A Way Out

Bula All,

A very wise lady forwarded me this, which after a good read (and it is quite lengthy) is worth looking at, in the Fiji context.

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/48861531

It details how to set-up a non-violent resistance to dictatorships that can, and have actually brought down regimes.

We won't get help from others, we MUST do this ourselves.

For Fiji.

And the Slide continues......

If you cannot see it by now (or swallow the crap the junta is peddling) the country is fast going down the drain. The State is selling off Government assets (no wonder, they need cash to keep operating!!!!).

So what will Fiji use to gain those much needed dollars when we recover? I say when, because I am an optimist, I believe in the justness of our course, and conversely, the inate wrongness of the regime's aim. I know that in the end, justice will prevail, but when is the million dollar question.

If you have any assets left in Fiji, get them out. FNPF etc etc.....before these goons get their hands on your hard earned belongings.

I feel for our nation!!!

The Way Back

Bula All,

The last few years have been an exercise in frustration, futile hopes and dashed dreams. I write this while pondering the effects of the rumour that Bainimarama and Khaiyum had been arrested by the Army.

We need to do something now. Fiji is going down the drain. Overseas debtors are foreclosing on loans that our Sugar Industry has taken out. These loans are guaranteed by our Government. I know that a lot of you don't see this regime as a true representation of our society, but that debt, like all the others, and all the mess that we've had to field collectively, is something that we will have to sort out as a nation.

So what are we to do? I think the time for talk is over. We need to do something. Most people want us to go to elections. Why? If the Army is still there, what is the point of having elections? If they don't like the government we vote in, we'll have another coup.

We need to get rid of the Army.
This is something we have been talking about within our own circles over the last few years. We whisper this amongst trusted friends. I'm asking for anyone who thinks this should be done, to comment on this post, and say so. Please, your comments means a lot to others who, think that they are in the minority with their views, but are actually many in number.

We waited for our leaders to do something...............................they failed.
We waited for our neighbours to do something........................they failed.
We waited for civil society to do somrthing...............................they failed.
We waited for family and friends overseas to do something...they failed.

Where else will we look?

I say the time for looking is over, the time for doing is upon us. We must be the ones to do this, for if we fail, our children, and their children will curse us, for not being strong enough to do something for this nation we all love.

God Bless Fiji
Fijianblack

The Rhetoric Shift

Bula all,

I haven't posted in this forum in a while, as I considered my job done (basically) as people who were "on fire" for the junta regime and the coup, and the illegal government that followed the events of 2006 have now deafened us with their...silence.

Reminds me of a phrase that I once heard in school "thunderous silence"........

What happened? If there was really corruption in the previous governments, how come it hasn't been exposed? Four years on, even with this farce they call a justice system, THEY STILL CANNOT CONVICT ANYONE!!!! now the farce is being turned on they initiators of this coup.... Teleni's on the out and Chaudry's under investigation. The only reservations I have about this is that they'll probably bungle the Chaudry case.

That is all smoke and mirrors however. What you need to think about now is, how come, after 4 years, with all the judges, decrees, guns, with their kolinivakata FICAC to gather evidence, with their prosecutor Ana Rokomokoti, with all they have, how come there is not one case that they can point to to justify the claims they made when they launched the coup? Lasulasu the lot of them.

They cannot do this, because there was never any corruption, well not on the scale they alleged. There never was any corruption on the scale the Military claimed, just the normal type of corruption that was with us pre-2006, and is still with us here in 2010. If they were interested in cleaning up anything, they should have started with the Regimental Fund, which would have shown the nation whether they could practice what they preached.

I pray that this farce will end soon.

God Bless Fiji,
FijianBlack

Who needs another Coup?

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

The Way back from the Brink

Ni sa bula.

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.

In the Gospel of Luke, the Christ said: "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish." This is exactly what we must do. You need to sit and consider the cost to you, if you decide to take this path.

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.

Spread the word.....no more military in Fiji.

The Shove... and the lack of paisa.

Ni Sa Bula,

I write this as I read posts and media articles of the march in Sydney of people opposed to the illegal junta in Fiji.

The shove has begun.

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....

1. Illegal removal of a democratically elected government
2. Illegal imprisonment, torture, and killing of Fiji civilians
3. Increasing cost of living
4. Devaluation of the Fiji dollar
5. 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).

Coup Wolves circling FNPF - by one Wadan Narsey (kudos to you man)
29 Questions to the FNPF - Sophie Foster

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.

God bless Fiji
FijianBlack