Michael Field: Twittering Fiji's coup

by Michael Field

The first big dividend has come to the people of Fiji thanks to their $1 million donation to Washington ’s black art spin masters Qorvis…

Yes, for all that money, which might have been wasted on schools or hospitals, military, military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama and side-kick Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum are now in Twitter space.

And here is a neat thing; Twitter is very democratic and it lets anybody see not only how many both men have – but also who they are and who they are watching.

In the race for victory Bainimarama, who claims to be @FijiPM  has 71 followers and he is following 21 people.

Aiyaz, touting himself as @FijiAG has sent out more tweets, but only has 47 followers and follows 20 people.

I’ve listed all the followers and who is being followed, as of December 18, 2011, at the bottom.

Bainimarama’s first target to follow was Aiyaz – you would, wouldn’t you?

Next up is Alec Ross, an innovation advisor for the US Secretary of State, followed by Microsoft’s Bill Gates.

His forth target is Fiji Rugby – they had such a great success at RWC he is no doubt following that.

Bainimarama is also following the UN, the US State Department and the Google Travel Team. It has also clicked the Follow button on the White House, World Wildlife Fund, the British Commonwealth Office and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

In a romantic moment, he is also following the British Monarchy.

Bainimarama followers include Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard – or some one purporting to be her.

Then there is Juris Gulbis, apparently the ambassador to Abkhazia in the Asia Pacific region. 

That will be to do with this story on the site.

A number of journalists – including this one – are followers, as is one Amit Chand who says he is CEO for Defence Logistics and “senior vice president” for Nadroga Soccer Association. 

Right. One Jay Veena Inoca says on her listing “Google me, you’ll find nothing.” That just changed.

Aiyaz has no interesting followers – other than Bainimarama and Gillard.

What is intriguing though is how the two men have set up their accounts for people to follow.

They obviously did not; it Qorvis has pre-selected that the two men are to follow.

But, there is one marvellous difference – just One.

Bainimarama follows Aiyaz and it was his first choice – Aiyaz does not follow Bainimarama.

Wonder why?

Followers of Bainimarama:

mshameer48 Mohammed Shameer

teca58 teca

TuisabetoF Tuisabeto Filipe

CristianoTazmal Mohammed Tajmal

jayveenainoca Jay Vee En

KarynFiji Karyn Blenkiron

patrishachand patrisha chand

motuhawarrior Lea Lani Kauvaka

libertyofba Navi Bola

educationmatter educationmatter

bhavinm Bhavin Marvadi

faraazbaitul Faraaz Baitul Khan

IslesOfSmiles Hosanna Kabakoro

namasaubafiji Anil Krishna

uchandra99 Umesh Chandra

alpenb aldo penbrook

Whaleoil Whaleoil

PremCharan1 Prem Charan

sanjeshnis Sanjeshni

RNasiko repeka nasiko

Kate_Arnott Kate Arnott

rakshays rakshay singh

paradigmwastrel Neil Ashdown

hawleyrose Amanda Rose

meganjwhelan Megan Whelan

fijibook FijiBook

nottiboyee Rahul Singh 

ShafeelAhmed Shafeel Ahmed

JoytikaS Joytika Singh

raj_jagendra Raj

gurusan1 Peter Sullivan

lsharmafiji lolesh sharma

amitchnd Amit Chand

AndhyBlake Andhy Blake

kclose85 Kirstie Close 

Loxzsen Loraaaaa...

CarolATaylor1 Carol A Taylor 

FijiRepublic  Republic of Fiji

mereanigonedua mereani gonedua

KenKatafono Kenneth Katafono 

SOWANI1 SOWANI

Jeexji Sanjeet Prasad

opfdn Operation Foundation

fijdog F1J1

shavdon Shav Neel Don

ArehWah Areh Wah 

vinchetty Vin Chetty

Alifereti Alifereti

natlmac Natalie Macgregor

shanehussein Shane Hussein 

Velaerma Velaerma Uerdauv

tqarau Telu Qarau 

ferozkhalil Feroz Khalil

LadySekoula Emele Vakatora

FjBlackOrchid Mich Wilson

SadhnaChand Sadhna

LouisMcGoon Louis McGoon

Shaunzak Shaun Kumar

keljnr Kelvin Anthony

LitiaLa Litia La

rubberwilly Debbie Raiwalui

VijayNarayan4 Vijay Narayan

dtabureguci Dionisia Tabureguci

leansalt Lean Salt

JuliaGillard Julia Gillard 

JoePfeiff Joe Pfeiff

AnnemarieCoach Annemarie Cross

jgulbis Juris Gulbis

MonsterGrowl Green Monster

kevs4jc Kevs Tavainavesi

mjfield mjfield 

chapel8 chapel at eight

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum followers:

trees4fijians Jale O. Baba

DeaShandera Dea Shandera

bhavinm Bhavin Marvadi

faraazbaitul Faraaz Baitul Khan

IslesOfSmiles Hosanna Kabakoro

namasaubafiji Anil Krishna

uchandra99 Umesh Chandra

sanjeshnis Sanjeshni

paradigmwastrel Neil Ashdown

S_R_Productions Spirit Rising Prod.

RNasiko repeka nasiko

Kate_Arnott Kate Arnott

rakshays rakshay singh

fijibook FijiBook

nottiboyee Rahul Singh 

RichardRounds Richard Rounds

ShafeelAhmed Shafeel Ahmed

AndhyBlake Andhy Blake

gurusan1 Peter Sullivan

lsharmafiji lolesh sharma

Lovemel9 Zeba ali 

meganjwhelan Megan Whelan

mohitkapadia Mohit Kapadia

FijiRepublic Republic of Fiji

FijiPM CDRE JV Bainimarama

mereanigonedua mereani gonedua

kerberusfiji Ben Ralogaivau

shavdon Shav Neel Don

vinchetty Vin Chetty

BruceHillMelb Bruce Hill 

RAPacificBeat RA Pacific Beat

Alifereti Alifereti

FijiGovernment Fiji Government

natlmac Natalie Macgregor

Geropb Geraldine Coutts

ferozkhalil Feroz Khalil

mjfield mjfield 

VijayNarayan4 Vijay Narayan

SterlingGate Sterling Gate Books

go_fiji_go Brenda Ragi

AnnemarieCoach Annemarie Cross

plutarch88 biri kuruvoli

MonsterGrowl Green Monster

chapel8 chapel at eight

shanehussein Shane Hussein 

JuliaGillard Julia Gillard 

USRealityCheck US Reality Check

18 December 2011

Radio Australia: Non-state groups likely to pressure Fiji in future

Updated December 14, 2011 17:15:24

A Fiji academic in Australia says this week's confrontation between the interim Fiji government and a trade union delegation from Australia and New Zealand is a sign of things to come.

Dr Brij Lal from the Australian National University in Canberra, who co-authored Fiji's 1997 constitution, says non-stage groups are likely to bring more international pressure on the coup installed military governments.

He says there are likely to be more such showdowns between the Fiji interim government and international organisations in future.

Presenter:Bruce Hill
Speaker:Dr Brij Lal, Fiji academic, Australian National University
Listen here.

Miners, Foresters and Limestoners: In for a penny, in for a pound

While the illegal and treasonous military regime celebrate their Chinese bauxite mining furore in Bua, the Chinese investors cast their beady eyes over what else they can grab since the bargain basement of Fiji is now open.

MINER GOES INTO TIMBER

writer : MAIKA BOLATIKI 

11/22/2011 

A new player has entered the timber industry in Fiji. 

It plans to provide good competition for those who are already in the industry. 

As part of its expansion in the Northern Division, Aurum Exploration Fiji Limited will now buy Fiji timber to be shipped to China. 

Aurum Mining Fiji Limited is the company operating at the Nawailevu bauxite mine in Bua Province, Vanua Levu. 

The company’s operation manager, Basilio Vanuaca, confirmed this to the Fiji Sun in an interview. 

“I’ll soon be travelling to the provinces about our company’s proposal to buy local timber for our newly-acquired Savusavu timber mill,” Mr Vanuaca said. 

He said they would buy timber and ship it to the parent company in China for processing. 

When asked about the company’s expansion in the north, Mr Vanuaca said they were doing it because they wanted to help Fiji’s economy. 

He said the company just brought in 15 10-wheeler trucks and they were now operating at the bauxite mine at Nawailevu. 

Next to come will be two barges that can each carry 2000 tonnes of cargo. 

These two barges will transport soil dug out from the bauxite mine to the ship. 

The 70,000 tonnes company-owned ship, Mr Vanuaca said, was four times bigger than the inter-island roll-on, roll off ferry Spirit of Enterprise. 

“The ship, because of its size, cannot berth at our new jetty at Navakasiga,” he said. 

When asked about the expected arrival of the ship Mr Vanuaca said it would be when the first bauxite shipment was ready, which would be early next year. 

The Permanent Secretary for Lands and Mineral Resources, Filimoni Kau, said they were happy with the developments that would be carried out by Aurum in the north. 

Mr Kau said the company had agreed to help with the rural development in the areas where they worked. 

“The company is interested in helping the rural population lift their lifestyle,” he said. 

Mr Kau said the expansion would create jobs for the local people. 

The company, he said, was ready to work with the rural people in terms of development.

And it doesn't end there. Other investors are plying the illegal and treasonous Bainimarama with their get rich quck schemes.

Other chinese investors (and the Catholic Church for good measure) seeking to compete with locally owned businesses in the building/construction sector [and we hear good ol' James Ah Koy is in the mix here too], are going one further and grabbing raw materials at giveaway prices as well.

Limestone sites identified: Kau 

writer : MAIKA BOLATIKI 

11/9/2011 

Limestone sites have been identified as possible supplies for the new Chinese-owned cement factory at Veisari. 

“We have identified two limestone sites, one at Veisari and the other at Waiqanake,” the Permanent Secretary for Lands and Mineral Resources, Filimoni Kau said. 

He said they had started negotiations with the itaukei landowners as limestone was an important ingredient of cement. 

According to Wikipedia: “Cement is made by heating limestone (calcium carbonate) with small quantities of other materials (such as clay) to 1450°C in a kiln, in a process known as calcination, whereby a molecule of carbon dioxide is liberated from the calcium carbonate to form calcium oxide, or quicklime, which is then blended with the other materials that have been included in the mix.” 

Mr Kau said Tengy Cement (Fiji) Company Limited had started work on the site at Veisari and clearing was about to be completed. 

He said they had also been given a piece of land at Father Law Home by the Catholic Church in Fiji head, Archbishop Petero Mataca to construct the access road to the mataqali Natodre land, where the company would excavate about 300,000 cubic meters of soil for the factory site. 

Negotiations for the cost of the total amount of soil excavated had ended and members of the mataqali Natodre would benefit financially from the excavation. 

Compensation for the access road according to Mr Kau is $300,000 and they had already paid 75 per cent of the amount to the church. 

On the limestone, Mr Kau said they needed to negotiate with the landowners to reach a settlement before the new cement factory began its work. 

Tengy Cement (Fiji) Company Limited will be Fiji’s second cement factory and has been given a 99-year industrial lease. 

A promised benefit of the investment is the reduction in cement prices as the monopoly on cement production is removed and prices become competitive. 

The company is also scouting for possible sites for another factory to be based on Vanua Levu.

Military Regime eyes Cakaudrove Provincial Council meeting

Now that the illegal and treasonous military regime's intentions for the Rewa Provincial Council meeting have been royally scuttled, they move to their next target of Cakaudrove and hope to keep them pliant as per their plans.

Cakaudrove meet is a go 

writer : CAROLINE RATUCADRA 

11/22/2011 

Cakaudrove Provincial Council members were updated on the status of development projects undertaken by the Government in the province last night. 

When this edition went to press, Commissioner Northern, Lieutenant-Colonel Ilai Moceica and his divisional heads of departments were in a briefing with the council members. 

The briefing is an informal one before this morning’s meeting proper. 

Key issues at this morning’s meeting will include provincial council rates, effects of climate change on villages, the invasive American iguanas which have become a pest in the province and the fight against violence and abuse of children and women. 

Roko Tui Cakaudrove Ro Aca Mataitini said a Government team from Vanua Levu arrived late yesterday afternoon on board the government vessel, MV Raiyawa. 

The topic of discussions at the informal meeting was mainly on the Vanua Levu Development Plan. 

“Commissioner Northern spoke on the comprehensive part of the Vanua Levu Development Plan and about tomorrow’s (today) meeting. 

“The meeting delegation were given the time to ask questions or raise clarifications on Government services, projects and plans for the province,” Ro Aca said. 

He said the question and answer opportunity was a positive way of promoting a cordial relationship between the leaders of the vanua and Government. 

The meeting was followed by a church service attended by the Council members and government team. 

Ro Aca said an informal meeting before the meeting proper was now the way to go in addressing issues related to Government services to the people. 

“The meeting proper is a formal avenue and most Council members are not comfortable with asking questions relating to Government plans and services. Thus, the need for an informal meeting as such,” he said. 

The Cakaudrove Provincial Council meeting starts at 9am.