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Advice to Australia regarding Fiji
Excellent post on the Crosbie blog today....
The Australian government seems to have taken no notice of Prof. Herr's report, repeating the old line: no relaxation of sanctions until there's signs of progress towards a "return to democracy and the rule of law." But there are many things happening to improve governance long-term, and the lot of the ordinary Fijian short and long-term.
My Appeal to Australia (and NZ)
Leaving aside the "return to" (How could you possibly believe the
Qarase government was democratically elected or acted in ways that
democratically-elected governments should, and usually do), there are
"signs of progress": witness the Citizens' Assembly in Suva yesterday
and the one in the West next month. Dialogue is going on. Not as much
as you may wish, but dialogue nonetheless.
You could argue that the old parliamentary parties should be included in the dialogue. This seems reasonable until examined more closely.
Qarase's SDL (and its links with the Speight Coup perpetrators) are in
large part responsible for the situation in Fiji today. Qarase has also
said his SDL party opposes the People's Charter. It's difficult for
Bainimarama to include people in dialogue when they refuse to even
consider the merits of the Charter. Bainimarama will not negotiate with
Qarase and the SDL. He thinks them spent forces, irrelevant to Fiji's
future.
For Bainimarama, the Charter is the bedrock on which the future Constitution will be built, and elections in 2014 will be conducted
according to the new Constitution.
Qarase (if you truly love Fiji), and Australia and New Zealand (if you
are truly Fiji's friends), examine the Charter. Spell out what you
disagree with, and what you can work with. Acknowledge that the
Citizens' Assemblies are "progress." Acknowledge also that the
Bainimarama government is doing many things for the ordinary Fiji
citizen that should have been done years ago.
For the rest of the post, see http://www.crosbiew.blogspot.com/
(o+) Appeal to My Cousins Across the Ditch
My Appeal to Australia (and NZ)
Leaving aside the "return to" (How could you possibly believe the
Qarase government was democratically elected or acted in ways that
democratically-elected governments should, and usually do), there are
"signs of progress": witness the Citizens' Assembly in Suva yesterday
and the one in the West next month. Dialogue is going on. Not as much
as you may wish, but dialogue nonetheless.
You could argue that the old parliamentary parties should be included in the dialogue. This seems reasonable until examined more closely.
Qarase's SDL (and its links with the Speight Coup perpetrators) are in
large part responsible for the situation in Fiji today. Qarase has also
said his SDL party opposes the People's Charter. It's difficult for
Bainimarama to include people in dialogue when they refuse to even
consider the merits of the Charter. Bainimarama will not negotiate with
Qarase and the SDL. He thinks them spent forces, irrelevant to Fiji's
future.
For Bainimarama, the Charter is the bedrock on which the future Constitution will be built, and elections in 2014 will be conducted
according to the new Constitution.
Qarase (if you truly love Fiji), and Australia and New Zealand (if you
are truly Fiji's friends), examine the Charter. Spell out what you
disagree with, and what you can work with. Acknowledge that the
Citizens' Assemblies are "progress." Acknowledge also that the
Bainimarama government is doing many things for the ordinary Fiji
citizen that should have been done years ago.
For the rest of the post, see http://www.crosbiew.blogspot.com/
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