There’s something distinctly perverse about Australia and New Zealand maintaining their so-called smart sanctions against Fiji when their personnel are taking part in the registration of voters for the promised elections in 2014. Two electoral experts – one from each country – have joined the team that’s about to sweep through Fiji, updating the electoral roll by electronic means that are said to be tamper proof. This surely implies an acceptance in Canberra and Wellington – however qualified – that the Fiji Government is proceeding with the elections. It also implies a belief – however qualified – that democracy in Fiji is in the process of being restored. Yet the official policy of both countries remains the diplomatic isolation of Fiji and travel bans on those associated with the regime to force it to an immediate poll. As the calendar rolls over, an election “now’ or one in 28 month’s time is fast becoming a moot point. And Australian and NZ policy looks increasingly frayed and unjustified.
It’s especially so when their dominant partner in ANZUS – the United States – has chosen to reengage with Fiji, resuming high level contact across a broad front. Now that the Aussies and Kiwis have pried open the door with their decision to assist in the electoral reform process, some tough questions are being asked about the consistency of their overall approach. How credible is it to engage with Fiji at one level but refuse to do so on others? How credible is it to assist with one hand and punish with the other? Because however much it might make sense to the bureaucrats and their political masters in Canberra and Wellington, it makes little sense to anyone else, including their American allies. US officials may not say so publicly out of deference to their ANZUS partners but certainly express private dismay that Canberra and Wellington have so readily allowed access to Fiji for their Chinese rivals.
However much they speak of Fiji “not yet doing enough to be rewarded”, there can only be one plausible explanation for Aussie and Kiwi intransigence – political and diplomatic loss of face that the sanctions haven’t brought Fiji to heel. Bainimarama is proceeding with the timetable he announced all along – a national poll based on equal votes of equal value some time before September 2014. Yes, pure democracy in Fiji for the first time instead of the racially-weighted version that existed before Bainimarama’s 2006 coup and that Australia and NZ implicitly supported.
Oh dear, goes the thinking among the bureaucrats and their political masters in Canberra and Wellington. How do we adjust to the fact that the clocking is ticking away, an election is now only 28 months away and there’s ample evidence that Frank Bainimarama intends to keep his promise? Mmm. We can’t just back off, lift the sanctions and eat humble pie. What would that do to our regional and global standing – a tin-pot Pacific dictator making us look both stupid and impotent? Mmm. OK, here’s a plan. Let’s maintain the sanctions but start re-engaging in a minor way that might make any election fairer but doesn’t imply approval of the way in which it was brought about. How does that sound? Mmm. Yes Minister. Of course, Minister.
No-one doubts the importance of Australia and NZ providing experts to assist in the voter registration program. It makes it much less likely that the regime’s opponents and the international community will be able to question the credibility of any election when it’s held. Yet the paradox is that while they are now working to ensure that the 2014 election is seen to be free and fair, Australia and NZ continue – through their travel bans – to degrade the quality of governance in Fiji.
No Fijian or foreigner who wants to retain access to either country can take up employment with the Fiji government or any of its statutory authorities. The bans have undoubtedly deprived Fiji of hundreds of potential recruits – among them, the country’s brightest minds – who need to visit Australia and NZ for family or business reasons or simply don’t want to be isolated from the region’s brightest lights. Those who take up board positions are similarly disadvantaged and the bans even apply to members of the judiciary. It’s led to an acute shortage of magistrates and judges in a willful betrayal of the principle of access to justice for all.
It is petty and unconscionable, not least because better governance – the constant development catch-cry in the Pacific – is being sacrificed in Fiji and for what? To save face in the corridors of “power” in Canberra and Wellington. The decision to engage in the electoral reform process is a welcome crack in the granite-hard façade. But just as Clayton’s Tonic is the drink you have instead of a real drink, Australia and NZ are engaged in a Clayton’s re-engagement with Fiji – the engagement you have when a full engagement is just too hard to swallow because it also involves having to swallow some pride.
This article has subsequently appeared in the Fiji Sun and the blog of the influential NZ academic commentator, Crosbie Walsh.
Graham,
After reading this may be its time we just watch ” yes Prime Minister ” !! for a good laugh
Australia and New Zealand are being wholly consistent. They have said all along they will not engage with a dictator but they would help Fiji in setting up the processes needed to return the country to democracy. They have been saying that ever since the dictator stepped on the scene in 2006.
You talk about the rift between Australia and the USA. So pray tell us what exactly what form the USA’s high level engagement has taken and in what way the USA has changed its policy towards Fiji.
ANZ are waiting to see real reforms happening in Fiji before they support Bainimarama. Even Yash Ghai believes freedom of speech is limited and the current decrees must be repealed before the Constitution Consultations. So as ANZ have said all along when the Bainimarama starts to govern more along the lines of Bainimarama’s beloved Peoples Charter and less like a totalitarian state they will ease sanctions.
You yourself believe Bainimarama will become PM after the elections. To date he uses the state to support his view and crush other’s points of view. If the best people in Fiji join this Government what safeguards do the people have that Bainimarama will not use them to help his own election.
ANZ are being totally consistent and principled. They should be congratulated for not dealing with a dictator even if it is in their own interests to do so. It is unusual to see principle at work in this modern day but as a citizen of Fiji I welcome it.
Not Bananas, interesting name you’ve chosen for yourself but the reverse is true, judging from your line of argument. Your intellectual bunch is definitely short a couple of fingers as you parrot the same, tired old line pushed by the Australians and New Zealanders to justify the unjustifiable.
It is an indisputable fact that for the United States, the containment of China and the maintenance of the western alliance’s strategic position in the region is the overriding concern. Talk privately to any American official of stature and they will confirm this, as well as expressing concern about the way they regard Australia and NZ as having badly mishandled the situation in Fiji.
The United States is engaging with Fiji at the highest level – in stark contrast with Australia and NZ – in a dramatic change of policy since the arrival of ambassador Frankie Reed, who was the State Department’s most senior Pacific specialist. Capacity building exercises have been initiated in several keys areas of government and the US is actively helping Fiji return to democracy in a range of practical ways, including the provision of funding.
I understand that President Barack Obama specifically told Australia’s prime minister, Julia Gillard and former foreign minister, Kevin Rudd, that Australian policy was wrong when he visited Canberra last November. That message has since been repeated to Australian leaders on several occasions.
Even if you remain blind to the reality of this, the United States has no travel bans against Fiji citizens in place and Frank Bainimarama received an open visa to visit the country last year. Can you tell me why America hasn’t seen the brilliance of Australian and NZ policy and followed suit? “Yes, we have no bananas”, as the old song goes.
How does it help any country to degrade the standard of its governance in the way that Australia and NZ have in Fiji? In any event, the proof of the folly of the “less than smart” smart sanctions is that they have not produced the outcome originally envisaged. They have failed.
Yes, I personally believe Bainimarama will go on to win a democratic election in Fiji because the majority of country will appreciate his efforts to smash the racial divide, stamp out corruption and provide basic services to ordinary Fijians. They will recognise that he has done this despite Australia and NZ, not because of them.
The risk for both countries is that at the end of this process, not only will their policies have failed but they will have no influence in the direction of the country whatsoever. America – befitting its status as the word’s greatest democracy – realises that the real democracy Bainimarama is working to institute of one vote one value will be a far better democracy that the racially based sham Fiji had before.
Let me get this straight, the US policy on Fiji is governed not by what is happening in Fiji but what China are up to in the region. I am sure you are right on this but it hardly shows an acceptance of the regime, if the reason they are making this change in policy is to further their foreign policy objectives in other areas.
However, Please give me examples and not just words of “The United States is engaging with Fiji at the highest level”. We know Frankie met Frank but they did not talk of anything of substantive value according to your interview with Bainimarama. What other high level engagements have there been, what funding has the US given to the regime?
As for the travel bans as we both agree USA policy is not governed by principle but their fear of increasing Chinese influence in the region. Bainimarama got a visa last year are you sure he will get it this year?
I agree with you sanctions do not work. Just look at North Korea, Iran, Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe. The regimes carry on regardless. However, when military intervention is not an option they remain one of the very few weapons in the diplomatic arsenal. You miss the point of Smart Sanctions. No one ever thought they would bring the regime down but they do put pressure on the dictator and his cronies, they do make people stop and think about giving their support to a dictator.
You may be right about Bainimarama winning the election. However, we have seen him abuse his power so often in the past 6 years anything that reduces his power in the run up to elections is a good thing in my opinion. When you have a leader who does not have any checks and balances you do not end up with democracy you end up with Tyranny.
Your closing paragraph is at odds with your assertion that the USA is changing its policy on Fiji because of China’s increasing influence. I also challenge you to give me one example of where the USA has said “America – befitting its status as the world’s greatest democracy – realises that the real democracy Bainimarama is working to institute of one vote one value will be a far better democracy that the racially based sham Fiji had before.”
“Not Bananas”, now that you’re playing interviewer:
Unlike Australia and NZ, the US has full diplomatic relations and day-to-day high level contact with the Fiji Government while specifically obliged by American law to impose certain sanctions on any country that has a coup. Here’s the relevant provision:
“Under Section 7008 of the U.S. Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, when a country undergoes a military coup, the United States government is required by law to take action and review its assistance programs directed to that country to determine which remain relevant to U.S. policy, and which should be suspended. The United States is restricted from providing aid such as foreign military financing, International Military Education and Training grants, peacekeeping operations, and military aid that falls under Section 1206 of the of the 2006 Defense Authorization law. U.S. law stipulates that “until and unless the president and … the secretary of state is able to determine that there is a democratically-elected government in place, these funds and these programs will be suspended.”
Notwithstanding this, the United States continues to support the presence of the Fiji military in UN peacekeeping operations around the world. It specifically derailed an attempt by Australia to have the use of those forces discontinued.
Among a range of initiatives, FBI agents have been involved in the training of local police in Fiji and the US is also providing Fiji with the following assistance, according to the US embassy in Suva:
Workshop on Human Trafficking. Embassy staff gave a presentation designed to increase awareness of human trafficking. Police, Department of Public Prosecutions, NGOs and the President were in attendance.
A Disaster Preparedness Workshop by the Centre of Excellence for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (COE). Participants in the exercise include officials from the civil service, security forces, NGOs and other local and regional organizations. Experts from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii and the U.S. Coast Guard also assisted with the workshop. Presentations on U.S. policies on Human Trafficking.
SAR conference in Hawaii, sponsored by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Two Fijian Navy Lieutenant Commanders attended this conference. Its focus was cruise ship safety, a subject of particular interest to SPC as well as the region, due to the sudden increase in large cruise ships in the region.
Trans-Pacific symposium on illicit networks, sponsored by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Two Fijian law enforcement officials attended this symposium.
The Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) West has offered a number of training courses for Fiji law enforcement officials.
US Patents and Trademarks Office has funded two prosecutors and in is in the process of funding another to attend training on intellectual property.
Exploring ways to help develop an independent judiciary taking into account the differences in jurisprudence.
Expanded the number of Fiji citizens sent on exchange programs to the United States and Master-level scholarship programs.
Facilitated the participation of senior Fiji officials at the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies (APCSS) courses.
The United States has also indicated its willingness to provide financial assistance to help Fiji return to democratic rule.
Graham,
I can’t see how the US position is substantively different to ANZ. It certainly is not this big rift that you keep talking about.
1- what do you mean by “day-to-day high level contact with the Fiji Government” Can you give me an example. It sounds good but I have seen no evidence of this occurring.
2- The US does support Fiji’s involvement in the UN. But I feel it has more to do with expediency rather than support for the dictatorial regime in Fiji. Perhaps you can give an example of where the US government has combined both support for the regime and the deployment of Fiji soldiers.
3- Australian Federal Police has regular training sessions with the Fiji police. The CID has 2 workshops a year at the Naviti hosted by the Australian Police. In addition Policeman of all ranks, except Commissioner, are welcome in Australia and a number are sent there for training every year.
4- I can’t give you a list as you have given me because I cannot just call the Ministry of Information. However, the Australians regularly send personnel to Fiji to help train DISMAC. I think you should also note Australia has sent over $4m in relief supplies so far this year. AUSAID is also the single biggest donor to Fiji and give somewhere between 20-50 times more than the USA. They have a very strong commitment to Fiji just not to the dictator and his cronies.
5- Australia has also indicated a willingness to help Fiji return to democracy. They offered to pay for the Voter Registration programme. To date the USA has not given one cent to the Bainimarama regime, they are in talks about funding the Constitution Consultations but like most countries they need to see a relaxing of the human rights infringements before they will do so.
It seems to me The US involvement with Fiji is similar to Australia’s. The only difference is no US ambassador has been made Persona Non Grata by Fiji whereas Australia have lost 2 and so are unable to have full diplomatic relations with Fiji. I know ANZ diplomats will not meet with Bainimarama. However, they do meet with the Ministers, including Foreign Affairs, and the President.
Australia has said all along they will not help the regime but they will help restore Fiji to democracy. They are continuing with that policy and as a Fijian I believe it is the right policy towards my country. It may not be in the best interests of Australia or the US, but thank goodness there is principle at stake here and they will not deal with a military dictator.
In all that you write I am trying to see anywhere the evidence that shows “America realizes that the real democracy Bainimarama is working to institute of one vote one value will be a far better democracy that the racially based sham Fiji had before.”
You may have no bananas, “No Bananas”, but you certainly have ample stocks of pedantry.
Certain Americans in Suva – who I can’t name – have confirmed everything I’ve asserted in this piece, including the demonstrably self evident proposition that one vote, one value is a purer form of democracy than the racially skewed model that existed before.
It is simply incontestable that the American relationship with Fiji is better than its relationship with Australia and NZ. New Zealand has a limited form of engagement with the regime, such as informal contact between their foreign ministers, but people in the highest levels of government tell me that their relationship with Australia is virtually non existent.
Yes, Australia continues to be the biggest donor of aid to Fiji but that does nothing to alter another incontestable fact – that Australia has no influence whatsoever with the regime and consequently no influence on the country’s direction. There’s also a level of anger towards Australia that I personally find startling and is bound to affect the relationship long after democracy is restored. Now, you may think that’s a good thing but I don’t.
You cannot pretend to be the region’s dominant power – as Australia’s does – and have no influence with those who govern a country the size and influence of Fiji. And losing that influence is patently not in the collective best interests of the ANZUS partners. That’s the American view – confirmed to me by several independent sources apart from my own – and there’s no getting around it.
There are certain Americans who were part of the previous order in Suva under Ambassador Steve McGann who supported a tougher stance against the regime but that has been swept away. Ever since Frankie Reed came from Washington, there’s been a dramatic change of direction towards active and friendly engagement and assistance. Yes, undoubtedly the dominant driving force is concern about the increased China presence in Fiji and the region. But it’s also governed by acceptance that democracy is being restored and that pursuing a hardline policy is no longer in the best interests of anyone.
Australia still doesn’t accept this. But it’s pretty clear from recent comments by the Australian foreign minister, Bob Carr, that much of Australian policy is being driven by pressure on the Labour Government by the trade union movement – to which it owes its existence – not to let up on the regime while it targets certain union leaders in Fiji. Again, you may think that’s a proper approach but I don’t. It’s allowing one facet of the relationship – however significant- to dominate the entire relationship and one issue to eclipse others that are infinitely more important.
So we are expected to believe you when you say “Certain Americans in Suva – who I can’t name – have confirmed everything I’ve asserted in this piece” On the other hand when a fellow commenter can’t provide names for his and their personal safety you write “You say you have evidence but can’t provide it for reasons of personal safety and I just have to take your word for it”. Yeah, right. I might be stupid but I’m not that stupid.” Another fine example of Grubsheet’s double Standards.
I agree with you when you say “the demonstrably self evident proposition that one vote, one value is a purer form of democracy than the racially skewed model that existed before.” And I am sure your nameless Americans feel the same. However, in my conversations with nameless Americans I have never heard them voice with any confidence that this is what we will get under Bainimarama. They expect Bainimarama to be in a position of power after September 2014 whether he wins or loses the election.
They have very strong reservations about how all will be conducted. They have yet to confirm their contribution to the Constitution Consultations because they are waiting to see how the dictator and Khaiyum the Minister of Everything reacts to Yash Ghai’s request to allow more more freedoms and to remove the Public Order Amendment Decree, relax some of the clauses of the Media decree and to remove altogether the new decree allowing Parliamentary Privilege to the non elected cabinet.
In appearance the US Fiji relationship is better than the Australian Fiji One. But in reality and in deed it is virtually identical. In fact the US is probably more hardline when it comes to money. Australia has actually offered money to help the electoral process, albeit it was turned down by Khaiyum, whereas the US is playing a wait and see game.
When a regime goes rogue the powers that be have a choice to make. Do we engage with a military dictator and keep some influence or do we take a principled stand and have no dealings with them whatsoever. ANZUS decided to take the latter course and now the US are concerned about Chinese influence in the region. But tell me what Influence does the US have with rogue states around the world. Does it influence policy in Cuba? (Cuba is about 10 times closer to the US than Fiji is to Australia) It has made a decision not to deal with Cuba because in its view it is a pariah state.
You can criticize ANZ all you like but they have taken a stand not to work with a dictator and they are sticking to it. They are quite rightly happy to support that dictatorship turn into a democracy. There will not be travel bans imposed on people working for the elections office and other bodies involved in the Constitution consultations and the election process. But I applaud them for keeping the travel bans on people working directly for a military dictatorship.
“Not bananas”, there’s a big difference in me protecting the sources of my information – as I’m obliged to do – and what occurred in the instance you cite – alleging certain things but refusing to provide the evidence. You are as irritatingly disingenuous as you are frustratingly anonymous.
If your American contacts are better in your own mind than mine, fine. But I’m not interested in some competition with you over anything. Nor will I back off just because some anonymous entity asserts a contrary proposition.
I maintain – based on information I’ve received in Fiji, Australia and – indirectly – from US military sources in Hawaii, that what I say about American displeasure with the Australian and NZ stance on Fiji is absolutely correct. I’m not able to divulge those sources but I know who they are and they’re impeccable.
As I’ve said before, the minute the US formally declares otherwise, I will recant. But aside from one retired State Department officer who was part of Steve McGann team’s in the Suva embassy and was moved on, no-one senior has contested the version I’ve provided. Even you must wonder why this is the case.
@ Graham
There is no difference between you hiding you sources and one of your commenters, All Dictators Lie. You are both making allegations and neither of you are willing or able to supply the evidence to give them credibility. You say you have to protect your sources he says he has to for their own safety. But In your case we are expected to believe but in “All Dictators Lie’s case we should not. Hypocrisy or What!
We also have every right to question the veracity of your anonymous sources. Only a couple of months ago your reliable sources informed us that Bob Carr was changing Australia’s policy on Fiji and the Rudd Block was gone. In fact it turned out to be nothing more than the wishful thinking on the part of a Bainimarama groupie as we learned a day later. Are your US sources real or are they more wishful thinking?
In your last paragraph you are putting the cart before the horse. Surely the US have to announce their new policy of engagement and support for Bainimarama before they can possibly say it is not true.. Instead I see on their website the 3 pillars of their policy on Fiji remain unchanged from Steve McGann’s day.
You say “I maintain – based on information I’ve received in Fiji, Australia and – indirectly – US military sources in Hawaii, that what I say about American displeasure with the Australian and NZ stance on Fiji is absolutely correct” and you may be right, but that is a vastly different statement to “America realizes that the real democracy Bainimarama is working to institute of one vote one value will be a far better democracy that the racially based sham Fiji had before”
Where is the evidence that the US believe Bainimarama is going to deliver real democracy? I have not read or heard one statement from a single US Government or embassy official to make me think that. Nor have I heard one whisper of this over a cocktail or canapé.
You are definitely bananas if you think that protecting a journalistic source is the same as making an allegation that something has happened and then refusing to produce the evidence. I have addressed all your other points, sometimes more than once, so this correspondence is closed. You may wallow in your own ignorance at leisure.
Graham,
Actually I think you have done a splendid job of avoiding answering most of my points.
One thing you have not actually done is shown a single statement by an American Official where they have announced this change to a pro Bainimarama policy. If they have not come out publicly and only the un named are whispering to you from behind closed doors it cannot be a policy that fills them with pride.
Who cares what us/au/nz think, end of the day what matters is what is right for Fiji and its citizens. Remember no country is your friend unless they have some thing to gain from you in a long run. Let’s put aside what others thing and do what is right for Fiji. Look at east timor, Australia helped them gain independence and know want the spoils , the black gold in the east timor sea. So let’s do things to please our citizens and not anybody else.
Bananas
Do you have a solution for fiji. If not, shut (EDS: Obscenity excised) up and let the government do what is doing towards a democratic election in 2014
Actually I do if you give me your email address I will send you a copy.
Banana
Why dont you seek an audience with the PM and discuss your solution with him,By the way use your real name no one is gonna bite you.
Tevita,
I have tried having discussions with the dictator before. However, he has a one sided view on discussion. It is his view or the discussion ends. He has no wish to hear another point of view and I don’t think he has the ability to enter into a debate. It is after all one of the advantages of Dictatorship that Bainimarama does not have to bother with parliamentary debate.
As for being anonymous I have learnt from experience that if you are open with your views under this regime bad things happen to you. So I am sorry you have to make do with Not Bananas Don’t blame me blame the thug running the country.
@ No Bananas,
The same old recycled arguments by the same old bananas… wellcome to the world of diplomacy and if you don’t understand how governments and the diplomatic policy of governments (whether military dictatorship or the so called democracies) work, then its no point debating with you and bananas like yourself. And frankly I don’t see why Bainimarama should give a private audience to you and bananas like your self…..you’re probably an insignificant banana like the rest of you in the new scheme of things to come for Fiji.
If you need to provide an input into the makeup of the constitution, then perhaps go to the committee being set up and if you disagree with the make up of the committee or its purpose, then perhaps take your banana worth to Bob an Macully. And quite frankly yours and bananas of the same bunch have become rotten and quite insignificant in the new scheme of things..I can see the likes of you and the rest of the rotten bananas have now become quite desperate and have even gone to the extent of threatening other blog users for expressing their free will.
So much for bananas and their democracy.
Even worms don’t feed on rotten bananas.
@Terrior
What a delightful comment.
You obviously have a clear understanding of how diplomacy works and so you have to resort to ill thought out insults to hide your inability to debate. You have not come up with a single sensible or logical argument in your rant about bananas.
I am not aware I have threatened anyone and certainly not for expressing their own views. That is in contrast to the rotten banana, you support, who beats up women and uses his soldiers to beat up the men.
@ No Bananas,
Dear banana man, I haven’t even started a debate with you…nah..as I have indicated you’re not my bananas worth. Same old recycled theories by the same old bananas. A persons debating worth is not determined by his closet theories…his so called anonymous sidekicks and shadows where he supposedly gets all his information from….and that becomes his tool for debate..nah…in any case we’re moving forward man, with or without bananas.
Australia, New zealand and the US and also like minded countries are important for Fiji but so are other countries. These countries are not our immediate concern..our concern is to bring the communities of people together so they can work together, learn from each other and move forward.
So quite frankly nobody is concerned by what Richard Miles and the likes or your phantom bananas in the army or the foreign service says or does because it does not matter to Fiji. It may be a subject matter for you to bring about to debate with but nah….not with me. I would occationally like to throw a bone….
Australia’s parliamentary Secretary for Foreign and Pacific Affairs, Richard Marles on thriving Samoa, a model of Pacific Island politics, stability and economics..listen and you clowns might learn something..
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/australia-says-its-relationship-with-samoa-is-strong-and-the-country-is-thriving/954022
Tavita,
9 days ago I gave you an assignment on blogspot #82…simply to find out how many people live in your country…..and you chose to sneak in today..you naughty boy.
Ok …so you got a couple of more MaCdonald vouchers from Bob Marles and thriving…good on you and Tui…you should now be jumping up and down and losing all that fat clogging your brain.
gee..sorry sir..i wiped my arse with your assignment..
Jee, you’re fat and round and can stumble around…and no one can see the difference between your face and arse that goes like a merry-go-round.
This is how the Samoan PM treats whistleblowers, and yet preaching to Fiji. Hypocrite. The Samoan PM is known for being slack, corrupt, unable to deliver, a bully who likes to suck up to Australia and NZ. he hets elected every time because Samoa is essentially a one-party state.
Samoan rugby skipper Mahonri Schwalger, who stars for the Waikato Chiefs in the Super 15 rugby, had with the support of the Manu Samoa senior players written to Tuilaepa as Samoa Rugby Union chairman shortly after the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Mr Schwalger revealed how team officials were engaged in drinking binges at the team hotel and treated the tournament as a holiday. Tuilaepa treated Mr Schwalger as a villain for speaking out.
Now Mr Schwalger, one of the top hookers in the Super 15, has been left out of the Manu Samoan team along with some of his senior supporters in the team.
Tarry Tevita
Samoa is a model for nothing, dont fool yourself. How can a primitive country be a model for anything.
Getting back to Fiji, hei terrior bro did you see the picture of GEORGE SHIU RAJ in the sdl meeting?
I am surprised that he has not been prosecuted for all his scholarship corruption when he was minister for multiethnic affairs, getting money from well to do parents to give their children scholarships.
I am sure if government does an audit of all the children who got scholarship under his term, and the occupation of their parents, they will find a lot did not meet the criteria.
A lot of clean-up has been done but this guy seems to dodge the bullet and he wants to climb again the ladder with SDL again.
Hope fully someone notice..
Vinny,
Bro, I’ve just arrived in Canada and have lost out on a lot of what’s happening. but I’m aware that he has accumulated a lot of properties in RakiRaki. That is not to say justly or unjustly…I don’t know as yet. I was once told by an i-Taukei work mate of mine that this guy has a lot of money and would not hesitate to “loan” it to the i-taukeis during their lenga period. This is why he was so popular there….I think he owns half of Raki Raki town.
His stounch loyalty to SDL…ummm. Will these guys will be his saviour…I mean the last straw….now you know something about the education scheme which I didn’t and I’m sure there’s alot that other people know. I hope other contributers could throw more light on this guy and let him be the subject of scrutiny and roll the ball from there.
It works like this….if enough noise is made about a subject, it becomes noticeable by the authorities and if public pressure is maintained, then surely it will be investigated…..Investigations will only bring out truth.
All suspected individuals who have held public office irrespective of race/gender is fair game… for these sort of crimes/looting of public purse is not repeated in future.
Assets accumulated which is not in line with income should be seized by the state and turned into schools/orphanage/public use etc
This is my dream for Fiji….and this is what we should be talking about and not about as you say “who cares about ANZ….” but we need the likes of banana boys occasionally….right Vinny….
Your contribution makes good reading and hope to read more.
rgds
@ Terry Tavita & Tuilaepa
Yesterday (Fri 1 June) I was on a Nadi-Sydney Air Pacific flight and had the pleasure to sit beside a lovely Aussie lass who is a banker by profession and whose job it is to travel the South Pacific to check on the performance of ‘her bank’ in the region. She confirmed Graham Davis previous description of Apia as a ‘sleepy backwater’ compared to Fiji. As far as she is concerned Fiji is a much more dynamic and diversified country which she enjoys visiting. She told me that after 8.30pm each night Apia is dead!!!! When walking back to her hotel after eating out at a local restaurant, she was set upon by wild dogs that dominate Apia after dark. She only escaped by jumping over the fence at the old courthouse in Apia. The locals at a nearby nitespot roared with laughter at her pilght, referring to her as a cowardly ‘palagi’.
Not good PR for a town that aspires to be the seat of regional organisations.
Why no Samoans at the Volcrom Fiji Pro surfing competition at Tavarua?
Come on Tavita & Tuilaepa, come join Fijians and other world surfing champs at Tavarua. You are the self-proclaimed leaders of the South Pacific and should be represented at such an international event.
Pious,tell us more about this Fiji Volcrom pro surfing competition.Is the Fiji Surfing Association active? I sent an e mail to them and also face book and even mailed Ian Ravovou Muller at Fiji Surfing company at Nadi but not a single response.The reason i asked is I went to watch the premier of the movie ” Splinters ” and how it is helping in Indigenous and economic empowerment in PNG.It was brought here to Australia as part of the Australian Human Rights Film Festival.I met one of casts,Andy Abel who is also the president of SAPNG and he is also well known in Fiji Surfing.
I wanted to ask the Fiji Surfing Association on whether they have any such visions as SAPNG for surfing in Fiji and if so we can explore together in asking where HRAFF can assist in flying Andy Abel over for initial talks on this.I just thought in this rebuilding period for Fiji it might not be asking too much for Fiji surfing to take a step further by using their humble sport as a means of Indigenous empowerment etc.May be Pious if you have anything to do with Fiji Surfing can you find out please.
Graham,
One thing I found by following the Australian media this week,TV and the newspapers and capped of by the weekend australian is that the Australian parliament is just like a circus at times !! The Gina Rinehart and the EMA cases, comments by left wing politicians and supporters and even comments made by senator Doug Cameron ( who had a thick Scottish accent !! ) were not only racist but way off the mark.He said that ” here we are people are losing jobs in Melbourne,Sydney etc and then we find Chinese workers getting into Perth to work in the mines ” !! Alex Downer and Warren Mundine and Andrew Bolt were quick to point out that the majority of those 1700 workers were from Britain,Ireland and Scotland so I presume they would have the same accent as Senator Cameron !! And the never ending saga about Craig Thompson which saw the fastest man in Australian parliament history !!Not enough to win a London olympic medal yet.
The coverage on the sad plight of those cattle ranch owners in NT who are now preparing a class suit against the Federal government really caps off the whole issue about Australian politics and leadership at the moment.By bowing down to Human rights campaigners and the media let alone disrespecting Indonesia’s sovereignty 9 those cattles were bought by the Indonesians they were not given as some aid commodity or what ) the Australian government completely ignored the plight of the Cattle farmers and exporters up North.It now appears that Craig Thompson is more important to them !!
Good old Australia in its attempt to dominate the Asia Pacific region it now shoots itself in the foot ! So bring ” Yes Prime Minister ” for a good laugh and I wish Sir Winston Churchill was alive today so he could drop one of those witty humorous comment on the Aussie scene !! One such comment that would apply to Craig Thompson would be ” Lies travel around the world long before truth puts its pants back on ” !!
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