February 14, 2007

Time to say enough?

Here's what an Intelligentsiya reader (aptly called Frank Vore) says regarding perceived public apathy over the military's stance:

Frank Vore said...

The people of Fiji should now make a stand, enough is enough. They should think about civil disobedience or non violent protest. May be the union should go on strike and solicit public support. Its a pitty when the general public remains silent in the face of abuse and torture.

14 February 2007 02:25

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My experience with Fijians is that they are a kind and forgiving race of people . but like the rest of the world , they want more as they become , as we all become , exposed to more and better things ,it's human nature and they say,each generation should live better than the last .
clearly,the people running the show at the moment , are self interested elite , they have clearly exposed themselves as time has gone by . they have finally shown their hand and true colours ( red I think ) . unaware or feeling invincible to the eventual rule of law which has been started in the courts now ! for them to think that they can plan the overthrow of an elected government , and it must have been planned over many years , to pretend that they have just all of a sudden made themselves available to clean up corruption and take fiji forward ! who do they think they are kidding , do they honestly think that the average fijian is that thick ? no,as i said , they are kind and forgiving ,but what has changed is their education level perhaps and their interest in politics and the rule of law . if nothing else , this final coup has re enforced the need for democracy and the rule of law and like the end of world war 2 and the nuremberg trials for crimes against humanity , you fijians , now wiser , must bring all responsible before the courts . should frank's pacemaker stop , that would be an ideal opportunity for the loyal soldiers to seize power and for the loyal police officers to arrest those responsible for the coup and the murders and kidnappings,illegal detentions and bashings of innocent civilians . your community will have to do a lot of soul searching after this coup,but another thing i think that is changing in the fijian society now is , that your belief system in your chiefs and your church leaders has been shacken to the core . it's time to discard the chiefs and churches from having any connection with politics .

Anonymous said...

Why is there silence from the general fijian community? Why the complacency? Why the acceptance? Watching the Commodore slowly crush her democracy, with little to no public protest was a terribly sad thing to witness. Fiji needs her people. She needs her people to not be afraid, to have faith in themselves but more importantly to have faith and belief in each other. You know, I know, your neighbour and his best friend know, this is just wrong. I understand and accept people are afraid - the RFMF have guns and have no qualms using brute force and torturing people. Fijian's just want a peaceful life, have a steady job, be able to feed their families, keep a decent roof over their heads. If he speaks out, he could lose all this and potentially place his family in danger. However people need to realise that we are also members of a bigger family, known as the fijian community. And our responsibility to her welfare and well being demands equal time, care and attention if we are to create a sustainable future for all.

SEMI MEO said...

Please allow me to comment on the two most recent contributions. I still believe there is still abundance of goodwill and tolerance amongst the Fijian people, if you meant i- Taukei and equal goodwill and tolerance within all other Fiji enthic communities. I would think the best way to “speak out” is to show the world and each other that we as a Nation are going to bounce back.
I am not surprised by the “silence” from the greater Fijian community. Fijian are renown to fear and reverence authority more than their fear of guns, especially guns in the hands of fellow Fijian brothers, uncles, dad, lay preachers who are loyal to the Country and her people.
I still believe our honorable Chiefs and our Church leaders are inseparable entity and very vital stake holders in the Political landscape of our Nation. Let us not forget the goodwill, tolerance and even politics of our Chiefs and Church Leaders have been the keel of stability in our journey as a Nation. Fiji ever Fiji.