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?

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As a consequence, all constitutional offices have been revoked.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

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.

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

Who's talking about gouvernance here: the developed or the developing countries?

Kevin Rudd, Australia's Prime Minister, said yesterday:

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.. Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.

He said: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. '

'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.' 'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.

The Fijian economy

Endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, Fiji is one of the most developed Pacific island economy, though it remains a developing country with a large subsistence agriculture sector. Agriculture accounts for 18 % of GDP, although it employs 70 % of the workforce. Sugar exports and a growing tourist industry are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar cane processing makes up 1/3 of industrial activity. Coconuts, ginger, and copra are also significant.

Fiji has applied in 2006 for a license to drill for petroleum in Fiji's waters (Let's hope!)

In 2002, the government announced a 20-year development plan. Among other things, it aims to give indigenous Fijians a great stake in the economy. The plan envisages tax-relief to businesses owned/managed by ethnic Fijians, along with greater protection for indigenous land and fishery rights.
A major aim of the Fijian government is to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production. Cattle farming, fishing, and forestry are also being encouraged in order to diversify the economy.

In 2005, the goverment approved the proposal to develop a biofuels industry. The goal is to develope a sugar industry complement & to alleviate Fiji's dependence on imported fossil fuels such as petrol. The EU, the UNDP and the Indian goverment support this programme. Trials for the generation of fuel from coconut oil are also in progress.

But Fiji's economic difficulties have been compounded by the 3 coups over the last 20 years. A very high rate of emigration, particularly of skilled and professional personnel is causing serious problems. More than 70,000 people left the country in the aftermath of the coups (90 % of whom were Indo-Fijians). Fiji's loss of skilled workers is the world's fourth highest (behind Guyana, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad & Tobago).

A recent survey revealed a disturbingly high percentage of squatters -about one in ten Fijian citizens. The number of squatter settlements had increased 73 % since 1996. Urban migration, unemployment, the expiry of land leases, and the breakdown of nuclear and extended families were among the factors blamed for the trend. It is putting increasing strain on supplies of water, electricity, sewage, and road services.

Asia in the Pacific - replacing the West

A spectacular transition is happening in the Pacific Islands. While the original Pacific people came from Asia, for most of the past century and earlier, nearly all Pacific Islands nations were colonies of Western powers. But in the last fifty years, Asia has begun to play a bigger and bigger role in all aspects of Islands life -migration, trade and investments, aid and development, politics, strategic relations, crime, education and employment, information and media, religion, culture and sports. Asia is replacing the West. The process is irreversible. Book

Pacific leaders set Fiji deadline

Regional leaders have given Fiji's military rulers until the end of 2009 to hold an election, or face sanctions from the Pacific Islands Forum.
Meeting in Papua New Guinea, the forum said the situation in Fiji was "not acceptable by international standards". But Fiji's self-appointed leader, Frank Bainimarama, said no vote would be held until his reforms were completed, which he claimed could take 10 years.
Mr Bainimarama, an army chief, seized power in a coup in 2006. He now serves as Fiji's prime minister, but has simultaneously also held several other ministerial portfolios.
His government has missed several deadlines to hold elections - including one agreed at the forum in 2007 - and Fiji's nearest neighbours appear to have run out of patience. "More than two years of rule by an unelected military government, with no clear timetable for the return of constitutional government to the people, is not acceptable by international standards" the forum's statement said.
If Fiji does not declare an election date by the start of May, and hold the vote by the end of December, the forum said Fiji would be excluded from regional meetings and lose development funding.
After the forum's meeting, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters: "The interim [Fijian] government has shown complete contempt for its previous commitments to hold democratic elections by March of this year. "The ball now is very much in the court of the interim government of Fiji to see what they do."
Mr Bainimarama, who did not attend the forum's meeting, has long said he cannot hold elections until Fiji has made changes to its racially based electoral system.
The Fijilive news website reported Mr Bainimarama as saying on Monday: "The Electoral Act will be changed. If it takes us five years or 10 years to hold elections then so be it." Mr Bainimarama justified his coup by accusing the elected Fijian government of corruption and saying it was pursuing racist policies against the country's ethnic Indian minority.
But since then, his actions have attracted strong criticism from around the world.

Third Fiji publisher 'expelled'

Military rulers in Fiji have moved to expel an Australian newspaper publisher - the third such case in a year.
Rex Gardner and the Fiji Times were convicted of contempt of court for publishing a letter criticising judges who supported the 2006 military coup. Fijian newspapers report that Mr Gardner will be deported on Tuesday. It comes a day before a regional forum meets in Papua New Guinea to discuss Fiji's failure to restore democracy since the coup. Australia and NZ have been pushing for a harder line on Fiji's government, but smaller island nations have refused to back them.
In May, Mr Gardner's predecessor at the Fiji Times, Evan Hannah, was expelled for "breaching national security", just weeks after the editor of the Fiji Sun was deported.
But critics of the government labelled the move an attack on free speech, and Australian Foreign Minister said it was a "reprehensible act" which continued the pattern of "severe erosion of human rights" in Fiji.

Fiji time : pinturesque or annoying?

A conversation last weekend with a guy who works at "NZ All Natural Ice Cream":

Me: What time do you close?
Ice Cream Guy: 9 p.m
Me: Every night?
ICG: Yes
Me: What about tonight?
ICG: Tonight? 8:30

-I later realised that my line of questioning is one that could only be asked by someone who has spent an extended amount of time in Fiji-

At 8:15, I arrived back at the ice cream place and was met with a hand-scribbled note on the door: "Back in 5 minutes!". 20 minutes later, we sat waiting still. Two taxis came by and left disappointed as did a group of tourists.

I'll never truly get used to these experiences in Fiji.

Yeah..yeah...call it "Fiji time" and move on. Sometimes I can. Sometimes, I can't.
"Slow" as "Fiji time" is accepted by most people and can be a quaint part of travel here. "Inefficient" as "Fiji time", is not.
There is a difference between the two and the desirability of Fiji as a destination hangs in the balance. It's definitely one of the biggest challenges the country faces.

France donates $250,000

The Fiji Times published that the French Ambassador Michel Monnier handed over a cheque of $250,000 to the Fiji Red Cross Society to assist in its flood relief operations.
France and the French territories in the South Pacific have given grants to assist stricken families and businesses. Noumea provided $20,000 worth of school supplies and $65,000 to the Fiji Chamber of Commerce to help local businesses resume operations. In total, France, New Caledonia and French Polynesia have given Fiji $380,000.

And, what is the EU doing? Why ECHO assistance is not in the press?

Fiji flooding is worrying us... and Lenaic is flying back next Saturday

Floods in Fiji have claimed the lives of at least 10 people and 24 have dissappeared. Meteorologists say Fiji faces at least 3 more days of storms, in what has been described as the country's worst flooding in recent history.
At least one major international airline has scheduled extra flights to help evacuate stranded tourists. A rescue team is scouring the waters off the main island, Viti Levu, after a boat carrying 24 people was reported missing in its way to Suva.
Several days of heavy rainfall have inundated towns, submerged roads and washed away bridges on Viti Levu. A state of emergency remains in place in the west of the island, with the tourist hub of Nadi badly affected. "Stay where you are, and take extra care" Patiliai Dobui, the head of Fiji's Disaster Management Office said. Thousand residents are now in emergency shelters, after their homes were swamped by muddy floodwaters. Sugar producers say tens of millions of dollars worth of sugar cane fields have been destroyed.
The US and China have promised immediate assistance, as have Australia and New Zealand - despite the current diplomatic chill (both countries have sanctions in place against Fiji's military government in the wake of the December 2006 military coup)

Fiji's 'legal' coup

Fiji's highest court has rewritten the legal history books by ruling that the 2006 military coup was legal. The High Court says that President Ratu Josefa Iloilo's decision to use his reserve powers to back the coup led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama was justified because of the constant state of strife in Fiji at the time.

Vive la gouvernance!

Tongo en Tonga

En un lugar del Pacífico, muy cerca del Paraíso, habita un hombre cuyo trabajo es peculiar: Rey de Tonga.

Debe ser un puesto muy estresante: elegir gobierno, a los jueces, legalizar el partido único... Vamos, el no parar. Pero ya se sabe que si las cosas van estupendamente, para qué la democracia.

Su coronación ha sido esta semana lo más de lo más en Polinesia.

Cuento desde "el lado oscuro"

Érase una vez dos niños tan guapos que todo el mundo quería verles. Tanto deseaba la gente contemplar sus caritas, que una revista pagó a los padres de estos niños 14 millones de dólares para poder fotografiarles.
Érase también otros dos niños tan feos que nadie quería verles. Eran tan feos que, aunque una vez alguien les hizo una fotografía, nadie pagó nada por ella: nadie quería ver a estos niños.
Colorín, colorín, esta historia no tiene fin.

Fiji : chronology of key events

1643 -Dutch explorer Abel Tasman is the first European to visit the islands
1830s -Western Christian missionaries begin to arrive
1840s-50s -Christian convert chief Cakobau control most of western Fiji while another Christian convert, Ma'afu from Tonga, controls the east
1868 -Cakobau sells Suva -the current Fiji capital- to an Australian company

1871 -European settlers at Levuka island organize a national government and name Cakobau king of Fiji following local disorder

British rule

1874 -Fiji becomes a British crown colony at the request of Cakobau and other chiefs
1875-76 -Measles epidemic wipes out 1/3 of the Fijian population. British forces and Fijian chiefs suppress rebellion
1879-1916 -More than 60,000 indentured labourers brought in from the Indian subcontinent to work on sugar plantations
1904 -Legislative Council, consisting of elected Europeans and nominated Fijians, set up to advise the British governor
1916 -British colonial government in India stops the recruitment of indentured labourers
1920 -All labour indenture agreements in Fiji end
Fijians get the vote
1963 -Women and Fijians enfranchised, predominantly Fijian Alliance Party (AP) set up
1970 -Fiji becomes independent with Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara of the AP as prime minister
1985 -Timoci Bavadra sets up the Fiji Labour Party with trade union support
Supremacist coups
1987 Apr -Indian-dominated coalition led by Bavadra wins general election, ending 17 years of rule by the AP and Prime Minister Mara
1987 May -Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka seizes power in bloodless coup with the aim of making indigenous Fijians politically dominant
1987 Oct -Rabuka stages a second coup, proclaims Fiji a republic and appoints Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau president. Ganilau in turn appoints Ratu Mara prime minister. Fiji expelled from Commonwealth. Britain, US, Australia and NZ suspend aid.
1989 -Thousands of ethnic Indians flee Fiji
1990 -New constitution enshrining political dominance for indigenous Fijians introduced
1992 -Rabuka, of the Fijian Political Party (FPP) becomes prime minister following general election
1994 -Great Council of Chiefs appoints Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara president in January following the death of Ganilau in the previous month. Rabuka and the FPP win general election
1997 -Fiji re-admitted to the Commonwealth after it introduces a non-discriminatory constitution

Prime minister held hostage
1999 -Mahendra Chaudhry, an ethnic Indian, becomes prime minister after the Fiji Labour Party emerges from the general election with enough seats to rule on its own
2000 May -Bankrupt businessman George Speight and retired major Ilisoni Ligairi storm parliament, aiming to make indigenous Fijians the dominant political force. They take Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet hostage. Speight proclaims himself acting premier. President Mara sacks the Chaudhry government on the orders of Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs
2000 Jun -Commonwealth suspends Fiji
2000 Jul -Chaudhry and other hostages released. Great Council of Chiefs appoints Ratu Josefa Iloilo -a former father-in-law of Speight's brother- president
2000 Jul -Speight and 369 of his supporters arrested
2000 Nov -Eight soldiers are killed in a failed army mutiny
2001 Aug -Elections to restore democracy. George Speight becomes MP in a new government
2001 Sep -Indigenous Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase sworn in, but doesn't offer cabinet posts to opposition Labour Party, in defiance of constitution

2001 Dec -George Speight expelled from parliament for failing to attend sessions
2001 Dec -Fiji readmitted to the Commonwealth
2002 Feb -George Speight sentenced to death for treason. President Iloilo commutes his sentence to life imprisonment
2002 Nov -Government announces radical privatisation plan designed to stave off collapse of vital sugar industry threatened by withdrawal of EU subsidies
2003 Jul -Supreme Court rules that Laisenia Qarase must include ethnic-Indian members of the opposition Labour Party in his cabinet
2004 Apr -Former leader Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, considered to be independent Fiji's founding father, dies aged 83
2004 Aug -VicePresident Ratu Jope Seniloli found guilty of treason over his involvement in May 2000 coup attempt. He serves a few months of a four-year sentence.
2004 Nov -Labour Party declines cabinet seats in favour of opposition role.

2005 Jul -Military chief warns that he will remove government if proposed amnesty for those involved in 2000 coup goes ahead
2006 Mar -Great Council of Chiefs elects incumbent President Iloilo to a second, five-year term
2006 May -Former PM Sitiveni Rabuka is charged with orchestrating a failed army mutiny in Nov 2000. Ruling party leader and incumbent PM Laesenia Qarase narrowly wins elections and is sworn in for a second term
Military coup
2006 Oct-Nov -Tensions rise between PM Laesenia Qarase and military chief Frank Bainimarama, who threatens to oust the government after it tries, and fails, to replace him. Qarase goes into hiding as the crisis escalates
2006 Dec -Frank Bainimarama says in a televised address he has taken executive powers and dismissed PM Laisenia Qarase. Commonwealth suspends Fiji because of the coup
2007 Jan -Bainimarama restores executive powers to President Iloilo and takes on the role of interim prime minister
2007 Feb -Bainimarama announces plans to hold elections in 2010
2007 Apr -Bainimarama sacks the Great Council of Chiefs and suspends all future meetings, after the chiefs refuse to endorse his government and his nomination for vice president
2007 Jun -State of emergency lifted but reimposed in Sept. Lifted again in Oct
2007 Nov -Bainimarama says police have foiled a plot to assassinate him
2008 Feb -Bainimarama appoints himself as chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, a body he suspended after it failed to back his Dec 2006 coup
2008 Jul -Bainimarama postpones elections promised for early 2009 on the grounds that electoral reforms could not be completed in time

EU wants elections in Fiji before February next year

The European Commissioner for Development Cooperation Louis Michel welcomed the assessment of the EU Troika Mission which visited Fiji last month. But Mr Michel expressed concern at the absence of democratic rule and at the vulnerability of the rule of law and respect for human rights. "I can never condone a military takeover" said Mr Michel. He said the onus was on the interim Government to meet its commitments and hold elections before February. He confirmed that the EU will deliver its assistance program once these commitments were met.
However, he said, there were concerns that the elections timetable could change.
Mr Michel commented that the mission was able to pursue a "constructive if at times difficult dialogue" with the interim Government and key political actors. He was particularly pleased that all political stakeholders availed themselves for the political dialogue which was facilitated by Commonwealth Special Envoy, Sir Paul Reeves.

popularity for Fiji

Nicole Kidman has given birth yesterday and she has made no secret of her desire to raise her children in private on a tiny Fijian Island, away from the glare and bitter temptation of Hollywood.

Kidman has been to the exclusive Wakaya Resort a number of times and she knows Fiji very well.

Famous people going to Fiji = Popularity = Tourism = Wealth for the country = Development

Commonwealth wants Fiji back in

New Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, says the Commonwealth would like to see Fiji return to its placing in the 53 member grouping of nations.

Sharma’s special envoy to Fiji, former New Zealand Governor General, Sir Paul Reeves, was in Fiji and laid the ground work to the proposed electoral forum to bring about changes in the electoral system. Sharma said that broad based political dialogue is a necessity for Fiji, if the interim government wants to move the country towards democratic processes. Sir Paul has been in contact with all forms of interlocutors in Fiji to try and set the ground rules for the way forward.

Fiji main's (only) problem: gouvernance, gouvernance & gouvernance.

All the international organisations are focusing in the same topic, but... does Fiji gouverment/people react?

how is Fiji going to archieve the MDG's ?

After identifying the main priorities for each Goal and its strategy to archieve it, some Goals and targets have been adjusted to ensure alignment to Fiji’s objectives and reflect national contexts and priorities.

To monitor progress, MDG National Task Forces and Committees have been created, showing national commitment and ensuring enhanced ownership.

But, data collection is difficult: the absence of accurate data in some sectors, the lack of full exploitation of available data, unconsolidated data/storage and reporting, the lack of capacity and resources to analyse data, and the lack of coordination in data gathering, analysis, documentation and reporting, both among national agencies and between national agencies and development partners is a problem. The quality of survey information, statistical tracking and analysis capacity, as well as the ability to incorporate statistical analysis into policy, planning, programming, and resource allocation mechanisms are challenges to be addressed.
The challenge for Fiji now is to cost policies and correctly allocate budgets (both domestic and external resources) to implement, monitor and evaluate results towards MDG achievement. Ongoing efforts are directed towards expanding knowledge on the MDGs more widely as information should not be confined to the national policy and planning levels. Fiji needs to ensure that lower levels of sectoral planning and implementation are also provided with the relevant knowledge, understanding, and support to be able to implement and monitor the activities needed to facilitate MDG achievement.

Conclusion: communication & information are needed to put the words (policy) into facts (practice)