Rumours abound of a bloodless coup within the RFMF. That Ului and Driti have somehow ganged up and taken over the military.
Now I am not sure whether this is true or not, but one thing I am certain of at this stage.
THIS IS WRONG!!!!!
Is this what we want? Another coup? It's like swapping one form of cancer for another. Why would anyone, in their right mind, want to have this?
Fiji deserves a government of the people. When you read that, read "ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE!!!". No more of this military crap. We have people who are best suited to the parade ground, whose experience includes polishing boots, rolling in the mud and who come from an institute where the bar is set at the soon-to-be-abolished 4th form exam, leading our country. And worse of all, we don't even have a say in any of this.
How would Driti/Ului be our saviour now? If they have any decency, they would have done what Jone Baledrokadroka and other principled officers did. They would not have tagged along for the ride, and once it looked like their bacon would be cooked, tried to steal the whole leg-of-ham for themselves.
What's to say that if the rumours are true, and they have taken over the RFMF, that this would not happen to them down the line? That someone else within that asylum that shames St. Giles, would covertly gather support amongst his fellow officers, and overthrow this duo some time in the future? We'd have a coup cycle on steriods, a very Pacific "Night of the Long Knives"....
We need to excise this madness. To remove this disease. Only then, we can heal, and live and love again, without the fear, divisions and segregation that has infected Fiji.
We need to have a government, and a country where we know that things will be worked out civilly, that every man and woman has equal opportunity to be heard, that my rights will not impinge on another, that we will make decisions collectively, for the common good. We deserve a nation where the minority is considered, where we see differences as variety, the spice of life and not as markers that denominate our enemies. We need to be able to look at every person, every citizen of these islands and see our future, our hope, not someone who is out to get you.
Keep spreading the word. No more RFMF in Fiji.
God Bless Fiji...... God help us, if we head down this road. FijianBlack
It's been a patchy few years for me as a blogger. From the few of us who started out in the beginning, only an handful are still plugging away, with Intelligentsyia and Disc. Bubu being at the forefront of this group. I take my hat off to these people, as they have not stopped in their efforts.
However, the reason behind my rather "inadequate" postings has been a search for a way out. I hit the "wall" about 2 years back, when I started to realize that we, as a country are stuck in a rut. This is what I mean.
Imagine if we actually have democratic elections. 2014, I believe, was the date last given by the "roadmap", not that those of us with our wits still intact take that with any seriousness. Why?
Because we have valid reasons to seriously doubt the sincerity of Bainimarama's latest decision.
Because he has done this in the past and changed set dates as and when it suited him.
Now, I don't know about you, but this is a major inconvience for me. I mean, come on, I'm trying to get on with my life here, plan for the future of the family, the tokatoka/mataqali/yavusa etc etc and this guy, on a monumental matter of this nature, cannot make up his mind. How can any turaga, marama, bhaiya, bhaini, man or woman plan their lives around this?
This brings something to the fore, something that should be front and centre, but has been allowed to slip into the background, as we "ooh" and "aah" and throuw our collective oileis into the air whilst pouring over the latest news, the lack of cement, the circus at FHL, the dwindling Governmental assets, the laying off of staff etc etc. While all of these things are important, they are mere symptoms of the cause.
If said elections are held, what guarantee does anyone (let alone the poor sods elected into Government) have that this regime will allow them to govern as they see fit, with the real mandate of the people (versus the "mandate of one" that this regime uses as justification of it's actions)? How do we know that they won't take over government again using our "interests" as a thin, sham of a lie excuse for doing so? After all, since 2000, Bainimarama and the military has always been in the background, hovering, exerting a disproportional amount of influence over the government and the country as a whole.
I have thought long and hard about this, and while I'd prefer another way, I think there is no other.
This regime, and the military that backs it has to go. It must be removed, and destroyed. It is a cancer in the affairs of our nation, a tumor that sucks up the "blood" of this country, and does nothing for us in return. We see career civil servants being laid off unceremoniously, after years of experience, and investments made in the way of training, further education etc etc. Trade opportunities are being denied to us. Doors for aid, assistance, travel are being closed. We are payiing a price that is way too heavy for us to bear, collectively and individually.
We must dismantle the RFMF. While it will leave us with 3000-odd unemployed people, it is far better than having a nation of beggars. Do not be deceived, that is exactly where we are heading right now, and this regime is steering us there, with the ineptitude and collective idiocy.
We do not need a strong army to protect us. We need strong citizens, people who will stand up and defend this nation. And this is where we start.
If you read this post, tell your trusted ones that this is the way to go, the path to our salvation as a nation. We need to convince the people of Fiji that this regime must be toppled at all costs.
What will you do if it comes to bloodshed? Are you willing to lay your life down? What if it costs you your job? You livelihood? Your family? Your current way of life? These are things you, and I must consider if we want to have this freedom that we all yearn for, that we all cry for.
Consider also, the cost of doing nothing. Look around you and see what it has brought us. Lower GDP, lower tourist numbers, more inflation, shortage of goods (milk, butter, cement etc) brain drain, restrictions of speech, movement, on opinions itself, a very bad future for our children.......
Some of you will favor limiting their influence. That is akin to taking one step away from the edge of the cliff we are about to jump off as a nation. If we are to do this, we must remove this cancer altogether, so that we can heal and live free from this evil. If not, they will come back to haunt us again in the future.
Now if you decide that doing something is the lesser of two evils, compared to doing nothing, you must help me convince our fellow citizens that we must do something, and that we must remove this regime, by force if required. Tell your friends that the army must go. It needs to be dismantled. Their weapons have to be destroyed. Their influence on our lives must be nulified. Convince them that we need to rise up against these tyrants, and stop them. We need to do this collectively, if we are to be effective, because this is a collective problem, and only collectively, we can suceed. If this is attempted by individuals, we will fail, we will fall, and our doom, that that of our children and their children will be on our heads.
There were hints of this happening, and rumours that it was going to come. The push has been going on for a long time...lets see....
Illegal removal of a democratically elected government
Illegal imprisonment, torture, and killing of Fiji civilians
Increasing cost of living
Devaluation of the Fiji dollar
Lack of funds in the public coffers
Whilst on that 5th point...has anyone noticed that the FNPF is now making things so much harder to the contributors (you, me and anyone who has that "8%" deducted from their pay) to access their money? When you call their helpline and ask, you get all this crap about how they are trying to help us save for our retirement.
Now, if you are withdrawing for education, the limit is $2000 per term/semester. If your fees are over $2000 ( for USP students, this is a very likely scenario), then you need to fork out the balance from your pocket, or forgo some units/subjects. You cannot withdraw for anoyone outside your immediate family. I'd bet my FNPF savings ( whatever is left there now) that this regime is bleeding it dry as we speak/type etc etc.... looks like we could have the makings of a financial collapse that would dwarf the NBF saga.
Also, while on this, anyone tried going through the list of FNPF members with unclaimed monies in the Fiji Times? I tried, and it was a chore...with all the names jumbled up, and even some like "Viliame"... I mean come on !!!! Viliame????? I think there would be a couple of hundred of them in the FNPF member listings... then it struck me.....
What if this was merely to lay the groundwork for the FNPF to seize this money for reuse elsewhere? If our money really safe? Will we have something waiting there for our retirement? If not......
In case you think this is one lone opinion, here are two articles from the Fiji Times (pre-censorship of course, when the news was the truth, and Fiji TV ran 1 hr 6pm news bulletins as opposed to the 20 min/40min split with Mr. Bean).
I've also downloaded the pages and will post them online, when (not if) the censors (Ms Tora I believe..) at FT get them removed.
While on the subject of money going missing, the Unit Trust of Fiji has been sluggish in it's response to unit sales. People who try to cash out cannot get their checks the same day, and in some cases, are even told that they cannot take the whole amount at once. You try to take money out, especially if it's a big amount, it gets split into multiple checks, with excuses like "the signatories weren't available to sign the check" but hang on... didn't they just sign the previous one????
All in all, while you can, save wherever you can, preferably overseas. Also, don't invest (well, not in the UTOF or Fijian Holdings UT for that matter), and try your damndest to withdraw whatever you can from the FNPF, before the thieves get their mitts on your paisa. After all, you might as well use of saqamoli's before they do.
Tale, after a long long hiatus from yours truly. I have been away from the local, anti-propaganda, free to express my opinions blogging scene that is thriving locally, aided in no small measure by the censorship manure that this abrogation-spawned excuse of a government has dumped on the media, and it's vital freedom to report unbiased, untainted news that is crucial to democracy.
To my ardent fans, I apologise for not writing for so long, but as I was explaining to a fellow blogger, I have been stumped as to what else to write, what else to do, to express my opposition to this regime, that is like the kelekele of the MV Iloilovatu that the vessel's namesake has so merrily (some say senilely) tied around our collective necks.
I will not digress into the state of affairs within Fiji, the freefall we are now in as a nation. That is more than amply covered by the plethora of blogs, old and not so new, that are now the band-aid solution to a people looking for uncensored news.
What I wish to address is what we can do about the situation that we face.
We must show this regime, Bainimarama, Teleni, Nailatikau, Ganilau and all the "40 thieves" that "open seseme" is no longer acceptable to us. We need to show each other that we oppose this coup. People need to see that they are not alone in their opposition to this regime, that there are more of us, than there are of them....
How?
Leave a black Xto show that you oppose this coup. Anywhere public. The bigger, the better. It will show people that there are others out there that are opposed to the farce that is now taking place in Fiji. It is safe to do, will not take a long time to execute, and will also be hard to deny.
It is also ironic, that the last foot-in-mouth comment (See right) is what it is, and that was said by Bainimarama over a year ago....
