Military Junta and Posers on the Caustic Attack

The vitriolic acid is now gushing from the mouth of Shaista Shameem in full stream. It is doubtful whether anyone will pity the selective victims now feeling offended about not being consulted. We however have not forgotten that they themselves blocked access of independent international legal assessments.

We nearly missed key poser Fred Caine’s weedy attempt at causticity in support for the military junta and tries to weigh in his own Samoan lineage as if that will matter.

But you’ve got to hand it AGAIN to Samoan PM Tuilaepa who roundly counters Bainimarama’s “Un-Pacific” comment. He deserves a standing ovation from the people of Fiji with this one. Vinaka Vakalevu, Shukriya and Fa’afetai Lava to the Hon. Prime Minister of Samoa and its people.

Folks feel free to communicate your thanks to him and his fearless attempts to give you a Government you deserve.

In the meantime, take a bow Member of Parliament and Honourable Prime Minister for Samoa, Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi. Fiji will remember your backing and love for our country and the Pacific region.

Bainimarama has little respect towards the Pacific leaders says Tuilaepa

APIA: 26 Feb 2008: Samoa’s Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has questioned what Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama meant by being “un-Pacific” in recent comments which the Commodore also said Samoas Prime Ministers strong criticisms were 'unprofessional'. In a statement released today, Tuilaepa questioned what the Commodore meant by "un-Pacific" particularly in view of the fact that the Commodore:

1. Overthrew at the point of the gun his elected government and sent into limbo the Parliament of his country,
2. Had no hesitation in describing the Forum as dominated by New Zealand and Australia; giving no credence to the ability of the other Forum leaders to think for themselves;
3. Had no qualms in breaking an undertaking he personally made to the Leaders at the Tonga Forum that Fiji would hold elections by March this year;
4. Did not bother to attend the Forum Leaders meeting in Niue knowing very well that Fiji was high on the agenda and the Leaders would like to hear from him and;
5. Did not bother to attend the Special Leaders Retreat in Port Moresby to discuss Fiji even with the great diplomatic effort by the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea to encourage him to attend; instead the Commodore sent his interim attorney general to meet the Pacific leaders"

In Prime Minister Tuilaepa’s view, Commodore Bainimarama has shown little respect towards the Pacific leaders and his behaviour and actions could hardly be described as the ‘Pacific Way’. The Commodore should therefore not be so quick in ‘crying foul’.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa said that nothing that has happened so far has changed his view that Commodore Bainimarama has no intention of holding elections and returning Fiji to democratic rule.

Samoa’s Prime Minister who is also Samoa’s Foreign Minister was part of the Ministerial Contact Group that visited Fiji for consultations with the Interim government ahead of the Niue Forum meeting. Asked point blank by the Ministerial Group, the Interim government did not have any idea of a timeframe. In the contact group’s visit to Fiji’s Electoral Commission it was quickly evident that there was no genuine attempt being made to prepare and organize an election. This state of affairs has since been reinforced in video footage taken by the staff of the Commission itself.

This is a depressing situation according to Prime Minister Tuilaepa who referred to his own experience when he was a public servant and worked with highly qualified and very competent officers of Fiji’s civil service. Tuilaepa has no doubt that Fiji has many skilled and dedicated people inside and outside the civil service who would be able to easily organize and hold the elections as well as provide support for all other institutions of government in Fiji if they were only given the chance and the resources. Unfortunately everything hinges on Commodore Bainimarama and whether he is prepared to trust his people, and how genuine he is to do the right thing for his country by returning to the barracks and allowing Fiji to return to a democratically elected government.

Tuilaepa said that given the important role of religion in Pacific society he felt sure that the church leaders of Fiji have good advice to offer if the Interim Prime Minister was willing to listen. Similarly, former commanders of Fiji’s Military who served their country from the barracks would also have good advice to offer Commodore Bainimarama.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa feels strongly that if Commodore Bainimarama’s allows elections to be held within this year as required by the Forum, returns the military to the barracks and makes it firmly answerable to the elected government, the Commodore will recover much of his lost credibility and may still be remembered well by the people of Fiji and the region.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa indicated that as he has made clear his views and the message he wanted to send to Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, he did not intend to say anything further on the issue. Tuilaepa said that he would like to think that if he should meet the Commodore when they are both retired and all of this is in the past that Bainimarama would thank him for his direct and frank advice.

Movers: In, Out, Around & About

This week there were lot’s of movements.

It begins with Bainimarama himself perhaps confirming an omen for the week, where he picks himself up from one end of Ratu Sukuna Road to another.

These however are the poor folks who have been moved out by the junta posers:

• Taito Tabaleka, CEO of Telecom Fiji – sent on leave by the Board: reasons still largely unclear
• Charles Sweeney, Chair Commerce Commission – now replaced by Dr Mahendra Reddy
• Rt Isoa Tikoca – Fiji Ambassador to PNG: contract terminated for “breach of duty”
• Niko Buke, PWD Divisional Engineer Central – sent on leave: reasons still largely unclear

Those who were moving about this week as part of the poser clique:

• Surendra Sharma, “un-resigning” from his role as CEO for the Sugar Grower’s Council.

• A new Water Authority Board which features (unsurprising) appointments such as Mrs Filipe Bole as board member and NZ’er John Prasad as board Chair.

The late chairman of the Electoral Commission, MK Sahu Khan moved from this world to the next, and was laid to rest early this week. Mr Sahu Khan was a supporter of delayed elections and is/was uncle to the Shameem sisters.

What won’t be moving UP thankfully are salary hikes penciled against Bainimarama’s inner circle militia who were assessed somehow as having outstanding performance. Pseudo gallantly, they pull the “officer and gentleman” routine, forego their salary increases and allow civil servants to get their’s.

The only problem is that it’s much ado about nothing. Bainimarama’s inner circle were handed exceedingly hiked salaries upon taking many roles that they knew nothing about within Government (that’s why, for example, Mr Leweni has upgraded himself from a Toyota Corolla to a Toyota Prado/Landcruiser with personalized number plates NATSET to boot – hey presto!). The civil servants however were lumped with pay-cuts through no fault of their own and are just getting what is owed – albeit staggered.

Civil servants are still owed much more.

Bingo!

True to form Shaista Shameem has not disappointed.

The attempt at civility in this response does not hide the thinly veiled dagger jutted towards the media, where she has unleashed her faithful and clueless hack, the junta AG, to get cracking with a vengeance.

It was, after all, her brain child in the first place to clamp down on unfriendly media sorts.

The vitriolic acid however is splattered all over her Emperor's naked butt in this epistlic rant (you were spot on Tim). Even Samoan PM Tuilaepa takes a hit.

The other Shameem however will be worth watching now as all the posers appear to have received the memo that it was ok to come strutting out of the closet now. Unfortunately the closet is where illegally appointed Chief Justice prefers to remain with his wishy washy intentions of his role on the bench.

Nazhat Shameem will rule soon on the legality of FICAC on a motion put forward to the courts by Mahend Chaudhry’s son and heir, Rajend, who must have acquired a conscience that day. The real deal will surface soon though. Bet on it.

Meanwhile the junta AG is himself the target of investigations of the Fiji Law Society which also appears to be helter-skelter in their views of late. Please keep it together guys!

We Feel a Vitriolic Tantrum Coming Up!

Uh Oh. Take cover Obama Administration.

Today Shaista Shameem lauded the Land Of the Free and it's justice system (which only as she can, gets twisted around as validation for the flawed Qarase verdict).

This evening however the US State Department’s annual release of their annual Human Rights Report on Fiji is very telling of just how much the world knows about everything happening in this place. Read the report in full here.

Contrary to Frank’s canoeing ambitions, no man (or country) is an island. With the economy flat-lining, our nearest and dearest are fleeing from our side. Hands will only be outstretched to like-minded values. Have democracy, will help. Otherwise, Bon Voyage -- it's a big ol' ocean out there.

The junta’s Attorney General is suddenly besieged with selective amnesia and demands proof that the judiciary is not independent. Someone. Please. Give. Him. A. Clue.

Anyhow. We can predict with certainty that Shameem will come out soon with gun’s blazing against the US touting the now standard “hypocritical” lines of 2006 and 2007. Yawn.

Shameem has already launched herself into a pitiful cat-fight as to “who is the fairest of all” in the human rights domain. It might interest these parties to know that Fiji was a leader in human rights, but from 6/12 we have continued to show all and sundry that rights custodianship can go horribly wrong. Frankly that's not a testimony that will win other Pacific nations over.