One person will be watching the current trial of Laisenia Qarase with more than usual interest - his predecessor as prime minister and would-be political partner, Mahendra Chaudhry. Will he or won’t he be convicted? Chaudhry knows that if Qarase is found guilty, he’ll be removed from the political scene and theirs will be the briefest of … [Read more...] about # THE POLITICS OF WATCHING AND WAITING
#105 TESTING TIMES (UPDATED 8/7)
UPDATE -RESPONSE FROM DR MARC EDGE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION: You have to wonder what is going at the Fiji Times when its senior reporters write blatant commercials masquerading as news. How else to explain the piece below by Verenaisi Raicola extolling the virtues of the Cozmo Lounge in Suva? At the very least, this puffiest of puff pieces should … [Read more...] about #105 TESTING TIMES (UPDATED 8/7)
#104 TRIAL OF THE DECADE (DAILY REPORTS)
MORNING AND AFTERNOON UPDATES OF THE PROCEEDINGS FROM FIJI VILLAGE: The most high profile legal case in Fiji since that of George Speight is underway in the High Court in Suva - the long awaited corruption trial of deposed Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase. Right up until the last minute, Qarase’s lawyers had been trying to get the proceedings … [Read more...] about #104 TRIAL OF THE DECADE (DAILY REPORTS)
#103 NEW YORK TIMES ON FIJI
The New York Times and its sister paper, the International Herald Tribune, have carried the first in a series of stories on Fiji by Matt Siegel, their Sydney-based correspondent who gained unimpeded access to the country last month. There's no significant news break, which is mildly surprising considering Siegel had lengthy sessions with both the … [Read more...] about #103 NEW YORK TIMES ON FIJI
#102 BOMBERS AT COUP 4.5
There seems to be no depths to which the depraved denizens of Coup 4.5 -the anti-government website – won’t plunge in their frustration at failing to derail Fiji’s march towards a fairer democracy. These so-called “journalists” are regular purveyors of racism and hate dressed up as respectable analysis (see our previous posting) but they’ve … [Read more...] about #102 BOMBERS AT COUP 4.5
# 101 WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
“The guilty shall be convicted and the innocent shall be acquitted”, declared Fiji’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde, in a recent address to the Fiji New Zealand Business Council. Stating the bleeding obvious – you’d imagine – except when doubts continue to be expressed about the independence and impartiality of the country’s … [Read more...] about # 101 WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION