Saturday’s Fiji Times contains a great deal of hagiography about the former publisher of the paper, the late Hank Arts – who died last weekend in Australia. Some of it is deserved. Hank Arts was an old school gentleman who was unfailingly courteous and was extremely popular, not only with Fiji Times staff but in the wider community. But some of the hagiography is utterly self-serving. And none more so than an article by the Fiji Times lawyer and columnist, Richard “I have the means” Naidu, whose lack of candour about his conflicts of interest is matched by a similar lack of regard for the facts.
Naidu goes to great lengths to detail what he casts as a campaign of harassment against the Fiji Times by the FijiFirst government. In the article itself , Naidu doesn’t mention Qorvis – the American PR company for which I was a consultant. But in a Facebook posting to promote the piece, he refers to “ the nasty, bullying, free press hating regime of Frank Bainimarama and Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum” and “Hank cheerfully fending off the regular bureaucratic stupidities of their Ministry for Information backed by their odious Qorvis consultants”.
Odious, eh? This is from a man who has betrayed the trust of the Fijian public by taking the job of Chair of the Coalition’s Fiscal Review Committee and recommending a seven year tax holiday for the billionaires at Fiji Water without declaring that he takes money from them to promote their interests in Fiji. Now that’s odious. It is a conflict of interest of elephantine proportions. But what happened when this former Qorvis consultant raised it as an issue? Richard “I have the means” Naidu sent me an astonishing letter threatening to sue me. I’m still waiting for the writ but will not be taking any lessons about odious conduct from this supercilious hypocrite.
He is also intent on rewriting history with his veiled attack in today’s article on the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecuting the Fiji Times over an article published in one of its papers eight years ago.
This is what he writes:
“In 2016, Nai Lalakai, the iTaukei-language sister paper of The Fiji Times, printed a virulently anti-Muslim opinion article.
Nai Lalakai’s editor was stupid to publish it (and rightly lost his job for it). But it was the Government’s chance to come for the leaders of The Fiji Times, even though neither of them had approved the article or even knew it was coming.
Hank and Fred were prosecuted. Was it under the Government’s famous “media development” decree? No. They were charged for sedition, for which they could be imprisoned for up to seven years.
We all know now that in 2018 the Fiji Times team was acquitted. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed against the acquittal. The appeal is still in the court lists so, for now, I will keep to myself the rest of my opinions on the case, and the decision to prosecute at all”.
It is the first time, as far as Grubsheet is aware, that anyone associated with the Fiji Times has conceded that they were wrong to publish the article in question by the indigenous activist, Josaia Waqabaca.
Let’s just remind ourselves of what he wrote:
“Muslims are not owners of Fiji.
These are the group of people that unlawfully entered the countries one of which is Bangladesh in India. Where they murdered, raped its women, torture its children until they rule and own it.
We must never forget that there are places such as Serua, Lodoni, Namena and Dawasamu which also covers the 14 Chiefly Provinces of Fiji which have been taken away from us. This is one of the risks that will be experienced by our children if we continue to be neglectful”.
Even Richard Naidu now concedes that it was a “virulently anti-Muslim opinion article” that cost the Nai Lalakai editor his job. Muslims as a “group” were being cast as invaders, murderers, rapists and torturers.
In any other country and especially New Zealand – Naidu’s second home where the infamous Christchurch massacre of Muslims took place in 2019 – it would have resulted in a prosecution under hate speech laws. But Fiji doesn’t have specific hate speech laws. Such attacks on minorities are covered by the laws of sedition. It was the case in 2016 when the Fiji Times was prosecuted and it remains the case now.
So for the Nai Lalakai article, the Fiji Times was prosecuted for sedition. Naidu and his compañeros at the paper have always cast it as a political prosecution. But when it came to court, the judge determined that there was definitely a case to answer. In the event, yes, the Fiji Times team was acquitted. But that doesn’t mean that the DPP was wrong to prosecute. In the absence of hate speech laws, the sedition charge was the only avenue open to the state to bring the Fiji Times to account for an article Richard Naidu himself describes as virulently anti-Muslim.
As the Publisher of the Fiji Times, Hank Arts and the Editor-in-Chief, Fred Wesley, were held to account for allowing the Nai Lalakai piece to be published. In his article today (see below), Richard Naidu says “neither of them had approved the article or even knew it was coming”. If they didn’t, they should have. Because it is standard practice the world over for publishers of newspapers to be responsible for what is published. And many papers actually declare on their editorial pages that so-and-so takes responsibility for the content of that edition.
Moreover, the Fiji Times had already been warned that some of the articles by Jo Waqabaca were potentially seditious. In fact the Fiji Police had investigated one article and referred it to the DPP, who decided that it didn’t meet the threshold for prosecution. Perhaps the Fiji Times was emboldened by this. But they can’t say they didn’t know what was coming because they were specifically warned by the police that Waqabaca’s articles were a problem in inflaming iTaukei opinion in the vanua.
At best, this makes Hank Arts and Fred Wesley negligent in not putting mechanisms in place to prevent a repetition of the article that initially attracted police attention. At worst, they were complicit. But there is no doubt that taking the paper to task – to use the local parlance -for a glaring incidence of hate speech was in the public interest.
As the Nai Lalakai case demonstrated, the Fiji Times is very adept at not taking responsibility for its “stupidity” – Richard Naidu’s words, not mine – and equally adept at throwing boulders from its glass house. It is chronically biased, ignores stories altogether that don’t suit its overtly political agenda yet continually spins itself as a paragon of journalistic virtue when it fails to meet even the most basic of journalistic standards elsewhere.
Indeed, the paper embodies many of the characteristics of the man who advises it legally, just as he advises Fiji Water. Self righteous, fast and loose with the facts and with just as much adeptness at spin as any public relations company. Yet never mind the glaring conflict of interest of the Chair of the Fiscal Review Committee recommending a seven year tax holiday for his billionaire clients. (What, if anything, did Munro Leys actually receive in return? Or was it an act of corporate charity for the Wonderful company? )
What is really odious about Richard Naidu is that despite his exalted position in the Coalition, the laws of sedition on which the Fiji Times was prosecuted for its disgraceful attack on Muslims are still on the statute books. Yep. These hypocrites have had 18 months to modify them or get rid of them yet they are still there.
Vale Hank Arts. You were a good bloke but you should have known what you were publishing and you fell foul of the law. But the hypocrites who were advising you at the time have had ample opportunity to use their influence to change that law and they have done nothing. Oh except give their clients tax holidays.
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The Facebook promo for today’s article:
And the article itself:
What Joe Waqabaca wrote in Nai Lalakai that led to the prosecution of Hanks Arts and Fred Wesley. The official court translation of the offending passage.
Plus the full article…
Vale Hank Arts. A gentleman of the old school who is fondly remembered despite his legal travails. He and the odious Qorvis consultant had the friendliest of relationships and he once asked me to write for the Fiji Times.
Who cares about articles written by these people.
Same tune being played every week.
Boring.
Every time I read anything from Richard I think of all the more slime and vomit material that comes out of a notably educated man. I am beginning to wonder about the credibility of advice he provides to the government as well as the misinformation to the public.
Thank you GD for providing a rather thorough analysis here.
I have very little respect for the Fiji media. They are present with an absent mind and experience. Their level of journalism is so concerning.
Hope you are feeling better GD.
Vinaka. I have tested positive for Covid which is extremely dreary. But having had six vaccinations, it is relatively mild.
Very much appreciate your concern and that of other readers.
So I guess Covid is still around and can affect anyone at any time.
It is all over Sydney at the moment. Where did I catch it? I have really only been to the supermarket in recent days. It is absolutely critical for people to be vaccinated (if you can get one)
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer Qorvis consultant.
Former Qorvis consultant. Beware the Wicca Rule of Three. Anonymity won’t save you.
What happens to the white citizens of Fiji once they complete high school? Do they remain in the country or migrate to other countries? White citizens are so few in Fiji.
This bloke is a spinner – he surely thinks his point of view is always right and that everyone is drooling over whatever garb he puts other there.
Reality check – people see right through you Richie and the self-servicing bloke you are.
You don’t identify with the common people nor understand their plight.
I haven’t been back in Fiji for a year, and it’s ever nice to return. There are many things wrong still, and a great deal of worry with the drug problem. There is concern about the muddling through attitude of the government BUT the one thing everyone says, is that
at least now they can speak their minds.. everyone is free to speak up and both local papers publish these critiques of the government.
FijiFirst may have done some good things on race relationships but no one can forgive or defend their policy of thuggery and repression of free speech, no matter how much you defend it GD.
At least on this front, there is progress.
This article was actually about the likes of Richard Naidu and the Fiji Times blurring the lines between free speech and hate speech. They permitted the publication of hate speech against Muslims after they had been warned not to and then cried ” free speech is being suppressed” when the state reacted in the only responsible way to prevent the vilification of an entire community.
The same laws of sedition are still in place and the media isn’t in the least bit “free”. It is controlled by those who own the respective outlets and their business interests and links to those in power come before their duty to media consumers. And in the main, the nation’s journalists are compliant, supine, fearful and simply aren’t doing their jobs properly.
So I’m glad you are enjoying the “free speech” But there is still a conspiracy to suppress much of what is actually happening in the country. If this wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t be getting the high audience numbers that I am. Many people have simply given up on the mainstream media. They’ll read it but they know instinctively that it is not telling them what they need to know.
Bula GD, here’s to your speedy recovery.
Watched a Parliament sitting tonight where the MOB&W, in a pale blue caped dress, dark eye makeup and brassy blonde tints in her hair, tabled the controversial Emoulments report. She looked a million bucks (if you like that kind of thing) and was ready for the spotlight.
This was after the Speaker of the House, when welcoming Class 8 students of Marist Brothers Primary School in the public gallery told them “We are here representing you”.
Well excuse me Mr Rambling Dishonorable Soeaker but the MOB&W, does not represent the women of Fiji and there’s no way she’s a role model for our children.
God help the children of Fiji because only divine intervention will save them from the hypocrisy and moral vacuum on display.
And FFS, translate the Fijian spoken. The racism is showing.
It appears that Richard has in his first attempt to act in a public role been part of a decision to benefit his client. An apparent conflict of interest and a deeply unfair outcome for Fiji tax payers.
How he has reacted to being asked about this is telling. Rather than explain how the committee dealt with the conflict he made a threat to sue GD, a rather blunt tool to shut down discussion. Exactly the sort of reaction we’d have expected from Aiyaz.
This conduct follows years that Richard spent on words from his ivory tower telling everyone about good governance. He’s now saying: ok guys this lot aren’t going as planned but it was worse before.
But trumpeting on Aiyaz’s political carcass misses the point. Yes it was bad before but it’s worse now. Back in the real world as tax payers we still want good governance and fairness.
If a kid gets caught with his hand in the lolly jar they should be asked to explain. He can’t blame Aiyaz for this one.
At this point the Attorney General as legal advisor to government should be stepping in to restore confidence in the fiscal review committee which many of us see as tarnished.
Government also has an opportunity to correct this unfairness in the budget announcement, will they?
Is Rajiv Sharma still sleeping? Waiting for him to suck up to Dick and defend him.
He is busy making a fish surwa curry for GD!
Incidentally in a Fiji context local or diaspora, most Fiji Indians would recommend jungli murgi (free roaming chicken) surwa as a cold remedy. A fish surwa recommendation sounds a little fishy – is it a Fiji Indian behind the Rajiv Sharma pseudonym or a kaiviti, or any other of Fiji’s vulgaris!
The plot thickens. But the fowl broth elixer has to be watery, not too thick.
As an aside: The free wild roaming freedom of the chicken makes it more desirable as curry dinner on a plate. The caged farmed chicken is less desirable in taste so not so sought after for getting it’s head chopped off for a surwa. Cluck cluck cluck.. so much for the liberty that a free wild chicken enjoys!
Hope the readers enjoy and appreciate the twist and plot of this
narrative!
We won’t go into the red rooster or the egg for now.
Yes whatever as long as it’s titta surwa it will do the job and fix common cold and flu.
Not sleeping bro but likes of you deserve to live in a dictatorship with censorship and no rights and under constant threat of false imprisonment.
People had no right to protest for 16 years and look now they are free to march and protest like they did this weekend on the pay rise issue.
As for Richard, he had the guts to stand up against two men dictatorship.
Dictatorship, False incarceration, Freedom lost, Oppression Etc.
I think some Fijians who missed out on real life experience of living behind the Iron Curtain say in East Germany or USSR, Tehran, Uganda, China especially Pyongyang and other real tyrannical dictator states, are to a large degree exaggerating the idea of 16 years of dictatorship.
Ask those who live under State oppression what it is really like.
Touched by an ant and shout as if bitten by a tiger syndrome! For the right to bleat perpetually. Now there were probably human rights violations…but I’d say not to the degree moaned about. And what’s wrong with the farmer pointing a shotgun at the fox threatening the chickens if you get the application of this analogy to Fiji.
Seeing and reading Ricardo over the past decade, I can’t believe that he’s the same bloke who in 1987 took a principled stand that almost had him on the dinner plate of…the current PM!! Oh and the current Speaker.
The person controlling and manipulating the news and editorial focus at The Fiji Times is Margaret Wise. She did the same thing against the Chaudhry government when day in, day out she did nothing but write anti government articles in the Fiji Times. She was bitter at the loss of her lover, Rabuka’s prime ministership, by Chaudhry’s Labour. The difference this time is that she’s directing pro government coverage from behind the scenes in favour of Rabuka, the father of their love child, and his PAP. As a national newspaper The Fiji Times is a national disgrace.
We as Fiji nation are fed up of Mr Naidu rhetoric. Please relax Richard. You have filled your pocket from Biman’s mismanagement.
thank you grubsheet for the information
i don’t know why the natives of Fiji hates all the immigrants
it will never bring anything good to them
plus they follow Christianity that teaches equality and love not hatred