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

When the raging rhino shoves aside Australia and NZ Zealand to woo China and its own Melanesian brothers Thakur Ranjit Singh
As the aroma of the authentic Fijian lovo (hangi) pig and the sumptuous spicy chicken curry cooked in Indo-Fijian style drifted from the lavishly laid buffet table, the tang of delicious Fijian kokoda (raw fish in coconut milk and lemon) simultaneously hit the olfactory nerves. This made it difficult for the Pacific delegates to choose what to eat. However, there was no such dilemma when it came to show support for Fiji and Bainimarama’s path for the nation.

Time to Rethink When 'Bad Guy' is King of Pacific
By Graham Davis* Source: The Australian/PacNews
Australia’s impotence in influencing events in its own back yard is being demonstrated in dramatic fashion this week as Fijian leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama fulfils his long-held ambition to assume the chairmanship of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

All the other Melanesian leaders - from Papua New Guinea, the Solomons, Vanuatu plus the Kanak FLNKS from New Caledonia - are joining him for the group's summit in Suva tomorrow. It's also being attended by representatives from Indonesia, East Timor and - strangely - the European Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The humiliation for Australia and New Zealand comes with the authority Bainimarama will now wield as the leader of a virile regional grouping - backed by the Chinese - that's increasingly regarded as more important than the long-established Pacific Islands Forum.

N0287. CALLS FOR POLICY CHANGE MOUNTING.  In the last few days we've had Australian Foreign Minister Rudd saying that Australia will not change its approach to Fiji; NZ Foreign Minister McCully wave the carrot of Rugby World Cup attendance if Fiji showed it was serious about elections in 2014; and three Melanesian countries accept Fiji's Roadmap and call for  its re-entry into the Pacific Forum and PACER discussions (see N0290, below).

Now we have Julie Bishop, the Australian Opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs, saying Australia's policy of exclusion is not working, and that it should follow the example of the United States and other European countries and review its policies.

'I believe it's time, she said, 'for the Australian government to review its stance on Fiji, particularly time to assess  whether the sanctions imposed on Fiji are working or whether they are potentially counter-productive. We must  consider the impact of the sanctions on the Fijia…

N0275. AUSTRALIA- NZ, WHO'S LEADING WHO?  Hard on the heels of Kevin Rudd's statement that showed there was no change in the Australian government's position on Fiji (that is now even drawing criticism from former supporters such as Jenny Hayward-Jones of the Lowy Institute) comes NZ Foreign Minister McCully's statement that NZ would relax its travel bans against Fiji if the Bainimarama government would give a firm commitment to hold elections in 2014.

It is hard to know whether to take this remark seriously because Fiji has repeatedly said there will be elections in 2014. Their Roadmap, as readers will know because it has been stated often enough on this blog, set 2009-11 aside for physical and institutional infrastructure reforms, followed by constitutional reforms in 2012, electoral reforms in 2013, and elections in 2014, probably in September.

This is the Roadmap that was spelt out to Melanesian leaders at the "Engaging the Pacific" meeting at Natadola la…

N0274. Two Australian Australian journalists, Graham Davis and Peter Hiscock, comment on their Grubsheet blog about Australia-Fiji-Pacific relations, and how Australia  is missing out in the Pacific.     Click here to the Grubsheet site.

By Jenny Hayward-Jones Director of The Myer Foundation Melanesia Program at the Lowy Institute.  In The Australian, 22 March, 2011.The article first appeared on the blog www.lowyinterpreter.org  N0264.
While Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has been busy pursuing Australian foreign policy interests in North Africa and managing the consular response to the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, he is unlikely to have had time to keep an eye on the neighbourhood.

This is probably not helping to counter perceptions of gradual erosion of Australian diplomatic influence in the Pacific Islands region (despite very generous aid spending and a successfulhosting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns in August 2009). Even US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has found time to worry about the Pacific in the past month.

WEEKEND READING ♦ Allen Lockington Column  ♦ People's Charter  Pillar 4 Public Service Efficiency: for Discussion   ♦ Father Arms Corrects Me on the Charter's Proposed Voting System 
♦ Kevin Rudd Takes His Eye off Pacific Islands

I had hoped to publish " Two Viewpoints on the Alleged Torture of Detainees"   but this will now be deferred for two weeks due to  the Amnesty International NZ CEO being temporarily unavailable.

Photo: A comment on last year's Engaging the Pacific meeting that was held when the MSG meeting was cancelled by then Vanuatu PM Edward Natapei, some say due to Australian pressure.

N0258. SNIPING FROM THE SIDELINES. The  Melanesian Spearhead Group is meeting in Suva this week and next. Last year's meeting was abandoned because the then MSG chairman, Vanuatu PM Edward Natapei, refused to hand over his chairmanship to Fiji whose turn it was to host the meeting. Natapei denies he was influenced by Australia and NZ in his decision. This year, no lo…

N253. CHARTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE.  The 9th meeting of the National People’s Charter Advisory Council met on Wednesday to finalise its report on the implementation of the People’s Charter for Change, Peace and Progress that will be presented to the PM.

Council chairman Josefa Serulagilagi  said the meeting was a time for council members to relook at the work and critical areas of concern for the eleven pillars of the charter.

“We have been going through the progress that has come through on the eleven  pillars of the charter, how they have been implemented by government ministries and statutory organisations,” he said. “As far as we are concerned I think things are going well in terms of the various ministries’ roles.

“Some areas we are looking at [are the] constitution and electoral reforms among other issues ... that must be carried out within a time frame and so that everything is in place [for elections in] 2014.”

The committee has 15 members who were appointed by the President in…

Scroll down to Weekend Reading and see new Quote for the Week and a link to  the latest CCF newsletter in the right sidebar
N0236. TRAVEL BANS, RUGBY SEVENS AND NETBALL. Three members of Fiji Rugby Sevens team are unlikely to obtain visas to take part in the Adelaide Sevens  because they are in the army, and four members of the Fiji Netball team are still waiting for news on their visa applications.  The PM said if Fiji cannot send its best team, it shouldn't send a team at all. His comment follows the Fiji Rugby Union saying it will probably drop its top players after the Hong Kong 7s next weekend because the three are unlikely to get visas to go to the Adelaide tournament. The PM said the FRU  should stop playing politics and fight for the right to send the best team to the IRB-approved tournaments.

In this writer's opinion, if Australia and NZ insist on maintaining the travel bans,they should be targeted at those at the top end of the Fiji government and military se…

NEW ZEALAND SPYING — SO WHAT?  Among the thousands of Wikileaks revelations comes the story that NZ was spying on Fiji in 2000 and 2006 and had the capacity to listen in to cell phone conversations. I wouldn't be too surprised or concerned because I suspect most countries engage in such spying. It makes sense to use all available technology to better inform your diplomacy.  My larger concern is with NZ's misinformed diplomacy.

In Suva the PM seemed not at all surprised and PermSec Information Sharon Smith John  said they knew along along. NZ spying was no surprise says they knew all along. It was only NZ that was denying it.

She said Fiji has nothing to hide and New Zealand could go on listening if they want. “Let them listen to what the government has to say...We know where the Roadmap is taking us.We know of elections in 2014. We know when the constitution will come into place. We talk about this openly so let the NZ government spy on us and pass that information onto Amer…

PIGS WITH TUSKS. Newly elected Vanuatu PM, Sato Kilman,  left for Honiara earlier today for the meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. He was  accompanied by Foreign Minister, Georges Wells, the chairman of national Council of Chiefs, Gratien Alget, and six paramount chiefs representing six provincial governments. Chief Alget and the six custom chiefs will perform a custom ceremony tomorrow to reconcile Vanuatu with Fiji, donating pigs with tusks, mats, kava and food. The  meeting should see Vanuatu hand over the MSG chairmanship to Solomon Islands for it to pass it to Fiji. Photo: a custom chief. skardu.net.

MCGANN AGAIN. There seems to be some confusion about the US Ambassador's recent location and his present status in Fiji.  The Fiji media reported that he had be called in to see Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola but a reader said he was already in Washington.  Then we had a statement from the Ambassador (presumable from Washington) saying that he was updating people th…

NEW QUOTE FOR THE WEEK in right sidebar.
WHAT I BELIEVE ON FIJI. I have updated my position vis-a-vis the Bainimarama Goverment. Click on the AIMS-PRINCIPLES tab above.

ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY. Last week those who knew about it celebrated International Anti-Corruption Day.  In Fiji, the anti-corruption watchdog Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) organized an event in Sukuna Park where FICAC’s deputy commissioner, Mr George Langman appealed for everyone's help: “The task of eradicating corruption cannot be done alone by FICAC. Though we have been mandated to carry out this task, we need your support and co-operation.”

He said FICAC fights corruption in two ways: by investigations and prosecutions, and by what he described as "aggressive awareness campaigns." The toll free mobile line has been one effective tool made available to the public. We have taken people to court within 48 hours of receiving a call through a toll-free line.”

So far 41 cases have been …

THE PACIFIC MEDIA CENTRE has a new website. http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/ Check it out.

THE US VISA REFUSALS. The US Suva Embassy has clarified this issue.  The visas were not exactly refused; they needed a longer application time. The Embassy said names of key supporters of the coup are  on the Department of State visa watch list, and those on the list have to be cleared by Washington, a process that could take three weeks. There can be no complaint about this. It is the right of all sovereign nations to determine who is allowed to enter — or stay — in their country.  One might have hoped for a better outcome, given Hillary Clinton's promising overtures, but it was not to be.

Some readers have misunderstood my position. I was disappointment with the "decision" but my main concern was the effective denial of access to the United Nations.  The Embassy also addressed this question, saying that "while the US takes seriously its obligations under the UN Charter to facilitat…

 WEEKEND READING (published 8:40 — 9:00 am Saturday
♦  Allen Lockington column
♦  Fr Barr on Productivity and Stability
♦  Peter Gleick on Fiji Water
♦  Fire at Fiji Museum by Roderick Ewins
NATAPEI OUT. Vanuatu PM Edward Natapei  has been ousted from office in a 30:15 no confidence motion. Former Deputy Prime Minister, Sato Kilman has been sworn in as Prime Minister.

The move happened while Mr Natapei was out of the country, on his way to Cancun for the UN Climate Change Conference, and was driven by unhappiness over his push to have five opposition MP's suspended from the house, and also over his refusal to hand over the rotating chairmanship of the Melanesian Spearhead Group to Fiji, many said because of Australian pressure.

Mr Natapei was to officially apologize to Fiji for this action in a reconciliation ceremony in Honiara next week.  Mr Kilman will now presumably perform this task for him

ELECTION DATE REAFFIRMED. The Strategic Framework for Coordinating Change spokesman Ed…

FIJI WATER. Here are two links to its Australian coverage in The Australian: One and Two.

The NZHerald reported that "Fiji Water is part of a group of food and beverage companies, and is owned by two Southern California billionaires, Lynda and Stewart Resnick (photo). Court documents submitted by the company in 2008 showed that Fiji Water was owned by an entity in Luxembourg, a tax haven, and recent Swiss financial records showed Mr and Mrs Resnick transferred Fiji Water assets to companies in Switzerland." Read the  full article.

FijiVillage asks Fiji Water how many bottles.

And here's a link to the American website  MotherJones. The posting attracted lots of comments. Check them out.

DEVIOUS COUPFOURPOINTFIVE. First, you told us the army was on the way to Yaqara Note 1, below), and when this information was shown to be incorrect, your "army" transmutes into a security firm comprising, like most other security firms in Fiji, former soldiers.(Note 2, below).…

MSG APOLOGY AND FIJI-SOLOMON CO-OPERATION. Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) special envoy, Patterson Oti, met with  Foreign Affairs Minister, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, yesterday to discuss the reconciliation ceremony scheduled for December 15 to 17 in Honiara. The ceremony is for Vanuatu Prime Minister, Mr Edward Natapei to offer his apology to Fiji. Mr Natapei, who was the MSG chairman, refused to attend July's MSG summit in Fiji where he was to hand over the chairmanship position to Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama. This led to the cancellation of the summit.

Mr Oti's delegation  also met with the Attorney General and Minister for Industry and Trade Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum for discussions on cooperation and collaboration on trade and investment, and Fiji's Commerce Commission, the Consumer Council and labour laws.

WOMEN SAY NO TO VIOLENCE. More than 400 women will march to the Suva City Council foreshore today to mark the official launching of the 16 Days of Activism …

See new QUOTE FOR THE WEEK in the right sidebar, and scroll down to the Weekend Readings you may have missed.  Notice also the new blog description above and the new countdown to election facility in the lift sidebar. 

Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,  And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum.
COMING BACK TO BITE THEM. Remember the Michael Field story a few weeks back? Unrest brewing in Fiji. Esala Teleni and Pita Driti "dumped" and "sent on indefinite leave." Tevita Mara "removed" as commander of the 3rd Fiji Infantry Regiment "amid wild rumours of further action." Well, Driti and Mara are back from leave and Teleni has been appointed Fiji's next amabassador to China. The latest is from Victor Lal on CoupFourPointFive. Reserve Bank Governor Sada Reddy has been stood down.

"According to highly reliable sources inside the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Reddy had allegedly transferred thousands of dollars …

A review of Australian-Fiji relations which concludes:


The government of Fiji must be given the time to develop, implement and evaluate its political, social and economic policies using evidence-based methodologies. However, it should ensure that its strategies and processes are transparent and inclusive and past initiatives are fully audited and outcomes clearly measured against strict performance guidelines. While time and space should be given to the Fiji government to implement its reforms, there has to be evidence that reasonable steps are being taken to return Fiji to civilian rule in the future. The international community should understand that rushing into an election without establishing sound constitutional, institutional and electoral systems can lead to further political breakdown and military coups. Therefore, it is important that Australia work with the Fiji government in ensuring that preconditions for a return to civilian rule are fully embed…

NOTICES.  1) Reminder: Anonymous comments will not be published. 2) Fiji Daylight Savings started yesterday. 3) Check out the Weekend Readings and comments. 4) Tomorrow posting: Driti on leave?


JAPAN READY TO ASSIST. Japan's willingness to assist with the electoral and other reforms could herald a major improvement in its recognition of the ongoing developments that will lead to elections in 2014. The offer was made by Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara during discussions with his counterpart Ratu Inoke Kubuabola last week.

Mr Maehara emphasised the importance of the election date and urged Fiji to try to engage the international community in its reform process. Other bilateral relations issued discussed were Japanese Official Development  Assistance (ODA), trade and investment relations, and the possibility of Pacific Environment Community (PEC) Funds being managed through the Japanese Embassy in Suva. Japan will discuss this possible arraangement with the Pacific Islands Fo…