Croz Walsh's Blog -- New Zealand and Fiji: How Much Fairer They Could Be

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ALL THE WEEKEND READINGS
♦ Allen Lockington's column ♦ A Stock Take on Fiji October 2010 ♦ White Media, Brown Aotearoa  ♦ Fiji 'Regional Telecommunications Hub' ♦ Remittances and Island Economies ♦ Australian Parl. Sec, on Pacific Islands Affairs   ♦ Ambassador Thomson's Fiji Day Address at UN Luncheon — and the long posting on Friday


Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in Fiji. I thank Allen for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.

Did We Miss Anything?
The Commonwealth Games are progressing  well in New Delhi despite media predicitions. It is sad that the world media pounced on the negatives instead of telling the world all that was good about how the Indian government had prepared for the games. They could have shown some of the stadiums and what was in store f…

Commonwealth Gibberish
Opinion
Crosbie Walsh
I don't really know why the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group¹ needed to meet in New York to discuss Fiji over the weekend. It said little and achieved nothing. The CMAG expressed its concern about the "lack of progress made toward the restoration of civilian constitutional democracy in Fiji[and hoped Fiji would take]the necessary steps to enable the restoration of its full participation in the Commonwealth as soon as possible."

Photo: See footnote 3, below.

But Fiji has made it abundantly clear -- for over a year now -- that elections would not be held until 2014, and it has given its reasons. The most that can be hoped for is the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations, increased civilian involvement in government and more dialogue, with political dialogue starting before 2012. Why didn't CMAG push for this approach?

The CMAG "reaffirmed their solidarity with the people of Fiji." They said they were ready …

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See new QUOTE FOR THE WEEK in right sidebar.  Also new link to Fijianatimes.  

DON'T LISTEN TO RUMOURS. "Don't listen to rumours. They are dangerous."   This was the slogan heard on Singapore radio and TV in the early 1960s when this small country was not yet free of racial tensions, civic unrest, and unfriendly neighbours --  a country then not too different from Fiji now.


In a weekend posting ABC journalist Bruce Hill wrote a humourous but telling article on his recent visit to Fiji where rumour abounds. He was correct in inferring that PER (The Public Emergency Regulations) leaves the field wide open for rumour.

But what he did not say, which is equally true, is that some rumour is deliberately manufactured to create political instability, j…

MORE ANONY-MOUSES. Thoughtful comments of all political persuasions are welcome on this blog unlike almost all the anti-government blogs that talk but do not practise free speech. However, despite constant reminders and appeals, some people still refuse to add their real or pseudo-name to comments. If you are one of these people and wonder why your comment has not been published, the reason is that from now on only "very good" interesting anonymous comments will be published. All other anonynous comments will be rejected. Just click the Name/URL button and write your "name."  It's as easy as that and totally confidential.
REEVES MEETS BAINIMARAMA. The Commonwealth's Special Envoy, Sir Paul Reeves, is currently in Fiji to have further meetings and met with the PM yesterday. No further information is presently available. Photo: Sir Paul (centre) at the PIPSA Conference in Auckland earlier this year. Sitiveni Ratuva, far left.

MCCULLY MET KUBUABOLA in Suva on …

BALANCED ABC VIDEO ON BAINIMARAMA . Click here. And another link in case the first one does not work.

KIWIS OUTDO AUSSIES. This from teletext last night: "Prime Minister John Key is due to arrive Vanuatu to help sort out issues in the Pacific." And I accused the Downer's Aussies of arrogance!

QU0TE FOR THE WEEK. The Alan Judd quote (yes, he is a real author) has drawn comment from several readers.  I thought it apt because several people have urged Government to give more urgency to the dialogue process, and because there are inherent dangers when leadership is restricted to so few in number.

PROGRESS BEHIND THE SCENES. Several readers have said the Government is not making fast enough progress in its constitutional and electoral reforms. More dialogue, monitoring and consultations are going on than is realized, and many activities, though mundane, are essential if the Roadmap is to be achieved. And without the Roadmap, constitutional and electoral reforms will not be sust…

LISTEN TO RADIO NZ NATIONAL AT 7:20 TONIGHT. PANEL DISCUSSION ON FIJI. http://www.radionz.co.nz/






VOICE OF REASON: TONGA WANTS DIALOGUE. In an interview with ABC's Bruce Hill acting as devil's advocate, Tongan PM Dr Feleti Sevele made these important comments:


Engaging in dialogue was the best way of genuine progress to democracy in Fiji; The Forum wants dialogue; Dialogue does not legitimise the Fiji regime; " The future of Fiji in terms of its government, in terms of its development, of its democracy, is something for the people of Fiji to resolve, not for us from outside of Fiji to determine how we would assist; We would certainly like Fiji to come back and be part of the international community or the Forum according to the governor's rules and policies of the forum."The forum wants to keep the lines of dialogue open and this is also said by Australia and New Zealand. We all believe that. If they need assistance, we should be willing to consider that. The altern…

Short Briefs
SANCTIONS OF ONE SORT OR ANOTHER
Australia not listening. Solomon Islands Foreign Minister, William Haomae, says Australia is not listening to Pacific Island countries on the timetable for talks on the proposed PACER Plus Free Trade agreement. Fiji is excluded from these talks.                                           Photo. Nick Driano.
Continued EU sanctions  a blow to sugar industry. USP Economics professor Biman Prasad says the continuation of EU sanctions is a major blow to the sugar industry. Fiji would have received some US$84m of EU aid since 2006, almost all of which has now expired leaving only US$38m available for 2010, and even that is now suspended for another six months. The aid, suspended since the Coup, was intended to improve overall efficiency and boost production at the farm level. Prof Prasad said the "the continued withholding of the aid will have a drastic impact."

It is difficult to see how crippling an already ailing major industry on which…

New Feature. Letters to the Editor.  Scroll down.
Support the Readership Drive. See left column.
(o) Bainimarama considers full withdrawal  from Commonwealth
In what can only be described as inappropriate and poorly timed diplomacy, unfortunately  too often a hallmark of the Fiji government, PM Bainimarama has said  Fiji will consider a full withdrawal from the Commonwealth if the association of countries continue to harass and meddle in attempts to move the nation forward.

This statement could usefully have been hinted at to someone like NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully. It should  not be publically mused over where those advising McCully and other foreign ministers will probably -- and wrongly --  write it off as bluff or bravado, just as 20 years ago no one thought royalist Fiji would declare itself a republic.

I have no problem with the PM's reasons, just his announcement and its timing. He's spot on in his assessment of the Commonwealth position. The organization has li…

 (+) Customs Co-operation. One area where Australia and New Zealand should co-operate with Fiji is with customs control. But Fiji's Acting Revenue and Customs Board Chairman  LtCol Pio Tikoduadua  says this is not the case.
     Tikoduadua said the Oceania Customs Organization has 23 members and as part of this Organisation, Australia and New Zealand should be more open as Fiji's stringent border control measures will also be beneficial to them.


(o) Idle Land. The Native Land Trust Board has revealed that over 3,000 land leases, given to grow sugar are now lying idle. According to the blog FijiTodaythis represents about 180,000 hectares.

NLTB General Manager the Alipate Qetaki says the sugar industry's failure to obtain the 4 million tons of cane required by the sugar mills is not due to lack of acess to land. Many leasees are old people unable to look after the land which now serves as their residence only. Qetaki says that to resolve the problem, all stakeholders such as…

The Freeze is Not Working, So What About a Thaw?
Gleeful that Australian tourism is "up 27 per cent" despite Canberra's harsh rhetoric against the regime in which he serves as Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, is urging the Rudd Government to back down on Fiji. 

"In the earlier Fiji coups they left themselves room to move. They condemned the takeovers, but they kept talking," Sayed-Khaiyum said. "Now they refuse to visit the Prime Minister and they only entertain people opposed to the regime and, like New Zealand, they fund various NGOs to be their proxies. In past coups judges were locked up and MPs were taken hostage and the governments operated by decree, but full diplomatic relations continued and there was no suspension from the South Pacific Forum. Read Paul McGeough in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Government's New Housing Plan: 1. Part of the "Roadmap"
USP Economics professor Biman Prasad has commended Government's new housing plan…

Looking Back: Speight’s psychological warfare
"Every day, the rumours were deliberately planted by Speight’s psychological warfare machine, targeted at the military as well as civilians, as a means of inciting violence, psychological control and inducing submission. These were reinforced by Speight’s daily interviews, news of burning, violence and theft and reporting of happenings in Parliament where the hostages (members of the ruling party) were still being held. The Fijian radio stations repeatedly played nationalistic speeches by nationalist leaders and sermons by Methodist church leaders ...."
If you want to know more about the racism and shady characters behind the 2000 Speight coup read  Dr Steven Ratuva's review of State of Suffering: Political Violence and Community Survival in Fiji by Auckland University anthropologist Susanna Trnka. Better still, read the book.

What a funny Commonwealth we live in
Rwanda with no prior Commonwealth connections but 800,000 genocid…

Fiji won't be "wasting time" seeking readmission to the Forum or Commonwealth, says PM, but he was sad Fiji athletes would miss out. Click FBCL - News here.

The news that the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has banned Fiji from the 2010 Games in New Delhi shows there are always several ways to interpret news events.  Here are some:

Fiji is only the second country in the history of the Games to be banned. Nigeria was the first. Fiji's misdemeanors, therefore, must be judged worse than those of all 71 member countries and territories.  Or perhaps the Commonwealth is less concerned about countries that "legally" breach human rights so long as they hold elections however fake the results. Or perhaps it's just a question of size and influence in which Fiji has no chance against the advocacy of Australia and New Zealand. Or perhaps earlier actions -- by Australia, NZ, the Forum countries, PACER, the Commonwealth Heads of Government, the EU, aided by their respective media -- had done such a good hatchet job isolating Fiji that the CGF decision was a "given" even before it met. Who knows?


Twist in the Tale
But th…

Minor revisions, 28.9.09
It's not been a good last few days for Fiji internationally. PM Bainimarama called on the UN General Assembly for "patience and understanding" but it is doubtful any of the powers that count took any notice. That's what happens to little players on the international stage. He expressed disappointment that Fiji troops had been barred from new UN peacekeeping operations, despite its long "proud record" since 1978.

There was no doubt who he was referring to when he said, “Our people pose no threat to anyone, least of all to the big powers of the South Pacific who have abrogated to themselves the right to dictate to us our future and the way we govern ourselves. In all of this, they have used their extensive diplomatic and financial resources to deny Fiji to participate in new peacekeeping operations."

Not for the first time he said overseas critics had little understanding of the Fiji situation. They still seem "largely unaw…

Commonwealth may help but Australia and New Zealand seem to have lost the plot

RajendraPrasad* writing in IndianNewsLinkquestions the Commonwealth's suspension of Fiji ("when many of its members are fake democracies where the elites throttle the freedom and rights of their people with reckless disregard for upholding the democratic ideals") but he thinks the Commonwealth has the resources and expertise to help Fiji in restructuring its democracy but first it must more fully understand the situation. The process must not be rushed, as it is vital that people clearly understand the intents and motives for the changes.

Second, it must work on the premise that a new Constitution needs to be formulated and, in so doing, it must accept that a new approach is needed because the previous Constitutions had basic flaws that contributed to Fiji's ongoing political instability.

Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and China

While the Commonwealth seems to be playing a vigorous …

Coupfourpointfive has a useful summary of what Sir Paul said of his Fiji trip after his return to New Zealand.

Comments by the editor of the NZ National Business Review.
NBR Editor's INSIGHT 3/9/2009

The Fiji Labour Party website reveals something of Mahendra Chaudhry's thinking. He sees Fiji's Commonwealth expulsion as regrettable (but is heartened it will remain engaged in seeking an early return to constitutional rule); largely symbolic (because little technical aid is involved, although Fiji's young people will miss out on the Delhi Games) -- but it does send a "clear message" to Bainimarama to reconvene the President’s Political Dialogue Forum and hold elections by October next year.

In awaiting the arrival of the Commonwealth special representative, Sir Paul Reeves, this week, Chaudhry lists the things the Government needs to do: include the SDL and FLP in discussions; reconvene the PPDF; and re-examine its roadmap.

He has no list of the things his party (and the SDL) need to do. Which is a pity because positive FLP (and SDL) roadmaps just might produce a positive Bainimarama response. The FLP and the SDL need to spell out what they have learnt from t…

We had to rely on FijiLive and FijiVillage for this Government release. The same Fiji Times that almost joyously announced Fiji's suspension from the Commonwealth, and so values media freedom, has reverted to its earlier mode of not reporting any Government statement in protest against the Emergency Regulations that censor media releases.

Under the heading C'wealth Can Help Us Break Free FijiLive reports a government spokesman saying Government "believes the Commonwealth can partner with Fiji to resolve its long standing systemic and structural challenges [and help] correct longstanding injustices, inequalities and corruption.”

The spokesman said elections alone will not resolve these problems: democracy must be contextualised within Fijian experience and history. He said Government is looking forward to meeting the team led by Sir Paul Reeves, the special representative of Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, who will be in Fiji next week.

Unfortunate. Inevitable. Sad. Fiji is fully suspended from the Commonwealth.

This outcome was obvious months ago. Ever since the Commonwealth followed the Forum's lead on insisting on conditions that would not --and could not -- be met if Fiji were to carry out the reforms chartered by the Bainimarama government before elections were held.


One can, of course, see where the Forum and Commonwealth are coming from. They had to react to what they saw as an illegitimate regime imposed by the military. The pity is they could not also see that the regime that was deposed was far from democratic, even though it had the support of most ethnic Fijians. And that the only way to break the cycle of coups, and establish a just and more genuine democracy, was to remove race as the inflammatory accelerant from Fiji politics once and for all. The party leaders, Qarase and Chaudhry, the Commonwealth insist Bainimarama include in dialogue do not want this. Race-based parties and electorates guarante…