"BACK TO DEMOCRACY FOR FIJI"

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Permalink Reply by Samuela Tawakilai on March 14, 2010 at 8:12am

Suli,

Teleni's attempts to Christianize the Fiji Police Force is laudable, but I believe - misguided. Christianity cannot be forced on people, and its teaching does not coerce, pretend or lie to be accepted! It begs the question: What is a Christian and what is Christianity?

According to the Webster Dictionary, a Christian is; a follower or deciple of Christ, and Christianity is the religion of the followers of Christ's.

The Apostle Paul explains it this way to the Christians at Rome: " You (Christians), however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, IF THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES IN YOU. AND IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE DOES NOT BELONG TO CHRIST(He is NOT a Christian - can it be any plainer?). But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteopusness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you" ( Romans 8: 9-11 Daylight Bible).

Paul continues: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,peace,patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control ...Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we (Christians)live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become copnceited, provoking and envying each other" (Galatians 5:22-26).

Au siqema mai nai vakavuvuli nei Teleni kei na vakabauta e kauta voli; ni veibasai sara vakalevu mai nai vakavuvuli ni Vola Tabu. Au na sega ni via "Judge" taka na nona vakabauta se veika e cakava - o ya e nona taudua na Kalou. Au na kaya ga, kevaka eda via kabita na Karisito (Christ); ia me tiko vei keda na Nona Yalo Tabu! Na sega ni Nona Yalo Tabu e vakavuna na lecaika kei na veisei eda raica tiko mai Viti ena gauna e dai.

Me noda vata tiko na loloma ni Tamada kei na Noda i Vakabula ko Jisu na lumuti!

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Permalink Reply by Penina N on March 13, 2010 at 9:22pm

THE RINAKAMA FACTOR

As cyclone Thomas bears down on Fiji, it is as if a nation changing event is ready to unfold with the full fury of nature. In the highlands of Viti Levu some 143 years ago a similar nation changing event was let loose.
Probably the most infamous of Fijian pre-colonial misadventure ended at Navatusila in the Navosa highlands with the massacre of the Christian missionary Reverend Thomas Baker and party in 1867. However the martyrdom of Thomas Baker and his party was the precursor to the triumph of Christianity and colonialism over Fijian heathenism and tribalism. Is Baker’s namesake- cyclone Thomas just such an omen to the destruction of another political system-Bainimarama’s illegal dictatorial regime?
Despite its conversion to Christianity, the Fijian mind is still very much native at times. In fact the global indigenisation of Christianity was very much a tool used by missionaries in blending local custom and tradition with church doctrine and everlasting salvation. As such, Fijian’s in communion with Christianity like many indigenous groups believe in spiritual harmony with the mana of their Vanua and ancestors.
With the disappearance in detention of Ratu Peceli Rinakama a true and fiercely nationalist son of the Navatusila tribe last week, to highlanders the ancestral gods have conspired with the forces of nature once more.
Cyclone Thomas which our weatherman is predicting to be a real whopper of a wind is shaping to be the mother of a natural disaster. Will Tomasi finally be the straw that breaks the back of the illegal regime and put an end to all its political piped dreams? Fiji’s already tattered economy cannot withstand another huge hit in a string of disasters going back to the January floods of 2007. So start looking for an exit strategy Frank.
Down through history natural disasters have caused regime change. The disastrous economic phenomenon of the Asian financial meltdown of 1997 triggered Surhato’s exit and a return to democracy for Indonesia. We don’t doubt Tomasi is shaping to be the illegal regime’s exit ticket. Democracy Now! COMMENTS
Kai Colo
http://solivakasama.org/latest_fiji_news_137_104.html

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Permalink Reply by Mike on March 13, 2010 at 10:22pm

Friday, March 12, 2010

Rinakama in custody

Last week, Fijian politician Peceli Rinakama was abducted by soldiers in Suva. Today, after a week of silence, the regime has finally admitted that he is in custody, though they will not say where or by whom. Neither will they say what he is being held for, though there should be some answers on that soon. Even Fiji's authoritarian Public Emergency Regulations only provide for detention for up to ten days; if Rinakama had been arrested under ordinary law, then the new Criminal Procedure Decree requires prisoners in custody to be taken before a Magistrate "as soon as practicable". The regime wouldn't break its own law, would it...?

(Interestingly, their new Crimes Decree provides for a penalty of seventeen years imprisonment for enforced disappearance - though this must be carried out as part of a sustained campaign against a civilian population. Fortunately, things in Fiji haven't sunk to that level yet)

Its a good example of how making noise about human rights abuse makes a difference. Since being raised on the Fijian blogs, Rinakama's plight has been mentioned in media around the Pacific - in New Zealand, in Tonga, and in the Solomon Islands. If that noise hadn't been made, he'd still be being detained in secret.

Posted by Idiot/Savant at 3/12/2010 12:11:00 PM

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Permalink Reply by Suliasi Daunitutu on March 13, 2010 at 11:52pm

Mike,


The detainment of Mr. Rinakama has got me confused, even if he's from Naitasiri, related to the Qaranivalu or a former MP it still doesn't explain why he was captured and hidden for so long.

They are working with alot of hidden agendas that one wonders if they are going to deliver to the Nation what they promised, which was a government free of corruption, one well equiped with transparency and a good platform to democracy.

All the things that they have done and decisions they have made are the complete opposite to those good governing qualities.

They are quite happy to lie and be deceitful in the execution of their duties, and while they are doing this. the supporters of the regime are prepared to either turn a blind eye, or agree with their direction.

Cyclone after cyclone are visiting with the devastation and damage concentrated on various parts of the country that are coincidently agreeing with Bainimarama for funding and favourable consideration. Kadavu is squarely in the sights of "Thomas" and I will not be surprised if the newly constructed roads and developments on the island are affected.

If they are still blind to the wrath of nature and rethink their ways, then not only will they face hardship, they will also be inviting more tragic events to befall them. We are a Christian Nation, and as such, we should practise what we preach.

To many times, the soldiers come on this forum and preach to us, while they are doing the opposite. We can only fool ourselves, we cannot fool God. They should wake up and realise, that what they are doing is ungodly and inhumane

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Permalink Reply by Mike on March 14, 2010 at 12:03am

Fiji soldiers Iraq trip postponed

Sunday, March 14, 2010


Soldiers who were to leave on a six months tour of duty to Iraq have been advised that their travel has been postponed.

This was confirmed to FBC News by Military Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Neumi Leweni.

“To all members of the RFMF who was supposed to leave early tomorrow morning for Nadi for your 6 months tour of duty to IRAQ the trip is now being postponed due to weather forecast that we are now awaiting we are requested to keep listening to this radio station for any further update and if you can contact Queen Elizabeth barracks operations after the hurricane has gone past.”


Fiji Broadcasting Corporation

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Permalink Reply by Vani on March 14, 2010 at 1:46am

CURFEW IN FIJI FROM 12AM MONDAY TO ???????

This is the annoucement by an Inspector Atu on Vitifm just a couple of minutes ago.

The reason for the curfew is for the "preservation of lives and property." YA!!!

Since when have we ever had a CURFEW during/after a hurricane? Is it really for the "preservation of lives and property" or is there more to the CURFEW strategy?

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Permalink Reply by Sireli on March 14, 2010 at 2:25am

Its Cleanup Time In Gods Way or Thomas Way! Voreqe’s D’Day in the making!

Voreqe this is where you will need to face the God we’ve been telling you all along. Not your idol God. So you need to explain to him why you wouldn’t build anymore church buildings for his purpose. And why you’ve removed his church meetings and wanting to throw his people to jail.

Didn’t we say that God will come through one way or the other. Now is your mental punishment where you have to worry about how you’ll feed and shelter the nation. Next will be justice and physical punishment in jail where you have to pay a high price. I won’t mention hell because you’ve got honor’s medal for that the other day.

Lets me see, maybe you should have chose to put more budget on building church rather then stopping it and worrying about criminalizing everyone and lying to the nation. God hate liars, human abusers, human torturer and killer Voreqe. In summary God hate you Voreqe.

Curfew is just the beginning of your sad endings.

This will be a hurricane like never before Voreqe. Ahah, so God must be watching and listening as they say. The world praying for the country's return should ring a bell.

So when is your court case against the church ministers again?

God have mercy on everyone in Fiji except U Voreqe and your illegal regime. Amen.

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Permalink Reply by LOne rAnger aka StRYka on March 14, 2010 at 2:40am

Sireli nai totogi kei Voreqe e na qai vakatauca koya na alifa kei na omeka...ya sa for life saraga, this life and next

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Permalink Reply by Suliasi Daunitutu on March 14, 2010 at 2:26am

Vani,

I wonder if the news of our next move is starting to get its desired affects, well we have never hidden what we are going to do as we showed with the petition, it is the same with this one.

As soon as the storm passes we will be giving them one of our own. This proves to one and all that the petition is not toilet paper after all, as this two announcements, the curfew and the Iraqi soldiers tour cancellation has come after I posted our intensions.

They must have reported that (my message) to Bainimarama the moment they saw it, and now they are jumping into action. We haven't started yet VB ! our people on the ground are taking care of their priorities first, the safety of their families and properties.

After the storm, we will be going full steam ahead with our plans and there is nothing to stop us now. Like I said, after this cyclone, be prepared for another one from us, curfew or not it will reach you.

Vani, the reason of the curfew is that they are now doubting their own strength to engage the force that is building up right under their very noses. It is the force that will displace them, the force of the pen !

I can now see Bainimarama not laughing anymore about our petition. He wanted to call our bluff but it got too much for him and he has wilted under the very pressure provided by a piece of paper and over 600,000 names.

I want everybody to know that the military are very concerned with what I am planning with our fellow "Demo Fighters" that message came from Fiji to me yesterday afternoon. The threat is very real now, and they don't want a repeat of the petition reaching the illegal PMs office.






Dee,

Caita boy, sa yavavala na nomu i vola, ratou qo sa veitalanoataka tiko na ka'o vola ena matavuvale, believe the Ints have informed naba dua about your posting, au sa wilika talega, vakadomobula man.

Keimami sa vakarau tu qo me baci ia na check-points. Dee, qarauna tiko na veika o sa cakava tiko mai keri sa mai vakavuna tiko na neimami yavavala. Remember, I am with you and if it comes to worse, au sa na fire i tuba me'u lai to vata mai kei ira na civilian.

O Atu, sa kila talega na "Traps" blues bar, ia sega ga ni macala se safe tiko ga me ratou qiriqiri kina na boys se sega. Brother, au sa lako mada. sa unsafe sara ga na email tiko yani vei iko, if I am not heard from in the next few days, you know that I the sentries have slept.

Loloma yani vei Bill Lotawa kei ira na gang, set tu qori,..... VEIVANUA !!

Bakmau.

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Permalink Reply by Loruama Tawawili on March 14, 2010 at 4:56am

Vinaka vakalevu Bro. This is good news. We are all waiting and ready everywhere.Like the saying goes "Let the games begin."
Bainimarama is on very slippery ground from the look of things and as we apply the pressure I think there will be a repeat of the" gutugutuwa sobu ena baba mai dakuni officer's mess."Dee lets make sure Bainimarama does not forget that what goes around comes around too.

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Permalink Reply by Vani on March 14, 2010 at 8:02am

Uwoooo!!! my same thought Suli...that the very TRANSPARENT messages you have been posting here has been read by the military "intelligence" thus, the very CONVENIENT curfew being implemented.

And, I was also wondering...with Voreqe's repeated messsges during his visits to the villages that HE WILL NOT PROVIDE ANYMORE MONEY FOR CHURCHES TO BE BUILT...all I keep hearing during these hurricane updates from the announcers that the villagers affected are MOSTLY going to CHURCHES or schools as they have been established as evacuation centres.

So, maybe a big RETHINK of strategy about church building will take place after we see Tomas' TRUE COLOURS WHEN HE PASSES!

God bless Fiji! May He keep our families safe and protected! Go democracy!

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Permalink Reply by Usaia Pita Waqatairewa on March 14, 2010 at 6:19am

The recent call by the illegal Commissioner Western, Joeli Cawaki, that landowners should start allowing access to the Government and farmers has got me thinking oft ways to fully exploit the land potential for the benefit of landowners and in turn the national economy as a whole.

Mataqali Landowning Units (LOU) should adopt a new approach on how they lease out their land.

Native land owning units (be it a mataqali, tokatoka, yavusa or kawa nei xxxxx) with land to spare, in access of their present members needs and the estimated needs of their descendant’s for at least three to five generations into the future, should form their own incorporated bodies that will then lease these surplus land from them on fifty or ninety nine year terms.

In possession of such leases titles, their incorporated bodies (or company) would be able to leverage such titles as equity contribution for any viable business ventures in commercial housing subdivisions, commercial industrial subdivisions, tourism development, commercial agriculture, etc.

Mataqali LOU should not blindly take the bait currently dished out by the Bainimarama Regime because these are empty rhetoric. For are start, LOU members cannot become millionaires like their Chinese counterparts as claimed by Cawaki by simply leasing out land given the average size of land available and existing legislations such as the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Act (ALTA) that strongly favours tenant with favourable rent.

The time of just leasing out lands and deriving peanuts in land rental proceeds is over. Landowners are now more educated and sophisticated enough to grasp various business models or business alternatives that allows them to analyse how land could be best utilised for their benefit.

The time for blindly trusting those in power is over and for the sake of their members and future members, LOU leaders must ensure that they are presented with views from all sides rather than the one sided politically manufactured views of tenants through the veiled policies of the ruling dictatorship. LOUs must also ensure they fully exhaust all advice and dialogue thoroughly with all members of their mataqali before making decisions that is going to affect their members for the next fifty to a hundred years.

I personally would advice mataqali and yavusa leaders that now is not the right time to engage and dialogue with the State in terms of negotiating the opening up of access to the land. Not with the climate of fear, deprivation of personal liberty and the suppression of free media, that has been the hallmark of the Bainimarama Regime in the last three years.

In today’s day and age, it should dawn on landowners that more return and control over the use of their land is gained when land title is kept in their control via their own incorporated bodies rather than being leased out in a tenant/landlord relationship because once you lease out to a tenant you lose almost all control of how the land is utilised until the lease term expires.

Native Land owning units should start asking questions and seeking answers to questions such as how do we gain the best income and benefit out of our real estate inheritance?

How do we maintain ongoing control of our land?

How can we actively participate in the commercial development of our land?

It appears as if present legislations severely limit the potential income we can derive on our land so how can we circumvent this within the boundaries of existing legislations?

Take for example, a mataqali in the vanua of Bila in Tavualevu. I have chosen Tavualevu because I recently read that some of the mataqalis there have agreed to re-new sugarcane farming leases.

Since ALTA has not been formerly abolished by the dictatorship (I stand to be corrected here) these renewals would be leased under the rules of ALTA and mean the following general conditions would have applied:
1. The landowning Mataqali have just forfeited control of that particular land for thirty years;
2. There is an automatic renewal option of fifteen years after the twenty years expires;
3. The rental rate would be worked out under a formula contained in ALTA based on the Unimproved Capital Value (UCV) of the land rather than market rate prevailing in the cane belt that could have been gauged via an open tender for leasing of the farm lots; and
4. On average, the Mataqali would be deriving a net six monthly income of $500 on a ten acre farm block which works out to $83 per month or $2.68 cents per day on a thirty one day month.
Now let me highlight who gets what of the $2.68 per day earned from renting out the sugarcane farming lot under ALTA. Under the Native Land Trust Act (NLTA) formula that governs land rental distribution, the Turaga i Taukei would get 13 cents (5%), the Turaga ni Yavusa woud get 27 cents (10%) and the Turaga ni Mataqali would get 40 cents (15%). This leaves the remaining $1.87 (70%) to be equally distributed to the rest of the mataqali members.
In most cases, rental income is divided equally to mataqali members registered in the Vola ni Kawa Bula (VKB) administered under the Native Lands Commission (NLC). In our scenario, the mataqali concern has ten members that meet this criterion and are eligible for a portion of this rental income. Each of these mataqali members would be getting the daily equivalent of 19 cents for the lease of a fifteen acre sugarcane farm lot.
Putting it in another scenario, if I am a member of that Mataqali, I would not even be able to buy a copy of the Fiji Times with the nineteen cents a day that would be my share of the land rent proceeds.
The alternative scenario is to look at a truly commercial sugarcane farming venture.
Let us imagine a scenario (as I do not have access to the total land communally owned by the Vanua o Bila headed by the Turaga na Tui Tavua) where the Vanua o Bila has 200 acres of prime sugar growing land that has now just come on the market because of expiring farm leases. Let us further assume that this parcel of land is a subdivided farm development of ten acre farms lots communally owned (kovu vei iratou) by six mataqali.
The six mataqali could each form their individual incorporated body that will then proceed to obtain lease titles for these lots via normal land application process at the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB).
Therefore at the end of the process, the incorporated bodies that represent each of the six mataqalis or LOU now has as assets lease titles for the twenty farm lots.
The six incorporated bodies then obtain sugar contracts from the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) and apply for the $10,000 sugar farming grant currently on offer with the Government. They then form a cooperative farm entity and pool the $10,000 to form a $200,000 start up working capital for a commercial sugarcane farming venture.
Because of economy of scale, the 200 acre farm would be able to maximise profit derive from the business venture by spreading its fixed cost over a bigger operation and also leverage the combine working capital grant and lease titles to obtain favourable financing from competing financial institutions and obtain the right machines to utilise the latest farming mechanisation technique available (mechanised farming and harvesting equipment and techniques).
The opportunity would also present itself for the Cooperative Entity to hire the best of former farmers as farm managers and use LOU members as farm labourers on a strictly employer/employee labour hire arrangement. Overtime, the business would be able to identify the best LOU member as potential farm managers and groom them in a transitional farm management traineeship program.
In the above scenario control of the land is kept in the hands of the landowners. This will enable them to derive the best income from their land (access to gross sugarcane farm proceeds) while at the same time ensure the best talents in sugar farming are not lost by rehiring former successful farmers as farm managers and farm hands ensuring a smooth transition of farm ownership and labour mobility.
Having to choose between attending to the farm or village obligations (funerals, provincial meetings, weddings, etc.) will not come to fore because while the villagers owns the cane farms, they have hired farm hands to manage it and they are now business owners.
The identification of viable land to ensure such ventures, the incorporation of LOU corporations and advice on commercial ventures is a service that NLTB should already be able to provide through their existing legal, finance and research and development units.
I wish to acknowledge at this stage that a similar but not identical model was proposed under the Pacific Enterprise Development Facility (PEDF) Program of the World Bank a few years back for Tokatoka Sawaieke of Vuda, Ba in 2004. The progress of that proposal at this stage is unknown to me as I have since cease being a PEDF consultant.
A similar business model was also developed by a mataqali in Sabeto, Nadi headed by Sivaniolo Waqa Naulago. Mr Naulago was recently framed and gaoled for conspiring to murder illegal Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.
I will be examining a business model that exploits the proposed Cassava Ethanol Processing plant in my next article.
Usaia P. Waqatairewa
Former Manager Finance, NLTB
Former Consultant, Pacific Enterprise Development Facility, World Bank.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal and in no way represents the official policy or views of the Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement which I head)

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