As the days wear on, my inner spirit seems to be breaking - I see the situation going from bad to worse. I fully sympathize with Rajen and understand what he must be going through to be saying what he is saying in the media these days. It is the same feeling that haunts me day in and day out. The difference between Rajen and I is that he did what I could not - he spoke out against a regime which is so tyrannical that the slightest hint of dissent is dealt a heavy blow.
Where has the idea of freedom gone to? Why is the current regime so insensitive? Why should the people of Fiji suffer simply because of a few people with distorted views for this country? Should not the direction of this country be chosen by its people instead of the selected few? The people are told that they're no longer able to choose wisely because they have been long blinded by the corruption and dirt thrown into their eyes by previous politicians - this is outrageous and I cannot understand why the people of this country do not rise up against such and atrocity.
The sovereignty of this nation is at stake and sidewalk blog sites can do little or nothing to take a firm stand and say no - websites such as Solivakasama merely echo words but without any form of action, these words are as meaningless as the baying of toothless dogs. The international community has long lost interest in the country and no matter how much the people of Fiji now seek out attention globally, the world has better things to do and we no longer matter. NGO's and other freedom activists need to come together and passively resist this regime - if there is a genuine desire to return to democracy, why then does the regime not have a referendum to determine the reality and popularity of the current regime?
Writers who continue to follow the situation in Fiji are not even located in Fiji - we suffer under the tacky articles written by unknowns such as Victor Lal who claim to hail from Oxford yet investigations fail to turn up even the remotest shades of evidence to support such a claim. Supposedly prominent lawyers such as Tui Savu claim to know all but merely write about things which are weighed down so heavily with laws and litigation that they cannot be comprehended in the current state of the nation.
As I sit and write this article I know that people who read this blog will read it merely for its face value, some may comment and then they will continue on their way without any worries. My plea to you if you're reading this is to help us - without your support, we will either end up dead or this country will soon become another Burma or perhaps, even worse, another Zimbabwe. We cannot go on like this and the opression is like a lead weight around our necks which is slowly pulling us deep into the depths of the murky and hellish dark waters.
Common commentators such as Budhau from Solivakasama may support this article but it that will be all that can be done - nothing more... merely words echoed in an empty room. Who can dare go up against men with guns and the power to rip our world apart with one pull of the trigger? Can nothing be done? The farce of an election has become so real in our depraved minds that we now blindly believe that there will be elections soon. While the regime rides high on their white horses, we sit huddled in the corners merely looking on as they pass us by with heads held high. Our thoughts are merely thoughts and may God have mercy on he who tries to rise up and challenge the usurper.
This is perhaps the first and last time I shall blog about this matter - the idea of blogging against a raging machine is akin to a man using his head to break down a wall cast in stone. I would urge you to continue blogging but yoiu will eventually realize the futlity of the task and the frustrations it merely brings as words without actions normally do to people who like to think and act.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Fiji's Blog Sites
During my recent attempts to show the Solivakasama team that I was someone who was genuinely interested in their cause, certain members objected strongly to my opinions because it did not slant entirely in their favor. I have always tried to maintain a sense of fairness when writing and I feel that their accusations against me are unfounded and absolutely uncalled for.
The attacks against me took me back to a time when I was deep in discussion with a member of the NCBBF who had been trying to get a province to understand what their cause was all about. The foolish chiefs of the province had, like the stubbornness of a donkey, outright rejected the charter and this had raised the ire of the NCBBF team. During my discussion with the member, I was intrigued to learn that Fijians will not go against their chiefs and their people. In fact, apart from the last coup where a Fijian dared to go against the will of his people, all coups that have taken place in the past, and very likely in the future, will be solely against the minority Indians who dominate most of the businesses and commercial outfits in the country.
Perhaps my comments on the blog were somewhat neutral and because the bloggers of Solivakasama prefer the usual racial diatribe, they cannot accept a foreigner coming into the show and making comments which they would not be able to make without resorting to racial overtones as a means of reinforcing their arguments. I have noticed this in NZ and Australia where the Maoris and Aboriginies constantly clamor about the loss of land rights and their way of life. Unfortunately, the more younger generation do not share this view and firmly believe in the ways of proper education and competition to achieve results - something which cannot be explained to their parents and grandparents who are under the false assumption that everything on the land they stand on is theirs and anything they desire should be handed to them on a silver platter.
I realize this blog may raise the ire of the reader as I may be accused of discussing sensitive issues without any consideration for race or traditional values however, it is my belief that the time for merely dressing up words is over and "a spade must be called a spade and nothing else" because when attempts are made to dress up words, they often mean no end of trouble. So what makes Fiji unique? Ethnic tension. The beauty of this concept is played out on the country's national television daily where self assumed prophets of the country such as Mahendra Chaudary and Frank Bainimarama hurl abuses at the Fijians for not doing enough for their society. The irony in all this is that Bainimarama is a through and through Fijian yet he seems to take great pleasure in insulting his own people and his chief along with the chiefs of other Fijians. Chaudary plays the race game so effectively that he has managed over the years to separate the Hindu's and Muslims to such a great extent that the two ethnic groups have become polarized to the effect where they now question why Muslims have more power then Hindu's in government and the upper echelons of society.
While the issue blinds the people of the country so largely, a foreigner will be easily able to discern the shards of hatred flowing through the nation in great waves - over the radio, on television and in print media. This probably explains why the matter has become so overshot that it can no longer be contained and has spilled out onto the Internet where it has become a fully out war with nothing held back. It's almost like watching wrestling - but with more gore and better colorful epithets.
To the global reader, this little rendition is meant to give you some clue as to what the current state of the nation is and what you should expect when visiting the country - make absolutely no attempt to praise one ethnic group more then the other or one of the following will happen to you:
The attacks against me took me back to a time when I was deep in discussion with a member of the NCBBF who had been trying to get a province to understand what their cause was all about. The foolish chiefs of the province had, like the stubbornness of a donkey, outright rejected the charter and this had raised the ire of the NCBBF team. During my discussion with the member, I was intrigued to learn that Fijians will not go against their chiefs and their people. In fact, apart from the last coup where a Fijian dared to go against the will of his people, all coups that have taken place in the past, and very likely in the future, will be solely against the minority Indians who dominate most of the businesses and commercial outfits in the country.
Perhaps my comments on the blog were somewhat neutral and because the bloggers of Solivakasama prefer the usual racial diatribe, they cannot accept a foreigner coming into the show and making comments which they would not be able to make without resorting to racial overtones as a means of reinforcing their arguments. I have noticed this in NZ and Australia where the Maoris and Aboriginies constantly clamor about the loss of land rights and their way of life. Unfortunately, the more younger generation do not share this view and firmly believe in the ways of proper education and competition to achieve results - something which cannot be explained to their parents and grandparents who are under the false assumption that everything on the land they stand on is theirs and anything they desire should be handed to them on a silver platter.
I realize this blog may raise the ire of the reader as I may be accused of discussing sensitive issues without any consideration for race or traditional values however, it is my belief that the time for merely dressing up words is over and "a spade must be called a spade and nothing else" because when attempts are made to dress up words, they often mean no end of trouble. So what makes Fiji unique? Ethnic tension. The beauty of this concept is played out on the country's national television daily where self assumed prophets of the country such as Mahendra Chaudary and Frank Bainimarama hurl abuses at the Fijians for not doing enough for their society. The irony in all this is that Bainimarama is a through and through Fijian yet he seems to take great pleasure in insulting his own people and his chief along with the chiefs of other Fijians. Chaudary plays the race game so effectively that he has managed over the years to separate the Hindu's and Muslims to such a great extent that the two ethnic groups have become polarized to the effect where they now question why Muslims have more power then Hindu's in government and the upper echelons of society.
While the issue blinds the people of the country so largely, a foreigner will be easily able to discern the shards of hatred flowing through the nation in great waves - over the radio, on television and in print media. This probably explains why the matter has become so overshot that it can no longer be contained and has spilled out onto the Internet where it has become a fully out war with nothing held back. It's almost like watching wrestling - but with more gore and better colorful epithets.
To the global reader, this little rendition is meant to give you some clue as to what the current state of the nation is and what you should expect when visiting the country - make absolutely no attempt to praise one ethnic group more then the other or one of the following will happen to you:
- you will be robbed by the opposing group
- you will be arrested by the military and deported for disseminating racial messages.
- you will be beaten up, robbed and then taken either to a remote outpost and killed or left in a bush with little left on you.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Gryphon
I am the Gryphon. During the day, I walk amongst you and share your world with you. I could easily be the man or woman sitting beside you at work doing his/her best to keep this profile away from prying eyes. But I could easily be someone who holds power in the upper echelons of society and simply uses this site as an outlet for my frustrations and fury against those who I believe have wronged this nation and those who once had faith in them.
Call it arrogance or sheer boldness, I am someone who does wield power - enough power to be able to stand beside the ministers of the current regime and someone who is able to walk into the office of any minister without an appointment. Call it arrogance or sheer boldness, I am accepted in the circle of privacy which the powers that be reserve for only those they trust. Being able to move mountains gives me immense satisfaction - until recently.
Who am I? As mentioned earlier, I am merely someone who walks amongst you during the day, probably dines at the same restaurants and drinks at the same nightclubs at the weekends. I am the Gryphon - I know what you think and I stand beneath your window at night listening to your cherished secrets.
Now that the formalities have finished, I would like to move on to the discussion at hand and the choice for topic at this stage is Fiji. Fiji is one of those countries which have a sense of mystic about it and the political scenario is a fairly unique one.
I have been here long enough to realize the level of confusion that surrounds the Fijians and their sense of distrust for the Indians who were brought in as laborers during the early colonization days of Fiji. From the early 1800's Indians have steadily increased their grip on almost every facet of the country and this has sowed deep rooted seeds of distrust amongst the Fijians for whom land and sea are cherished possessions. This concept has not died out with time - it is reinforced in every generation born. Fijian parents ensure that their children understand the importance of protecting their land and their traditional values - quite rightly. Indians have long plundered the tiny nation with the same vigor as the British did to India during their rule and unlike India, Fiji does not have a Gandhi to protect their interests. In fact, the only way Fijians have been able to retain their grip on their traditional values is through coups and for a country which is smaller in land mass then a state in the United States of America, four coups have been more then enough for the people and the damages the coups have done are no longer reconcilable.
Each coup leader has purported to have carried out his actions either for the good of the nation or the protection of the Fijians but these reasons have been pushed well past their use-by date which probably explains why the last coup did little except raise the racial bar even higher - Fijians firmly believe the last coup was carried out with the help of prominent Indians and the largely Indian based and supported political party, the Fiji Labor Party. Formed by the grassroot Indians, the party is headed by Mahendra Chaudary, a man overthrown in a bloody coup which resulted in the death of a number of civilians and ultimately the removal of the President of Fiji. Perhaps what is ironic is that the same man actively participated in the last coup which saw the removal of an elected government. The situation was further compounded when the Commander of the Fiji Military Forces who led the last coup appointed Chaudary as Minister of Finance and also appointed him to most if not all major portfolio's in the government. To the common Fijian, such a move is akin to the last nail on the coffin and thus explains the widespread rejection of the last coup and its purposes.
I headed down to JJ's one evening very recently and dined on some rather good food - uncommon in Fiji but a treat when such places are discovered. While there, I came to discover that Ratu Sakiusa Tuisolia and a manager of TFL sitting at the bar having a drink. They acknowledged my presence and I left. Earlier as I had been sitting at dinner, I had discovered two gentlemen sitting near me also having dinner. Their conversation fascinated me because it was being discussed with the same languor and ignorance with which European people living in foreign countries are famous for. Their conversation ranged mainly around the current political climate and how it was affecting them and their daily useless lives. It almost seemed as if they knew more about how to solve the current problems of the country and stopped short of stating that Fiji should be given to them to run. It irks me greatly when people who know nothing about the toils and troubles faced by the people of Fiji assume they know everything and try to use their countries policies in Fiji.
While I have become rather disappointed with the current work done by the government, no doubt the only way to overcome the lumbering leviathan of a prime minister and his henchmen would be another military coup which would depose the current regime, reinstate the previous government and ensure that perpetrators of treason against the state are given a death sentence instead of the complacent life sentence the country currently employs against such acts. But realistically, the situation grows fragile. Blog sites such as Solivakasama merely echo the growing resentment growing at the grassroot.
Call it arrogance or sheer boldness, I am someone who does wield power - enough power to be able to stand beside the ministers of the current regime and someone who is able to walk into the office of any minister without an appointment. Call it arrogance or sheer boldness, I am accepted in the circle of privacy which the powers that be reserve for only those they trust. Being able to move mountains gives me immense satisfaction - until recently.
Who am I? As mentioned earlier, I am merely someone who walks amongst you during the day, probably dines at the same restaurants and drinks at the same nightclubs at the weekends. I am the Gryphon - I know what you think and I stand beneath your window at night listening to your cherished secrets.
Now that the formalities have finished, I would like to move on to the discussion at hand and the choice for topic at this stage is Fiji. Fiji is one of those countries which have a sense of mystic about it and the political scenario is a fairly unique one.
I have been here long enough to realize the level of confusion that surrounds the Fijians and their sense of distrust for the Indians who were brought in as laborers during the early colonization days of Fiji. From the early 1800's Indians have steadily increased their grip on almost every facet of the country and this has sowed deep rooted seeds of distrust amongst the Fijians for whom land and sea are cherished possessions. This concept has not died out with time - it is reinforced in every generation born. Fijian parents ensure that their children understand the importance of protecting their land and their traditional values - quite rightly. Indians have long plundered the tiny nation with the same vigor as the British did to India during their rule and unlike India, Fiji does not have a Gandhi to protect their interests. In fact, the only way Fijians have been able to retain their grip on their traditional values is through coups and for a country which is smaller in land mass then a state in the United States of America, four coups have been more then enough for the people and the damages the coups have done are no longer reconcilable.
Each coup leader has purported to have carried out his actions either for the good of the nation or the protection of the Fijians but these reasons have been pushed well past their use-by date which probably explains why the last coup did little except raise the racial bar even higher - Fijians firmly believe the last coup was carried out with the help of prominent Indians and the largely Indian based and supported political party, the Fiji Labor Party. Formed by the grassroot Indians, the party is headed by Mahendra Chaudary, a man overthrown in a bloody coup which resulted in the death of a number of civilians and ultimately the removal of the President of Fiji. Perhaps what is ironic is that the same man actively participated in the last coup which saw the removal of an elected government. The situation was further compounded when the Commander of the Fiji Military Forces who led the last coup appointed Chaudary as Minister of Finance and also appointed him to most if not all major portfolio's in the government. To the common Fijian, such a move is akin to the last nail on the coffin and thus explains the widespread rejection of the last coup and its purposes.
I headed down to JJ's one evening very recently and dined on some rather good food - uncommon in Fiji but a treat when such places are discovered. While there, I came to discover that Ratu Sakiusa Tuisolia and a manager of TFL sitting at the bar having a drink. They acknowledged my presence and I left. Earlier as I had been sitting at dinner, I had discovered two gentlemen sitting near me also having dinner. Their conversation fascinated me because it was being discussed with the same languor and ignorance with which European people living in foreign countries are famous for. Their conversation ranged mainly around the current political climate and how it was affecting them and their daily useless lives. It almost seemed as if they knew more about how to solve the current problems of the country and stopped short of stating that Fiji should be given to them to run. It irks me greatly when people who know nothing about the toils and troubles faced by the people of Fiji assume they know everything and try to use their countries policies in Fiji.
While I have become rather disappointed with the current work done by the government, no doubt the only way to overcome the lumbering leviathan of a prime minister and his henchmen would be another military coup which would depose the current regime, reinstate the previous government and ensure that perpetrators of treason against the state are given a death sentence instead of the complacent life sentence the country currently employs against such acts. But realistically, the situation grows fragile. Blog sites such as Solivakasama merely echo the growing resentment growing at the grassroot.
The recent state of events unfolding in Fiji has made me somewhat worried as to the future of the country. After hearing that there was to have been a fuel surcharge which would impact our electricity bills, I began to wonder where we were headed. In fact, while I have been an ardent fan of the Interim Regime, recent events have made me seriously consider my position and my support for this government.
For starters, we have the so called Finance Minister who is anything but skilled in the area of Finance. By hiking the duty on specific core raw materials, Chaudary has done anything but save the poor from the brink of extinction. Perhaps what compounds the matter further is that the minister seems to think that he’s Robin Hood. Unfortunately, he seems to have forgotten that the idea is to provide relief for the poor instead of hiking duty on core materials such as fuel. Instead of doing something which would benefit the nation as a whole, the minister seems busy trying to prove to the world how much money he’s managed to save and collect as opposed to be previous government.
Then we have a Prime Minister who seems to spend more time sitting in the chair of an airplane and inside the offices of other people in distant lands instead of sitting in his chair in his office here in Fiji. It is highly unorthodox for a PM to be sailing off into the sunset as soon as he touches base in Fiji. Bainimarama’s recent stint from the MSG meeting and straight onto Europe almost seems like the PM never even left the airport when he arrived from the MSG meeting. It is disappointing that a man who holds such a position leaves all the real work to be done by a finance minister who doesn’t seem to have any understanding of economics and finance considering his recent spate of unforgivable errors.
Finally we have an Attorney General who has become the talk of the town amongst those people who live life in fashion and have expensive tastes. The AG seems to spend more time trying to make a fashion statement with his suits and silk ties instead of reining in his PM and bumbling finance minister who are now spiraling out of control as the situation of economic woes further compound and wreak havoc in this country.
The creation of FICAC has been a disaster with the institution yet to successfully prosecute a single person despite having changed the CJ to someone of FICAC and the government’s preference. FICAC has become a lame duck and has lost the ability to shield itself from the public criticism now being labeled at it by the very public that initially applauded its formation. The organization which was heralded as the perfect solution for curbing corruption now walks blindly while ministers who have direct conflicts of interest in many organizations and boards secure hefty loans from Home Finance and other lending bodies because they have “friends” who sit on the boards of these bodies.
Between the three of the people mentioned above, the country is now nearing a stage where it faces the risk of collapsing into itself. The fact that an uprising or a civilian revolt is almost imminent as people become desperate is being ignored by the government who claim that these are merely rumors. It is ironic to learn that this view is loudly trumpeted in the media by the trio and yet they have taken every precaution to ensure that in the event such an incident were to occur, they would be whisked away from danger and to safe outposts where they would be surrounded by fully armed soldiers with enough firepower to sink half the island of Viti Levu. While I sit here and write this out of frustration, I know the murmurs of dissent are growing louder and the winds of change are blowing harder. The days of the giant stone are numbered as the winds and rain will wear it down inch by inch until it finally crumbles in a heap of dust to the ground, only to be swept up in the howling wind and churned to the heavens in all directions.
Wake up, people of Fiji – your country will soon lie in ruins around you and your children will be deprived of their carefree lives to work and toil the land which has been made barren through the actions of three people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
