, the GCC is a repository of chiefly wisdom and authority. I am sure you all agree there is a role for it in assisting to resolve the current crisis.

In 1987 and 2000 it demonstrated its ability to deal with the fundamental issues of peace and stability.

I give you now the same undertaking I have given to His Excellency the President. I have informed His Excellency that I am ready to engage in further discussions with the Commander on the issues that are of on-going concern to the Military. I will take part in such dialogue with an open mind, with a view to finding resolutions that serve the best interests of Fiji.

Having said, that I must also stress that the Army is under the control and authority of the elected Government.
The rule of law must prevail. No one is above the law, or has the right to interfere with the legal processes.
Fiji has previously experienced the tragedy and turmoil of illegal armed intervention in the business of the State. The last time this happened was in 2000.

One factor of compelling importance for the people of Fiji to be aware of, is that the international environment today is totally different from what it was in 1987 and 2000. The international community is now more proactive in protecting democratic governments when the rule of law and constitutionality are threatened or overturned. Our international friends are already coming out very strongly in support of the maintenance of democracy and constitutional rule in Fiji.

I have today received messages from the Governments of Australia, NZ and the United States. They too have expressed strong support for our elected Government. They have called on the Military to respect democracy and the rule of law. They are urging the Military to confine themselves to their proper role in a democracy.

If the Army fails to do this there will be dire consequences for Fiji. For a start, our tourism industry, our biggest direct employer and earner of foreign exchange, would be severely damaged. Thousands of jobs would be lost and ordinary people would suffer.

Following the crisis of 2000, the members of the Pacific Island Forum adopted the Biketawa Declaration. This Declaration provides the mandate for intervention by member governments at the invitation of the lawful authority in a Forum country affected by crisis.

Let me issue a warning, as well, that if the democratically elected Government of Fiji is overthrown, there is every likelihood this would severely prejudice the continued participation by Fiji in international peacekeeping operations.

I very much hope, then, that those in the Military, will keep in mind the catastrophic consequences of the threats that are being made against the elected Government of the people of Fiji.

I remain confident that sound judgement and wisdom will prevail about the overriding importance of the rule of law. I call on the churches and people to pray for our country.
Let us show the world that we have the ability and the will to solve our internal difficulties, as we have done before.
God bless you all, and God bless Fiji.

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