Principles reign

I salute the Marama Bale Roko Tui Dreketi Ro Teimumu Kepa for her brave and principled stand on the issue of non-recognition of the military refime in Fiji.

Now we need more Chiefs with moral fortitude and who can show their people they have true mana and the courage of their convictions to follow suit. Only then will the people rally.

Investing in Fiji - why would you

I offer a sample sprinkling of news headlines that paint a terrible picture of how we are currently living as a people under a military dictatorship in Fiji.

Only a fool would invest their money in Fiji now.

With a military regime obviously enjoying the trappings of power and unlimited access to the national coffers but being accountable to no one, this has surely got to set alarm bells ringing.

The junta make up stories to suit their purposes, distort data and use their puppets to compromise the path and purpose of the law which is meant to protect ordinary citizens.

If our own people are no longer safe in our own houses because of the drastic break down in law and order, I dont hold out much hope for visitors to our country.

There was also an article in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago highlighting child and teenage prostitution in Fiji. It broke my heart to read that the same teenage girls who sat in church every Sunday did not see there was anything wrong in what they were doing. If this one statement doesn't start alarms bells for you then you obviously don't realise how much the moral fabric of our society has been torn.


And I lay the blame for all of the above at the feet of the evil coup perpertrators and leaders who have encouraged a culture of crime pays, disrespect, voilence and machismo.

An inconsistent irrational state of accounts for Fiji

I have re-printed this great Editorial from the Fiji Times 22 Nov, 2008 regarding the Military junta's pathetic attempt at legitimising Government .... no matter how the junta try to disguise it as Business as usual ... we know well that it is not.

Trying to tell Investors all is well in Fiji is a blatant lie.

What is the use of setting up tax free zones and tax incentives if you can get military hostility, banned, threatened, locked up, intimidated and beaten to near death for daring to demand accountability or to ask after the truth?

Not to mention tax free zones miles away from any infrastructure (eg Lomaiviti and Lau .. woilei na ulukau kaiveikau! How asinine can one be?! ) .... and by the way what businessperson is going to be lured to an isolated place with no support structure then be expected to give away 25% of his business ? Even Punja the old fox has come out to say it wont work !

Why should tourist and overseas businesses come to Fiji when there is still no respect for the Rule of Law; criminals do not respect the law, the police and the judiciary have been compromised of their independence, and the Fijian human rights watchdog is in bed with military dogma?

It is quite obvious the military are still wrapped up in their own creation of ego, silliness, wannabes and paranoia. They've roped in a few finance "experts" like John Smarmy and given us a whole lot of hot air just like the Giant Babakau theory. The gaping inconsistencies in this so called Budget are such you could drive Iloilo's Hummer through it back and forth all day and not notice.

Good on ya FT .. you have hit the nail on the head.

A slap in the face
Saturday, November 22, 2008

"THE Budget handed down by Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday can be best described as being full of contradictions.

While the Budget aims to protect manufacturers by imposing heavy tariffs on imported food items, the interim Government will hurt hotels and the tourism industry which rely on overseas cream, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce and fruit.

Protectionism for the sake of protecting local industry does not work.

Local producers and the State must be capable of producing high quality food, fruit and vegetables before seeking protection.

The interim Government should look at boosting the agriculture sector and improving fruit and vegetable yield, poultry and livestock.

It is nonsensical to argue locals will not be affected because they do not eat the targeted foods. They will be affected through the higher cost of the tourism industry which will have an impact on visitor arrivals.

Why would visitors come to Fiji when it is cheaper to holiday in Samoa, Tonga or at home?

This administration has talked for two years about the people of Fiji being one people and one nation where all are equal. Yet Budget 2009 makes special concessions for indigenous businessmen and their overseas partners in selected industries.

It also encourages tax free businesses in Vanua Levu, Lomaiviti and Lau - predominantly occupied by the indigenous population.

Does this mean that the rhetoric on unity and the proposed People's Charter has been a smokescreen or, worse still, an exercise in hypocrisy?

In recent months the Public Service Commission has warned it will shave the Civil Service of 800 jobs beginning in January 2009.

Yet the Budget documents show an increase in emoluments for most areas of the Civil Service and - not surprisingly - for the army.

Hopefully this does not mean taxpayers must buy back soldiers' unused leave accumulated over the last three decades.

The State salary bill is up by $74million against revised expenditure estimates despite reassurances of a leaner, more efficient Civil Service. The Government operating expenditure has also increased by $120million.

This cannot be allowed to continue.

After so much talk about better control of taxpayers' money, the abuse and misuse of State funds by previous governments, the interim regime has slapped the people of Fiji in the face.

We had hoped for a Budget which would restore confidence. Commodore Bainimarama has done little in that area with Budget 2009."

Normality in Fiji according to Bainimarama Lies

Thank you SDL for pointing out the truth ..... no way are things "normal" in Fiji.

Domestic Violence and Child Prostitution is up in Fiji.
One third of Jobs in our country have been either changed or lost.
Tourism is losing ground by the minute.
Crime has increased 400 fold.
Fijis' infrastructure is crumbling.

And according to a little bird in the corridors of power, if truth be really told, the Military have spent $102 million since December 2006 , on purchasing arms from Korea and another dubious Asian power, and on polishing drills for their 3000 odd men.

Military Junta in Fiji attempts to muzzle Free Press

Fiji: “Draconian Prosecution” of press

Friday, November 14th, 2008 @ 17:29 UTC

by John Liebhardt

For the second time this month, Fiji’s military government has threatened to send a newspaper editor and its publisher to prison for publishing a letter to the editor alleged to be in contempt of court.

In mid-October, the Fiji Times and Fiji Daily Post printed a letter from a certain Vili Navukitu of Queensland, Australia complaining about a recent high court ruling that legitimized the actions of the country’s president in dissolving the Parliament, and the elected government of Laisenia Qarase, immediately following the December 2006 coup that brought into power Commodore Frank Bainamairama.

The letter (which has been reprinted in this post) pointed out that Bainimarama had undue influence on the jurors because he had previously removed the court’s chief justice.

After the letter was published, Fiji’s interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum accused the Fiji Times of being in contempt according to Fiji’s laws because it casted doubts on the integrity and independence of the courts. The Fiji Times printed a front-page apology admitting contempt and offering to pay all court costs.

The interim Attorney General, unimpressed with the apology, has asked the court to jail the editor and publisher of the paper and apply stiff fines to the paper. The case is in recess until December. The editor and publisher of the Fiji Daily Post, where the letter also appeared, could meet the same fate, the Attorney General declared this week. Both newspapers have been asked to provide full details of the letter writer.

The scandal comes at the heels of the announcement that press freedom group Reporters Without Borders ranked Fiji 79th for press freedom out of 173 countries, a large leap from the previous year, where it was 107.

Fiji’s bloggers have largely expressed outrage at the case against the two newspapers.

The blog Soli Vakasama complained that the Fiji Daily Post also apologized to the judiciary, which is something no newspaper should ever have to do:

[T]oday the Fiji Daily Post dedicated its entired editorial towards apologising to the judiciary and therefore caving into the illegal interim government and that arse of an AG’s demands. While they maybe in a tight spot, the question we may ask is when will the so called “Fourth Estate” be man enough to draw a line in the sand and say it as it is instead of complying to the selfish demands of these illegal bunch of thieves who stole power through the barrel of a gun?
If the media are not game enough to do it we will say it at Solivakasama that there are certain members of the judiciary who are a bunch of low down selfish self serving scums…

“FIJI'S JUDICIAL responses to contempt by two local newspapers become sillier and sillier,” writes New Zealand Journalist David Robie’s blog Cafe Pacific.

The contempt laws for scandalising the court were never meant to stifle vigorous debate about court rulings. Citizens Constitutional Forum chief executive Rev Akuila Yabaki says the draconian prosecutions “stifle free speech in an oppressive manner“. The paranoid climate around the judiciary following last month's controversial High Court judgment declaring the post-coup regime to be legitimate is deteriorating.

Discombobulated Bubu, which reprinted the letter (along with another equally critical one) says these opinions are on the tongues of many people:

These letters to the Editor of the Fiji Times reflects the mood of the country right now. Our people are sad, angry and struggling to make ends meet. As one who is involved with charity work on a daily basis, it is no exaggeration to compare Fiji to Zimbabwe.

We are truly at the beginning of Zimbabwe's slide into self-destruction…

When the taxpayer can see that there hard earned money is being spent on trivial things such as new uniforms for Teletubby and his band of marching boys, thousands of dollars a day to an expatriate FIRCA consultant, thousands of other dollars for useless and unnecessary overseas trips for Baini, Mary and accompanying entourage, a Charter process costing millions that is failing big time, thousands of dolllars for a Charter consultant to produce a Class 8 essay, and useless court judgements costing thousands to legalise murder and coups, prolonged and vindictive false prosecutions against “enemies of the State” , something has got to give.

Our Fiji was never given to us to be run by bullies with guns. Be warned , the military regime in Fiji is living on borrowed time.

Raw Fiji News looks ahead to December, when the country’s government will publish its new law governing the media.

And to stifle the media even more, Frank’s gestapo regime is going to impose their media law in December. And we say, bring it on! The truth is this - in this new day and age, information reaches people the way they want to receive it. And guess what, more breaking and detailed news can be found outside of the mainstream media with a touch of a button and people already know that and are accessing it online all the time. Sounds familiar? Yep, that’s us the new i-peoples of this world who don’t rely on the media to tell us waz up and waz down!

Boing Boing - God bless Justice Jitoko

Three Cheers for Justice Bruce

I was indeed inspired yesterday at the learned Judge's ruling in regards to Mr Khan's disgraceful treatment by the military junta in our country and to read these wise words by "FIJI DEMOCRACY NOW" which I reproduce here. Vinaka FDN!

Yesterday’s decision by Mr Justice Andrew Bruce of the High Court was a great day for Fiji because it went a long way to restoring the public’s confidence in our judiciary and in the rule of law in accordance with our Constitution.

It was also a great day because the judgement delivered a stinging rebuke to our military-backed regime, which orchestrated the arrest and charging of Khan one year ago and allowed its thugs to violently bash and torture him.

Thanks to Justice Bruce, and no thanks to our discredited Human Rights Commissioner, Shaista Shameem,the protection of human rights in our nation is once again being observed at the official level.

The next phase in this unfolding drama will be the reaction of the dictator and his supporters. Will Ballu Khan be allowed to leave the country, as is his stated intention, or will he be the target for more underhand treatment?

Will Police Commissioner Teleni take action to bring to justice those of his officers who engaged in the beating of Ballu Khan, an act of criminality which was clearly identified in yesterday’s judgement? And what about the military? Will it, as usual, ignore the unlawful actions of its officers?

Yes, yesterday’s judgement was a momentous day for our country as we near the end of the second painful year of the Bainimarama dictatorship.

The delivery of clear, cool-headed justice, as demonstrated in Justice Bruce’s ruling, stands out like a like a bright, shining beacon in a pitch black night.

It is in blinding contrast to the illegality, deceipt, hurt and injustice that Bainimarama and his cronies have so consistently and heartlessly institutionalised since their armed overthrow of our democratically elected government on 5 December 2006.

The men, women and children of our beloved Fiji Islands deserve so much better. But when will they get it?

Heading no where

Great letter that we publish below from Mr Lockington (Fiji Times online).

For those that don't know what this letter alludes to, it highlights not only what Fiji mercenary chicken companies are doing , but also these distressed and wretched times in Fiji where people cannot afford protein anymore and have to resort to eating chicken heads for sustenance.

It is clear the Military regime does not care one iota about the effects their egocentric, self-serving and mercenary actions have had on the country.

Instead they steal from the national coffers rewarding themselves with massive pay cheques, take fruitless trips across the world, and purchase new uniforms and guns for their men.

Hmmmm - perhaps there is a new meaning in the phrase mona veilacayaki to describe the military's collective brain cell ?

_____________________________

Chicken effects

NOT too long ago lamb flaps was banned because of the amount of fat in it. It was cheap and if people wanted meat, that was it.

Now people have turned to chicken heads.

Chicken heads used to cut off and thrown away, now it is a meal.

Chicken legs are a delicacy and I am told that if cooked well, it can cure bone disease. However, the side effect is the "yava ni toa" syndrome.

It makes you wander all over the place.

Chicken neck is also sold separately and I can remember a cousin buying a lot of it to make soup. When asked why she loved it so much, she whispered sly, "I was told that it can make you sing better".

The side effect that I know of is it will make you talk a lot. Then there is the chicken tail sold in supermarkets. I haven't researched that yet. I wonder what side effect it will have.

But seriously, because of rising inflation, people will do desperate things to survive. And business people will tap into people's helplessness.

ALLEN LOCKINGTON Lautoka