Inspired by Intelligentsiya I am joining in Fiji's fight to retain our freedoms of choice in life - before we know it our freedoms will be taken away and what we take for being normal is really not. We must guard against this at all times and fight to retain what can never be suppressed! A government that knowingly and deliberately violates people’s rights loses the moral authority to demand obedience.
One Bernadette Bainimarama got to go on Daddy's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious recentjaunt to France to pick up one Airbus. Yippee !
I did some research and found out that in the history of the whole world, only one Dictator has ever gone to a foreign country to PERSONALLY pick up a plane. Yep, that honour falls to our one and only country bananabumpkini.
I find that amazing ! Even more so that said dictator can't even fly a plane so WTFruit ? Isa, I dread to think what the French think of him turning up on their doorstep every time there is a plane to dispense - especially with shoes that so do not match expensive pinstriped suit.
Darn - I missed that - the shoes match the finger - thats right - look closely - 2 of which are pointing at Powl's scarf/handbag. Perhaps it contains the public purse? Woe-lei.
Back to the lovely Bernadette. Of course her presence in the entourage was not mentioned in any of the official propaganda releases.
Nope not at all.
I checked - nothing in the Ministry of (dis)information releases or by Qorvis or by the Fiji Sun.
Which makes her inclusion on the trip very very un-transparent (is that a word?). Oh well no doubt Grubby Davis will pull me up for my spelling misteak again.
Transparency is of course one of the regime's FAVE words at the moment.
Tsk tsk. But Bernadette is not greatly blessed in the brains department.
The apple didn't fall far from the tree at all it seems.
The inevitable pull of narcissism, vanity and boastfulness ever present in the lure of Facebook pages was her undoing.
She posted a couple of Look at moi look at moi pics - riding around the world on taxpayers funds - with daddy.
Boy it's good to be the Dictator's daughter!
Last I looked, Bernie had shut down her Facebook page .
SUVA (Fiji), May 20 - "The Australian government announced
Monday that it will provide more than 100 million Fiji dollars (US$54.1
million) in official development assistance to Fiji in the 2013/14
financial year, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
The previous financial year's allocation was around US$48.6 million.
"We're very proud to announce that for the first time this year we will
be providing over 100 million Fiji dollars (US$54.1 million) in aid
funding. This demonstrates the Australian government's unwavering
commitment to the people of Fiji," said Counsellor for Development
Assistance in Fiji, Joanne Choe.
According to a statement from the Australian government on Monday, the
increased aid flows deliver on the Australian government's promise to
double the size of the Australian Agency for International Development's
(AusAID) bilateral budget to Fiji over two years.
Managed from the Australian High Commission by the AusAID, Australia's
aid programme is focused on reducing poverty and improving basic health
and education services in Fiji.
"AusAID is helping the poorest children to attend school more regularly
and working to see more babies growing safely through their early years.
"We're also helping to promote food security and increase incomes for
poor families. With this increased allocation, we will be able to
improve the lives of tens of thousands more people and to reach every
province of Fiji," said Choe.
The number of scholarships available for Fiji students each year is
increasing in line with the budget from 60 scholarships last year to 80
in 2013/14."
________________
Bainimarama will however be claiming all the glory of course claiming to be the great benevolence-ator , and all hail to him as he will be the one to announce how HE gives out the books, the scholarships, the bridges, the roads and all the other goodies so he can buy the people's love.
Pfffft ! He may have muffled the local media but has another thing coming as we keep unveiling his regime's lies. Watch this space.
Yippee - a marvelous coup for Fiji's image overseas.
Well done to the originators of the new Fiji tourism branding of "where happiness finds you".
Just one question - did anyone bother asking the Fiji regime not to *fin**%^ it up ?!
Shark finning
is a brutal practice. A shark is caught, pulled onboard a boat, its
fins are cut off, and the still-living shark is tossed back overboard to
drown or bleed to death. The wasteful, inhumane practice is done to
satisfy a demand for shark fins, which can fetch as much as $300 per pound. The meat, on the other hand, is far less valuable, so fishermen toss it overboard to save space for more fins.
Not only is it an intensely wasteful
and harmful practice, it's also essentially pointless since shark fins
have no nutritional or medicinal value. And they're practically
flavorless. Yet, finning continues, to the point that these animals so
vital to the ecological balance of our oceans are about to be wiped out
completely.
International airline Air Pacific – soon to be rebranded as Fiji Air
– has been exposed as one of the world’s major carriers of shark fins
into Hong Kong.
In an extensive investigation,
the South China Morning Post has reported that the airlines’ new Airbus
A330 aircraft were, according to a group of pilots familiar with its
operations "basically a thinly-disguised freighter" carrying shark fins
to the territory from Pacific islands.
Hong Kong is the world centre for shark fin trading with the fins used to make an expensive soup.
A coalition of environmental groups claim in a letter to the airline
that a “substantial amount” of the shark fins imported into Hong Kong
arrive on Air Pacific.
We sought reaction from the main stakeholders in the regime who produced the following responses.
FROM the outgoing airline's Chief Executive David Finlarger and the Regime's swanky Attorney General Mr Aiyarse Finyum the following correction to our story:
And FROM the Regime's absolute ruler Mr Buiniqiorama, the usual brainy and quick-witted come-back- at-you denial question :
"Any political party or member found spreading lies to cause trouble will be charged", the Fiji Police Force has warned. Speaking to Fiji Sun yesterday, Police chief of operations Assistant
Commissioner of Police Rusiate Tudravu hinted that they have "mounted a
joint operation with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces to monitor
political activities".
I wonder whether Rusi really understood what he was saying or whether he was told to parrot the current collective mantra that emanates from the Fijian dictatorship?
I am intrigued at how Rusi would truly define the value (of the "lies") of which he so boldly speaks.
The value would require both a purpose or worth, and a beneficiary or receiver, and require answers to the questions
"Lies according to whom ?" and
"Liesfor what ?".
Collectivism is an answer to the first question.
It declares value to the Collective, and this is the group Rusi "belongs" to ie. the dictatorship - who are attempting to determine the standard of 'good' which benefits the group.
At the root of Rusi's pronouncement is the regime's belief that a Collective is more than just individuals interacting
together.
It is the belief that the group is an entity itself, more important than the sum of the individuals.
Mere citizens have become secondary to the Regime Collective.
Our well-being ,our opinions and our future hopes and aspirations are ignored if the group has something to gain (their superiority, their stay in continuous power). We see this in the decrees issued, & regulations and permits we are required to seek from the junta if we wish to gather together for political purposes, discuss anything that the regime might not want us to discuss, even to march down the street.
These have been formulated to suppress our rights and curb our freedoms as we individuals are not recognized nor respected.
We are merely a tool for the group.
Collectivism as a concept, perceives a group of individuals as having a single identity similar to a person, therefore considers itself to have ideas, able to think, has purpose, and then acts to achieve goals.
It also has a personality, called culture, and can profess to have standards and principles the Collective should follow. Aiyarse Kaiyum is always arguing that it has shared rights, as well (just look at his daft constifusion).
Since the Collective is actually just individuals interacting, the Collectivists
have to change their views of individuals, so they will morally evaluate people according to the results of the Collective.
If the Collective manages to accomplish something great like for example secure a
Bollywood movie on Fiji's shores, or win the Sevens in Russia, united praise is showered
upon the nation ... ie ( "we" achieved this and that etc) .
When the nation dives into economic decline, everyone else is to blame (including Australia, NZ and Samoa).
And if an individual refuses to acknowledge the superiority of his Collective, than he is a traitor
and is eliminated.
This is the result of Collectivism.
Collectivism demands that the group be more important than the individual.
It requires the individual to sacrifice himself for the alleged good of the group.
So.............. as I was saying about the land - that is, the ISSUES to do with i-taukei land that we are not allowed to mention ............
I read somewhere that Fascism allows citizens to pretend that they own property, but they must use it in accordance
with the wishes of the state.
Since ownership under fascism means the ability to control a piece of property, the ownership is actually in the hands
of the government.
Bahut goodness golly gosh that does sound familiar !
Hopes for free and fair elections to return to democracy in Fiji are fading fast following the rejection of constitutional reform by the military regime and continuing repression of workers’ rights.
Any pretence that next year’s election
will usher in a return to democracy and human rights appears to have
been dashed after the regime recently binned a draft constitution
prepared by an independent panel.
With time running out, the global union movement is ramping up a campaign to put pressure on Fiji restore democracy.
The Destination Fiji campaign targets Fiji’s image as an idyllic holiday destination.
While not advocating a boycott of tourism to Fiji, it
urges consumers to look beyond the picturesque postcards to the reality
for Fijian workers.
The increasing pressure comes ahead of the relaunch of Fiji’s
national airline, Air Pacific, under a new brand, Fiji Airways, in June.
Beyond the coastal resorts and hotel compounds where holidaymakers
usually stay, the presence of poverty in the villages of Fiji is clear.
The juxtaposition between the local communities and the hotel compounds
is stark in Nadi (Fiji’s third largest city) and along the Coral Coast.
In the local communities – unlike in the hotel compounds – running
water, sewerage systems and electricity are unreliable. And the cost of
living is sky rocketing.
These communities are the face of the poverty challenge in Fiji: over
60 per cent of workers earning a wage and a salary are living below the
poverty line.
And while there are many holiday destinations in countries where
poverty is a challenge, often the governments in these countries are
working towards poverty elimination.
In Fiji, the military dictatorship that came to power following a coup in 2006 is exacerbating the problem.
Suppression
Poverty alleviation requires respect for human dignity and human rights.
Instead the regime of Commodore Frank Bainimarama has
ruled by successive decrees that have stripped citizens of their voice,
curtailed the media, restricted people’s movement, required permits for
meetings of more than three people, and enabled the military and police
to detain people without charge for up to 14 days.
When the highest court in Fiji found the coup to be illegal,
Commodore Bainimarama sacked the judges, abrogated the constitution and
appointed himself Prime Minister.
The regime also sacked an independent judiciary, sacked magistrates
that the regime itself appointed when they showed independence from the
regime, and introduced a decree that prevents any court action that
questions the validity of the regime’s power and decisions.
The regime has shown disregard for decent work – a central pillar of poverty alleviation and sustainable development.
“All the draconian decrees are there for everyone to see and there is
no running away from the fact that it blatantly violates workers’
rights and human rights”, says Fiji Trade Union Congress National
Secretary Felix Anthony.
In 2011, approximately 15,000 public sector workers were removed from
the workplace relations legislation that protected minimum conditions
of work, wages, and the right to bargain collectively.
In key private sector industries, workers were given 60 days in 2011
to renegotiate their collective agreements without union representation.
If they failed to do so, corporations could unilaterally introduce
individual contracts with revised wages and conditions.
Workers and trade unionists have been the most vocal
opposition to the regime, and as a result, unionists have borne the
brunt – harassment, intimidation and assault – of a regime trying to
suppress opposing views.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has expressed serious concern about these developments.
A high level mission was sent to investigate in late 2012 but was kicked out by the regime.
At the time, Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO, strongly
condemned the “Government’s unilateral decision which puts a greater
spotlight on the critical situation of freedom of association in Fiji”.
In a recent survey, 60 per cent of indigenous Fijians responded that
their human rights have been curtailed and suppressed since the 2006
coup.
As preparations progress for elections slated in 2014, it is timely
to remember Amartya Sen’s comments on democracy:
“Democracy is not just
majority rule. It’s also toleration – tolerance of minority views and
tolerance of criticism”.
Draft constitution
This is certainly not Commodore Bainimarama’s view of democracy.
The preparation of a draft constitution by an independent commission was thrown out by the regime. Fiji’s interim Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, in explaining
this decision said the draft did not capture the views of the majority
of people in Fiji.
The truth is that the draft constitution was prepared by an eminent
constitutional scholar after receiving over 7000 submissions. The real reason was revealed by the Attorney-General in the same
interview: the proposed constitution would challenge existing decrees
and undermine the immunity of individuals involved in the 2006 coup.
So instead of a new constitution that gives the Fijian
people a voice in reviewing decrees inconsistent with internationally
recognised human rights that were unilaterally introduced and
challenging immunity to coup perpetrators, the regime has now prepared
its own constitution.
It upholds immunity for human rights abusers while failing to uphold human rights.
The regime has also introduced a decree on political parties that
breaches basic principles on freedom of association. So it is becoming
increasingly clear that elections, if they happen at all, won’t be free
and fair.
New campaign
What to do in a situation where a regime won’t get serious on human and workers’ rights?
This week Equal Times is launching a new global online campaign to call on Fiji to respect workers’ rights.
People from around the world can take part in “Destination Fiji: a vacation from workers’ rights” by sending an email to their country’s foreign minister calling for Fiji to restore human rights and genuine democracy.
The online campaign will continue until a day of action by Australian
unions on 8 June, which is the date of the first scheduled flight of
the new Fiji Airways (currently known as Air Pacific) to Sydney.
“It’s time to turn up the heat on the Bainimarama regime,” says ACTU President Ged Kearney.
“Next year’s elections are rapidly becoming a farce, while the
repression of workers’ rights is steadily worsening. International
pressure must be brought to bear on the regime to bring its practices
into line with human rights standards and to repeal draconian measures
that have stripped workers of their fundamental rights.
“Fiji tries to present a smiling, idyllic face to the world but the
reality for Fijian workers is far different. Potential visitors to Fiji
need to be aware of the truth.”
Fiji - where Happiness finds you
From experience with South Africa during Apartheid, and more recently
the campaigns in response to dictatorial regimes in Zimbabwe and Burma,
it is known that tourists think that it is unacceptable for people to
live in communities where human rights violations occur on a daily basis
and where there is a lack of democracy.
Perhaps it is time to rethink Fiji as a travel destination because
travelling to Fiji means a vacation from human and workers’ rights.
One Bernadette Bainimarama got to go on Daddy's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious recent jaunt to France to pick up one Airbus. Yippee !
Isa, I dread to think what the French think of him turning up on their doorstep every time there is a plane to dispense - especially with shoes that so do not match expensive pinstriped suit.
But Bernadette is not greatly blessed in the brains department.
