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.
