“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” President John F. Kennedy There’s something very special about Iliesa Delana. It’s not merely that he united the whole nation in celebration when he won the Pacific’s first Olympic Gold medal in London last year. It’s not just that ordinary Fijians come up to him … [Read more...] about # ILIESA DELANA’S NEW DREAM FOR FIJI
# VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE: WHAT NEXT?
On February 14th 1929, the notorious American gangster, Al Capone, sent four of his henchmen into a Chicago garage with guns blazing. Seven members of an opposing gang were murdered in what became known as the St Valentine’s Day Massacre. That same day in Fiji 84 years later – which is normally dedicated to a celebration of romance - may also spell … [Read more...] about # VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE: WHAT NEXT?
# WHY THE GHAI DRAFT WAS MODIFIED
And so what many people in Fiji suspected might happen has happened. The Draft Constitution prepared by Professor Yash Ghai’s Constitutional Commission has been altered before it reaches the Constituent Assembly. Its members – when they are announced - will still decide the final Constitution document but within a much narrower framework than … [Read more...] about # WHY THE GHAI DRAFT WAS MODIFIED
# THE GRUBSHEET GLEE CLUB
Golly gosh, Golly Ghai, boy, do we enjoy our exalted status in Fiji. Given the level of vituperation from the anti-regime lobby against some other perceived supporters of the Bainimarama Government, Grubsheet gets off entirely scot-free. We get cheery hellos in the street, people fall over themselves to buy us drinks and dusky maidens keep wanting … [Read more...] about # THE GRUBSHEET GLEE CLUB
# YASH GHAI: EMOTION BEFORE REASON
Like many people, Grubsheet has been perplexed by the behavior of the recently-departed Chairman of the Constitutional Commission, Professor Yash Ghai. Almost as soon as he left the country after handing his Draft Constitution to the President, Professor Ghai launched an extraordinary attack on the Fijian authorities. He claimed that the police had … [Read more...] about # YASH GHAI: EMOTION BEFORE REASON
# BACK INTO THE DEEP FREEZE
Relations between Fiji and Australia have taken a sudden turn for the worse and it now appears highly unlikely that the Government will accept a new Australian High Commissioner in Suva. Attitudes have hardened just as the diplomat chosen for the job – Margaret Twomey, Australia’s current ambassador to Russia – has been preparing to move to Suva to … [Read more...] about # BACK INTO THE DEEP FREEZE