Fiji suspended from Commonwealth

The Commonwealth (CW) has fully suspended Fiji after it refused to bow to demands to call elections by next year. CW Secretary General cited Fiji's lack of progress towards democracy.
Frank Bainimarama seized power in Fiji in a 2006 coup and has said elections can only be reinstated in 2014, as part of his "roadmap". He says he needs time to institute reforms that will end the ethnic-based voting system tipped in favour of ethnic Fijians.
But his critics charge that under his rule, Fiji has suspended the constitution, detained opponents and suppressed freedom of speech.

This is not the first time Fiji has been in trouble with the CW. It has twice faced the lesser sanction of being suspended from its meetings - after earlier coups in Fiji. But this sanction goes a step further. In practical terms it means Fiji cannot attend any CW meetings, including taking part in the CW Games in 2010, or participate in training schemes and other technical aid.
The CW is not a large donor to Fiji and the sanction is largely symbolic, but the non-participation to the CW Games really annoys the Fijian people and that could give them a reason to react against its self-appointed goverment.

Bainimarama reply to this suspension was: "The Fiji government believes the roadmap is the only path to ensuring sustainable and true democracy, which includes... to have elections in 2014. We will remain with that."

101 East - Fiji: dictating democracy - 30 July 09 - Part 2

101 East - Fiji: dictating democracy - 30 July 09 - Part 1

Fiji Future Requires Diversity of News

Pacific analysts must become more creative in their approach to thinking about Fiji and its future, an academic from The Australian National University (ANU) argued in Canberra. Dr Katerina Teaiwa, Pacific Studies Convenor at ANU, says that solutions for Fiji won’t be found in adversarial thinking, framed around a pro or anti-military viewpoint. She says that more lateral, creative thinking is required to map out a better future for the nation. “We need more options than just ‘for or against’,” Dr Teaiwa says. “We cannot just roll out a series of economic or political facts which paint the bleak picture we expect to see. We have a responsibility to use these and other contextual knowledge to go further to provide more positive readings that are actually helpful for the people of Fiji as a whole,” she said.

“Anyone who lives in or is from Fiji knows that the situation is not completely hopeless. Fiji requires more diversity amongst, and collaboration between, its experts so that the situation on the ground is illuminated from multiple spheres and through multiple lenses. If we want freedom of speech, democracy and diversity on the ground, we should apply the same principles in terms of the voices and sectors we draw upon to understand the situation.” Dr Teaiwa argues that there is a need to look more closely at modes of communication, cultural institutions and other sectors which are commonly left out of the dominant political and economic discussions about Fiji. The battle around race politics is played out as much in the realm of popular perception as in government policy. Popular perception is shaped not just by NGOs, newspapers, church ministers, business and political party leaders, or military rulers, but by popular culture and what islanders call the ‘coconut wireless’. “The areas of heritage, sports, cultural policy, festivals, music, and the performing and visual arts require closer examination as they increasingly offer economic and political avenues and tools for Fiji islanders. Most importantly, as indicated by the growing importance of cultural diplomacy internationally, these arenas provide real nuts and bolts for positive nation building, regional harmony, cooperation, and peace.” Dr Teaiwa presented her research at the Parliament House yesterday. Further information at Dr Teaiwa's page

First LATIN Festival in Suva

First LATIN Festival in Suva

including a photography exhibition on the Rio do Janeiro Carnival, a series of films to get you through the diversity of Latin America and .. of course, a LATIN festival could not miss a... LATIN FIESTA!

LATIN dance lessons, LATIN drinks and LATIN music and...

FREE ENTRACE TO ALL THE EVENTS!

Check the event page for details!

Fijian Contemporary Dance

Fiji’s first Pacific opera: Domo ni Karmen

The French Embassy funded Fiji’s first Pacific opera: Domo ni Karmen or Karmen’s voice. It is a Pacific adaptation of Carmen the most beloved and played opera of all time. Domo ni Karmen is directed by renowned musical director Igeles Ete and local playwright and stage director Larry Thomas. Natasha Underwood takes on the role of Karmen with the assistance of dancer and choreographer Ateca Ravuvu.Georges Bizet’s rich musicology is adapted in a Pacific feat with lali drums, bamboo nose flute, ukeleles and clapping in accord with more classical instruments to create original sounds from Bizet’s famous arias. Musicians from the New Caledonia Conservatoire will also be taking stage.

The original Carmen by French composer Georges Alexandre César Léopold Bizet was performed in Paris in 1875. Carmen is the story of a “femme fatale”, a stunning and manipulative woman who leads men astray by her beauty and dancing. She is a fatalist and a hedonist living entirely for the present moment. In parallel, Fijian women are too often seen as introvert stifled by rules of men, tradition and religion. Like Carmen beyond their incredible strength and resilience lie passion, cheerfulness and desire. Thus Domo ni Karmen aims to tell a Melanesian story with the action set in a traditional village. The characters are a representation of everyday life with the arrival of Karmen the city girl, who disrupts the established order of rural women in the village. Behind the Carmen story is the modern woman who strives for equal rights, freedom and acknowledgement in society. The initiative of Domo ni Karmen was put together by the cooperative work of talents available in Fiji and the Pacific region. The invitation of musicians from New Caledonia is testament of France’s vision to promote cultural exchange and cooperation within the Pacific region.This production is also a celebration of women and their contribution to life and to our society.

This production could be an inspiration for self-worth and collective self-esteem for women. Youth issues and choices are also highlighted as they journey through life.F inally we hope that this production will bring tolerance and hope as our humanity is revealed

The voice of Karmen in our fast changing society is a challenge to censoring from tradition, religion and racisms. It is also a voice for the protection of basic human rights and reconciliation through music and dance

Tinaqu: contemporary dance to fight violence against women

The Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies staged ‘TINAQU’, a piece about violence against women.
The play was inspired and choreographed by Salote Sinukula Naulumatua. She interpreted the major incidents that affected her life through dance and music woven together with some highs and lows, joy and pain of growing up with her mother. This included dealing with the outside world, a world that is not always kind to single mothers and their children. In the process, Salote is convinced saying “It is our given right and freedom to be unique, even from the norms of society that stereotypes women to derogatory identities which limits women’s opportunities in life. We as women should go beyond definitions defined by others”.
While ‘TINAQU’ challenges us all to talk about social issues such as violence against women, it also reminds us to celebrate our mothers and the strong women that have looked after and nurtured us. It reminds us of the need to work together to fight Violence against Women, which is increasing in Fiji and the Pacific.
The production was dedicated to the late Professor Epeli Hau’ofa.

Did you know…

... that Pacnews stopped reporting on Fijian news rather than submit to government censorship in the wake of the 2009 Fijian constitutional crisis?

Expats Guide Towards Surviving a Fijian Coup

Click here. I find this expat opinion quite interesting. I do not agree completly (he's quite soft describing the political situation and the local's reaction) but I he gives a general overview of the dilemma tourism vs. politics

Democratic future fades for Fiji

A Spanish proverb says: “Se puede decir mas alto pero no mas claro” (you can say it louder but not clearer). We usually say that when things are so clear that no more words are needed.

This article explains the situation in Fiji briefly & clear: Democratic future fades for Fiji

This morning, within 2 hours, the Fijian dollar has been devaluated by 20%.

Fijians woke up even poorer than they went to sleep. And… no reaction yet?

A guy does a coup d’etat 2 years ago and… no reaction?

The guy declares the coup d’etat legal and… no reaction?

The guy absolves the Constitution and declares himself (not directly but almost…) President and… no reaction?

The guy doesn’t care -and explicitly openly says that he doesn’t care- of the International community penalties including trade & tourism bans and… no reaction?

Everyone (local & international community) agrees that just the Fijian people could do something to change the situation and… still… no reaction?

What are they waiting for?

Before, the press was censured. Now, it is lying!

This article has been published by the Fiji Times today:

Devaluation a 'positive' measure
The devaluation of the Fiji dollar by the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) will have a positive impact on Fijis export industry, says Fiji Association of Banks chairman John Cashmore.
Mr Cashmore was commenting on the central bank's announcement of the 20% devaluation of the Fiji dollar. He said the devaluation would boost the tourism industry, which in turn would help the countrys economy. Mr Cashmore also agreed with the RBF's forecast that the cost of living would rise significantly but it would subside over the next 12 months.
The RBF, in its statement earlier today, said the devaluation would bring the Fiji Dollar in line with Fiji's major trading partner countries like Australia and NZ. "The Fiji Dollar had appreciated significantly by around 20% since 2007/2008," it explained. This, said the bank, was unsustainable and thus required adjustment in the form of a devaluation.

Can someone believe in this propaganda?

New media regulations - Towards freedom of speech

"According to the new Public Emergency Regulations 2009, which is now in force since the 1997 Constitution was purportedly abrogated last Friday, the Permanent Secretary for Information has the total power to control broadcasts and publications.
Major Neumi Leweni, who was the deputy secretary of the Department of Information prior to Friday's events, has been appointed the department's permanent secretary.
Section (2) states: In order to give effect to subsection (1) above any broadcaster or publisher upon direction by the Permanent Secretary for Information must submit to him or her all material for broadcast or publication material before broadcast or publication.
Section (3) reads: Any person or entity which fails in any way whatsoever to comply with the provisions of this section may be ordered by the Commissioner of Police or Officer Commanding upon advice from the Permanent Secretary for Information to cease all activities and operations.
Fiji Times Limited's decision was also taken in accordance with a further communication from Major Leweni who instructed the media to "refrain from publishing and broadcasting any news item that is negative in nature, relating to the assumption of executive authority on 10 April by His Excellency the President and the subsequent appointments of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers .... in accordance with Section 16 (1) of the Public Emergency Regulations".

Free speech 'trouble'

In an interview with Radio NZ, Bainimarama said he was determined to carry out what he described as reforms.
He defended the introduction of emergency regulations that include an edict that the local Fijian media publishes only positive news, saying Fiji does not need free and open public discussion about current issues.
"That was how we ended up with what we came up with in the last couple of days," he told Radio NZ."The circumstances have changed. We [the government] now decide what needs to be done for our country, for the reforms that need to be put in place for us to have a better Fiji," he said.

Fiji's political situation getting worse...

On the 9th April, the military take-over was declared illegal by the country's Court of Appeal, which prompted Commodore Bainimarama to step down as interim prime minister.
Fiji's President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, who is a loyal supporter of the armed forces commander, responded by abrogating the constitution and dismissing the judiciary bodies.

As a consequence, all constitutional offices have been revoked. The vacant posts include the Supervisor of Elections, the Ombudsman, the Auditor-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Commissioner of Police, and the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji .

Moreover, a 30-day state of emergency has been declared. Under these conditions, media are being censored and editors at Fiji's newspapers as well as television and radio stations have been ordered not to publish or broadcast any material that shows the military in a bad light. Officials of the Ministry of Information and policemen have been placed in the premises of local newspapers, radios and televisions.
The military administration was reinstated, its grip on power now stronger than ever...

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7996322.stm

Cyclone Lin visits Fiji

A tropical cyclone warning is now in force for the East of Fiji while the alert has been cancelled for Taveuni and nearby smaller islands.

Tropical Cyclone Lin was located 330km East-Northeast of Fiji at 8am today, the Nadi Weather office said.

The rest of the country can expect strong wind warnings.

What a welcome! :(

Fiji wins Hong Kong 7s

Fiji won an exciting final 26-24 to clinch a famous victory against South Africa at Hong Kong Sevens.
This is the first time Fiji wins in Hong Kong in a decade, and breaks a 23-month drought in the IRB Sevens World Series. Fiji Times title “Redemption” also summarize the feeling of the Fijians after the big deception of the World Cup played a few weeks ago in Dubai.
The victory cloaked the side as angels of happiness, with 30 IRB series points, thrusting us to Fiji third behind South Africa and England and keep the chase wide open with three tournaments to go.

More info at IRB or Fiji Times

Snorkeling & Scuba Diving

Fiji is famous among divers as being the "Soft Coral Capital of the World" because of its enormous number and variety of colorful corals, which attract a host of fish: more than 35 species of angelfish and butterfly fish swim in these waters.
All but a few resorts in Fiji have dive operations on-site. Most of them have equipment for rent, but ask before coming out here what they have available.

Even the heavily visited Mamanuca Islands off Nadi have good sites, including the Pinnacle, a coral head rising 18m from the lagoon floor, and a W-shaped protrusion from the outer reef. A drawback for some divers is that they don't have the Mamanuca sites all to themselves.
In Beqa Lagoon, the soft corals of Frigate Passage seem like cascades falling over one another, and Side Streets has unusual orange coral. The southern coast of Viti Levu has mostly hard corals, but you can go shark diving off Pacific Harbour; that is, the dive masters attract sharks by feeding them.
South of Viti Levu, Kadavu island is skirted by the Great Astrolabe Reef, known for its steep outside walls dotted with both soft and hard corals. The Astrolabe attracts Fiji's largest concentration of manta rays.
The reefs off Rakiraki and northern Viti Levu offer many tunnels and canyons plus golden soft corals growing on the sides of coral pinnacles.
Ovalau Island and Levuka aren't beach destinations, but good dive sites are nearby, including at the shipwrecks near Levuka harbor, and soft coral spots nearby Wakaya Island.
Off Savusavu, the barrier reef around Namenalala Island is officially the Namena Marine Protected Reserve. Both hard and soft corals attract an enormous number of small fish and their predators.
Fiji's best and most famous site for soft corals is Somosomo Strait between Vanua Levu and Taveuni in northern Fiji, home of the Great White Wall and its Rainbow Reef. The Great White Wall is covered from between 23 and 60m deep with pale lavender corals, which appear almost snow-white underwater. Near Qamea and Matagi, off Taveuni, are the appropriately named Purple Wall, a straight drop from 9 to 24m and Mariah's Cove, a small wall as colorful as the Rainbow Reef.

Just in case, the Fiji Recompression Chamber Facility (tel. 336 2172) is in Suva near Colonial War Memorial Hospital. And remember, you will need at least 12 hours -longer after multiple dives- between your last dive and flying, so plan accordingly!.

To get your PADI check here

Tsunami warning for Fiji

8:10AM this morning!! A tsunami warning has been issued after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck early this morning about 209kilometres from Tonga and 400kilometres from Fiji. The warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre for all coastal areas of South Pacific islands after sea level readings confirmed that a tsunami was generated. It is expected to strike along the coast of Fiji shortly after 8am as a result of the quake which had a reported depth of 10 kilometres. "An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami," said the Centre.

Result: everybody sent at home (if home is located on a high point...), office closed... Lots of cars in Suva leaving the centre etc. Apocalyptic!!!

photos: http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/portfolio/2009/03/19/eruption-sous-marine-aux-tonga_1169916_3244.html

¿Sabías que...

...Los nativos de la isla de yap utilizan rocas gigantes como moneda de cambio?

Yap (llamada por los nativos Wa'ab) es una isla de los Estados Federados de Micronesia en el océano Pacífico. La "isla" de Yap consiste en realidad en cuatro islas continentales muy cercanas unidas en un arrecife de coral y enteramente formado de una edificación de la placa Eurásica. Las islas se componen de colinas densamente cubiertas de vegetación y pantanos en la orilla. Una barrera externa de arrecifes rodea las islas, encerrando una laguna entre los arrecifes colindantes y el borde interno de la barrera de arrecifes.
Colonia es la capital que administra a Yap y unos 130 atolones que alcanzan al este y sur unos 800 km. La población de 2003 fue de 6.300 y el estado tiene un área total de 102 km².
Yap es quizás el más tradicional de los cuatro estados de los Estados Federados de Micronesia.

Growing influence of China in region

'The western nations' continuing tough stand on Fiji will not only draw Fiji closer to the Asian power -notably China- but also the other Pacific Islands nations that are eligible to draw down aid from the allocated US$600 million.

Fiji is now all set to access a part of the US$600 million soft loan from China that has been set aside for development projects in the Pacific Islands nations.
Last month, Bainimarama took the opportunity of Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping's visit to Fiji to convey to the government in Beijing that Fiji had now finished the preparatory work and was ready to access its share of the soft loan facility earmarked for the Pacific Islands.
The lack of democracy in Fiji has made little difference to the way the Asian behemoth looks at its relationship with the South Pacific nation, unlike the harsh treatment meted out to the coup by the western world -mainly Australia, NZ, US and the EU-.
While these western nations have slammed sanction upon sanction on Fiji in a bid to put pressure on the interim administration to hold elections and pave the way for the return of a democratically elected government, China has refrained from even so much as commenting publicly on Fiji's internal situation, let alone criticising it.
There has been no talk of any sanctions, pressure to hold elections or bring back democracy.
In contrast to the western nations' tough position that has banned Bainimarama, his military council, members of his administration, their families and even sports teams from travelling to Australia and NZ, Bainimarama and his senior officials have travelled freely to China throughout these years.
For the past decade China growing influence in the region has been visible. Its plans to build one of the largest military bases in Guam has also been seen as a move to "conquer" the Pacific.
The western powers know that tiny nations of the Pacific now have an alternative source of aid and that they no longer depend solely on them as they have for over ten decades. The Asian economic powerhouses of China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea have happily fulfilled that need to a large extent.
With the economic crisis plaguing much of the western world, there is little hope of any possibility of increased aid coming their way from that quarter-on the contrary, there is a distinct possibility of further aid cuts, if at all. While on the other hand, there is an assured, sanctioned sum of US$600 million available on tap from China.
If China agrees to release the first tranche of funds to Fiji soon, the rest of the Pacific nations will see that as a signal to align even more closely with the Chinese approach to the Pacific which is to leave the countries to sort out their internal problems without any external influence (other than, of course, the insistence on the One-China policy).
The western lack of results in their negotiations with Fiji has in fact helped accelerate the growing influence of the Asian powers in the region.

Pacific bookstore

I found a great link: South Pacific Islands Bookstore
A wide range of South Pacific-related books are linked here. A quick visit to these pages will let you know what’s available.

Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu

Using a similar format to that of his previous book, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Troost creates a comical and touching travel memoir. Troost and his wife, Sylvia, move from busy Washington, D.C., to Vanuatu, a nation made up of 83 islands in the South Pacific. As Sylvia works for a regional nonprofit, Troost immerses himself in the islands' culture, an odd mix of the islanders' thousand-year-old "kastoms" along with imperialist British and French influences. This really means that Troost gets to live in a nice house while he gets drunk on kava; dodges "a long inferno of magma and a cascade of lava bombs" at the "world's most accessible volcano"; and checks out the "calcified" leftovers from one of Vanuatu's not-so-ancient traditions, cannibalism. At the end of the book, the couple move to Fiji so that Sylvia will have state-of-the-art medical care when she gives birth to their first baby. While modern-day Fiji provides little fodder for Troost's comic sensibilities, the birth of his son enables him to share some deeper thoughts and decide it is "time to stop looking for paradise." A funny travelogue with a sentimental heart, Troost's latest work genuinely captures the search for paradise as well as the need for home.

US 2008 Human Rights Report - Fiji

Fiji is a constitutional republic with a population of approximately 828.000.

The constitution provides for a ceremonial president selected by the Great Council of Chiefs and an elected prime minister and parliament. However, in 2006 the armed forces commander, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, overthrew the elected government in a bloodless coup d'etat. In January 2007 the interim military government was replaced by a nominally civilian interim government ("the interim government") headed by Bainimarama as prime minister. Bainimarama and his Military Council controlled the security forces.
The interim government denied citizens the right to change their government peacefully. The judiciary was subject to political interference. The interim government engaged in intimidation of the media and restricted the right to assemble peacefully. Other problems during the year included poor prison conditions, attacks against religious facilities, government corruption, deep ethnic divisions, violence and discrimination against women, and sexual exploitation of children.

Full report

Tongan traditional clothing

An extraordinary feature when arriving in Tongatapu -main island of Tonga- is the elegant traditional clothing of the locals.
Tongan men wear a tupenu, a cloth that is similar to a sulu in Fiji, which is wrapped around the waist. In daily life, Tongans wear a shirt to top the tupenu (with eventually a tie for official occasion). Often, a ta’ovala, a woven mat, is worn over the tupenu. It is wrapped around the waist and secured with a kafa rope. The normal taʻovala, for everyday neat wear, is a short mat, coming halfway up the thighs. The mat worn on festive occasions is much larger, and often very nicely decorated. Likewise the taʻovala for a funeral is also a huge mat, but much coarser, not decorated, and if the wearer has an inferior rank towards the deceased, the mat is old and torn. The older and more torn it is, the better. Yet all these special mats are kept as precious heirlooms. Taʻovala are traditionally made of strips of pandanus leaves or strips of hibiscus bast fiber.
Women wear a tupenu too, but a long one which should reach to the ankles. The tupenu is usually topped with a kofu or dress. They also wear a taʻovala, or more often a kiekie, a string skirt attached to a waistband. It is lighter and cooler than a mat.
School children unifrom woumls also include the upenu and a ta’ovala.
According to a Tongan story, a group of Tongans once arrived by boat at the Tu’I Tonga (line of Tongan kings), but they had had a rough ride and their clothing, if any remained, was not respectable. They cut the sail of their boat (Polynesian sails are also mats) in pieces and wrapped them around. The king was so pleased by the sacrifice they had made to him of their expensive sail, that he ordered this dress to be court dress from then on. The Tongan waist-mat probably shares a common origin or inspiration as the Samoan valatau or vala waistband often donned by orators and chiefly sons and daughters on festive occasions and rituals. The ta'ovala is also commonly seen among the Fijian Lau islands, a region once heavily influenced by Tongan hegemony and culture.