Saturday, January 29, 2011

McCully says Bainimarama will be Denied Entry for RWC


Posted by TVNZ News - January 30 2011 


A report that New Zealand could be forced to host the interim head of Fiji's government, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, during the Rugby World Cup (RWC) is "plain wrong", Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully said.
The Sunday Star Times reported that Bainimarama's brother-in-law, convicted killer Francis Kean, was seeking the chairmanship of the Fiji Rugby Union and that if he was successful, Bainimarama was expected to become its president.
New Zealand would then have to host both men at the September-October RWC - at a cost of $45,000 to the taxpayer - despite both being banned from entering New Zealand.
But McCully rejected the report and said New Zealand, as a sovereign nation, had total control over who could visit the country at all times, including during the RWC.
"Members of the Fiji military regime are currently covered by sanctions, which means that any request for a visitor's visa would be denied," he said.
Anyone denied a visa could apply for an exemption, and that request would be considered by the government.
"Under current circumstances, any such request (from the Fiji military regime) will be denied. I have made this position clear to the International Rugby Board," McCully said.
"Obviously we do not want to exclude anyone from the Rugby World Cup. But the position currently is very clear. The sanctions apply.
"The story in today's Sunday Star Times newspaper is mischievous and plain wrong.

Fiji is Ready to Kick out its Dictator Just Like Egypt


Sai's Comments:
  • All Dictators in the end suffer the same fate - either being booted out from office or take flight to seek asylum away from those they have terrorised and brutalised during their reign. And this only if they have not been ingloriously dispatched to the next world the way Ceaucescu of Romania, Saddam Hussein or even Mussolini and his mistress were.

  • Bainimarama and Mubarak are bound to share the same end - just by different routes.

  • While Mubaraka may mark time for now - his fate is already sealed as Egyptians have finally woken up to a quarter of century of authoritarian rule no different to Bainimarama's dictatorial rule over Fiji since December 2006.

  • Fijians may take perhaps abit longer to wake up from their political slumber, but sooner or later as the yoke and shackles of political repression and impending poverty hits home, vivid memories and the euphoria from the current crisis in Egypt and Tunisia will ignite a similar result.

  • As widespread hatred against Bainimarama boils over among Fijians, his end beckons and no doubt he also realises this. Why else has he been surrounding himself with body guards unless he knows his popularity among the people is limited to his close family and those political hangers on and military personnel he has enriched over these years?

  • What must it like for him, knowing that the longer he refuses to relinquish power, the closer his end beckons? It must be a wretched way to live.
AFP News - 30 January 2011


CAIRO (AFP) - Embattled Hosni Mubarak tapped Egypt's military intelligence chief as his first-ever vice president and named a new premier on Saturday, as a mass revolt against his autocratic rule raged into a fifth day.

Fresh riots left three protesters dead in Cairo and three police in the Sinai town of Rafah, raising to at least 92 the number of people killed since the unrest erupted on Tuesday, including 23 on Saturday, according to medics.
Twelve people were killed in the southern town of Beni Sueif where protesters tried to burn down a police station, witnesses said.
As tens of thousands flooded central Cairo demanding he step down, President Mubarak went into crisis talks with officials, after which it was announced that Mubarak confidante General Omar Suleiman had been sworn in as his deputy.
Suleiman, 75, is a career army man and chief of military intelligence.
He has spearheaded years of Egyptian efforts to clinch an elusive Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and tried so far in vain to mediate an inter-Palestinian reconciliation.
Profile: Suleiman, Egypt's spy chief turned vice president
Demonstrators have dismissed the 82-year-old president's vague promises of political and economic reform as too little, too late and were not impressed with Suleiman's appointment.
Osama, a protester in central Cairo, told AFP: "It's not a good choice; he is Mubarak's man. It's not a sign of change."
The crowd in Tahrir (Liberation) Square, the epicentre of the revolt in the Egyptian capital, chanted "Neither Mubarak nor Suleiman; we're sick of Americans."
In line with Mubarak's orders, the cabinet resigned on Saturday and the president later tapped the outgoing aviation minister, Ahmed Shafiq, to form a new government.
Shafiq, 69, is respected by the Egyptian elite, even among the opposition, and has often been mooted as a potential successor to Mubarak.
But Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel laureate and former UN chief nuclear inspector who has emerged as a dissident leader in his homeland, said the appointments were insufficient.
"I tell President Mubarak and his regime to leave Egypt as soon as possible. It will be better for Egypt and for you," he said in remarks to Al-Jazeera television.
Egyptians were watching to see if widely hated Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, in office since 1997 and responsible for the security apparatus, will keep his job.
Along with the demonstrations in several cities, looting broke out in the capital after the police appeared to have faded from the scene, prompting the army to call on citizens to defend themselves.
The army announced that a night-time curfew would be enforced and extended in key cities. But when the new 4:00 pm to 8:00 am lockdown went into effect, demonstrators in Cairo paid no heed.
Scene: Five days of protests transform Cairo
Later, the army stood back as protesters fought running battles with police in front of the interior ministry.
Hundreds of demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at police near the heart of five days of protests, and policemen responded with live rounds of gunfire, witnesses said. Medics said three people were killed.
By late evening most people had gone home, apart from vigilante protection committees seeking to deter looters on residential streets and over 1,000 people camped out on Tahrir Square.
As Mubarak stood his ground, influential Arab cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi called on him to quit, in an interview with Al-Jazeera.
"Leave Mubarak. Have pity on the people and get lost before the destruction spreads in Egypt," said the Egyptian-born president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, who called the president "deaf, dumb and blind." Related article: Top Arab cleric urges Mubarak to go
And the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best-organised opposition group, called for a peaceful transfer of power through a transitional cabinet.
Protesters want not only Mubarak's departure but an end to endemic corruption and police brutality that have become systemic under the president's 30-year rule.
Earlier on Saturday, young Egyptians had already formed a human chain to protect the Cairo Museum, which is located in Tahrir Square and houses the famous Tutankhamun mask and other priceless antiquities.
Elsewhere, clashes erupted in the key port city of Ismailiya, northeast of Cairo, where thousands of workers fought running battles with police.
In Alexandria, hundreds of people camped out by the main mosque in the centre of the Mediterranean city vowing to protest again, with several police stations still burning amid sporadic looting.
As in Cairo, tanks were deployed and the police were absent. Civilians directed traffic and conducted clean-up efforts.
Despite the ongoing protests, two Cairo mobile phone networks came back on line on Saturday, a day after all Egyptian operators were told to suspend services.
US President Barack Obama gathered his national security team at the White House to discuss Egyptian developments, warning Mubarak that he could not just reshuffle his government and stand pat on reform.
Obama "reiterated our focus on opposing violence and calling for restraint; supporting universal rights; and supporting concrete steps that advance political reform within Egypt," a White House statement said.
The demonstrations, inspired by events in Tunisia, are unprecedented in Mubarak's Egypt and have sent shock waves across the region. At least 1,500 civilians and 1,000 police have been injured since Tuesday.
Unrest in Egypt - a timeline
Hundreds of demonstrators calling for Mubarak to go rallied outside Egyptian embassies in Paris and Washington on Saturday as well as at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Travel agencies postponed departures for popular tourist destination, as capitals warned their citizens to avoid visiting Egypt, which counts on tourism as a prime source of foreign exchange.


Fiji Dictator's World Cup Freebie - Disgusting to Say the Least!

by MICHAEL FIELD AND MARC HINTON

NEW ZEALAND faces the embarrassing prospect of being forced to host Fiji military coup leader Frank Bainimarama as a VIP during the Rugby World Cup, even though he is blacklisted from entering this country.
frankAnd it's possible Bainimarama's convicted killer brother-in-law, Francis Kean, could also attend the tournament if he is successful in staging his own coup and takes over as chairman of the Fiji Rugby Union.
keaneBoth men would be hosted at the taxpayer's expense, and their VIP treatment is expected to cost around $45,000. Under International Rugby Board rules, the host nation pays for two officials from each participating nation to attend.
If Kean becomes chairman, Bainimarama is expected to become the FRU president, a position he held in 2003 when he attended the RWC in Australia. He has vowed to be at the 2011 event.
In 2009 the Labour Department confirmed that exemptions to the coup blacklist would be granted to protect multilateral sporting tournaments hosted by New Zealand, such as the Wellington Sevens and the Rugby World Cup.
Kean and Bainimarama would be hobnobbing with guests including British royals, prime ministers including John Key, Australia's Julia Gillard, Russia's Vladimir Putin and possibly Britain's David Cameron.
Meanwhile, International Rugby Board top brass arrive in Suva tomorrow, hoping to fend off a coup that could install Fiji navy commander Kean as head of the rugby union.
Kean was convicted of manslaughter after punching a man at the wedding of Bainimarama's daughter in 2007. He was sentenced to 18 months' jail but was kept on full pay behind bars for three months, released and reappointed to head the navy.
Charlie Charters, a former Fiji Rugby Union insider who now writes thrillers in England, says Kean is the "frontrunner, in fact, basically at the moment, the only runner" to take over as chairman.
"This would be quite a junket to get, but would also be a big thumb in the eye for the New Zealand government, which could be told by the IRB it is obligated to invite Frank and/or Francis Kean."
NZ Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew confirmed that the cost of the VIP hosting programme was the responsibility of the host nation, and as such, came out of the relatively meagre income stream from ticket sales.

Each participating country gets to nominate two officials, and the tournament host is required to transport, accommodate, feed and entertain them. No expense is spared.
The officials are expected to have their own drivers, stay in five-star hotels and to dine in the country's top restaurants.
"Certainly a large chunk of the VIP costs lie with the host union. But that's been known for some time and has always been part of our planning and budgeting," said Tew.
He confirmed the programme was a "significant" budget item but described it as a standard arrangement for an event of the stature of the world cup.
"There are no surprises, it's just part of the deal," added Tew.
The NZRU and the government are budgeting on losing more than $30 million on the world cup, and a large portion of that will come out of the taxpayer's pocket.
Tew did not want to comment on the Fijian union's situation, describing it as "an IRB matter".

Friday, January 28, 2011

Fiji Community paper Launched in USA


Fiji Times - 29 January 2011

by Paula Tagivetaua

Vasiti Ritova - a former Fiji journalist now launching The Bula Tribune in Sacramento, California. Photo: Fiji Times

Vasiti Ritova, a former Fiji journalist is making it big in the land of plenty.

It is a long haul for the mother-of-two from Nananu in Ra but as her province motto says - ma'e na ma'e - she can hack it out anywhere with anybody. Badidi, as her old girl friends from Adi Cakobau School call her, is managing editor of a newspaper with a difference - for the Fijian community in Sacramento, California.

This is what Vasiti has to say:


"There are many wonderful stories in this land of second chances and The Bula Tribune will share those stories with a world audience.



"Thousands of our people have come to live here and participate in its economy, pay their tax, make use of its resources and the wonderful things America shares with everyone and also dream their dreams with other immigrant communities.

"We feel passionately about its mission and the void it will fill.

"We saw how our people who have made the US their second home wish they would have a forum to share their feelings, stories, challenges, successes and their passion.

"It will be a platform on which many stories will be shared and revisited.

"The Bula Tribune is a resource centre that will tell the stories of how this group of hardworking Fijians stood up and made their journey across the seas to work hard for their family, children, their tokatoka, mataqali, yavusa and their village, province, church, school, island, tikina, businesses and many other ventures.

"Their stories are special and the newspaper will share them.

"I admire their resilience, their attitude toward work, their effort to raise kids, to help them get an education and carry on with life. Do you know that they contribute millions of dollars every year in remittances?

"For weeks now, a group of young Fijian professionals in California have meticulously planned something they believe in.

"Our passion to share our people's stories enabled us to establish The Bula Tribune.

"The group has a lot to give thanks for. Many are passionate about The Bula Tribune and have travelled this journey with the management.

"We are equally blessed to be in this country and participate in the process of educating our people here on the importance of doing what is right and what America wants for those who share its ideals with.

"The Fijian community, save for those who break the law, has worked hard to be recognised at high levels of community giving."

The Bula Tribune will showcase the critical importance of sharing what we are with those we love and care about, with those whose companionship and friendship we enjoy.

Fiji is not just any country in the world today.

"It is an important place for its people, for those who work hard to carry its torch forward, whether as leaders, men, women, youth and children, sportsmen and women, or those who simply share with others the importance of the country in the world today."

We are all Fijians and we care about others.

The Bula Tribune will partner with everyone who has a story to tell. It will make summaries of life.

"The Bula Tribune is dedicated to every Fijian in the world today, to our resolve in the face of challenges, to those who stand up and do things for themselves, to those who love the great outdoors, travelling, nice wine and nice friendship.

"For me, personally, yes, it has been 20 long years in all facets of media in Fiji and the Pacific Islands and beyond - long time indeed but workable most of the time, achievable, blessed, and all attempted with hard work.

"I can safely say I tried to be good at my work and through all of it I earned what educated human beings fondly refer to as reputation.

"I walked into a formal newsroom (FM96) , with all its vibrancy, hustle and bustle, in early October 1990 and started on a journey - into homes, lives and minds, into personalities, attitude and differences.

"I celebrated my 20th year in journalism in California and the journey has been a wonderful one.

"Journalism became an art, a vocation and not a 9-to-5 job because the profession taught me to belong, to share my thoughts, feelings and my aims.

"I have asked hundreds of thousands of questions in this line of work, simply because they tied with justice. My stories did justice to many things and many people."

The Bula Tribune will be launched at the Delta King Hotel in Sacramento, California by former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and his wife, Sulueti on January 29, and will be attended by 150 guests including representatives from the Embassy of Fiji in Washington DC, the Consul-General in San Francisco, Fijian businessmen in California and a host of caregivers who provide the fuel for the Fijian community's engine room in the United States.

The Bula Tribune is part of Nest Media LLC in Sacramento County, California State. It is the second media part of the group's business entity. The group also owns Bula Television Ltd. Inoke and Ateca Qarau are also part of Vasiti's team.

It will publish every fortnight - 3000 copies, 24 pages in color and distributed all over the United States. - The Fiji Times/Pacific Media Watch

Click here to log on to: The Bula Tribune

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Air Pacific's Expat Recruitment Drive Begins

Posted on Intelligentsiya - 28 January 2011

We've said it over and over (and over again).

Even the Transport Workers Union chimed in despite the illegal and treasonous tourism "Minister", Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum's attempt to convince us otherwise.

The recruitment drive for expats only (selling a Fiji/Pacific airline and its products) has begun.

And the losers ultimately -- despite the illogical reasoning -- will be citizens and taxpayers who dig deep in their pockets to help pay for the airline.

Inline with Air Pacific’s new company strategy for commercial operations, Air Pacific has appointed Anna Denby as PR & Communications Manager effective 04th January 2011. Anna will be based in Air Pacific’s Sydney office. 

Miss Denby comes from a strong Tourism & Travel background including RTO, NTO and hotel group representation. Miss Denby will be managing all PR & Communications for Air Pacific across all markets including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and the South Pacific Islands. 

“I’m very excited about the new direction Air Pacific is taking for 2011” said Miss Denby. “Air Pacific has a proud history and holds an enviable position as the prime carrier of the South Pacific. I’m really looking forward to getting the brand out there and working closely with our partners to ensure the key messages are being received by the industry and consumers”. 

Air Pacific’s General Manager Sales and Marketing, Michael Nacola, stated, “We’re delighted to have someone of Anna’s caliber on-board. She has extensive tourism and travel experience that will add value to our team. Anna will lead marketing communications to trade partners and consumers on fare offerings, product changes and business enhancements and has the requisite skills and contacts to manage this important role. We have an exciting year ahead as we look to raise the profile of our brand in key markets and cement our position as the carrier of choice to Fiji and the South Pacific.”

Source = Air Pacific

A Military Pig Will Always be that - A Pig That Wallows in the Corruptive Mud


Posted on Matavuvale - 27 January 2011



Happy 2011
The situation is Fiji  started out as an artificial situation, where it was concocted by the Commodore and that is  a  corruptive SDL- has not been proven. Who got a corrupt bonus paypacket after donkey years?

The Illegal Military Government hyped their salary and now we can state that they are paid mercenaries against its own democracy. The PER is the proof of ILLEGAL MILITARY and it will be used against them when and if they are brought to justice. They should because they are trying to justify themselves. Its a joke that they are shooting themselves in the foot on every justifiable act they want to implement. A catch-22 they have created themselves.

The ills of Australia and the US would be on the same balance as of Fiji. The Fiji mess began, the day Commodore VB came in, to come out of his mess.

The eavesdropping of US and Great Britain was not for the survival of the Government, but for the survival of the its CITIZENS. For Fiji, its EAVESDROPPING ,is for the survival of the ILLEGAL MILITARY GOVERNMENT - not the citizen infact its done for the suppression of its honourable citizens.

Building bridges and doing other reforms is just another day in the OFFICE of any GOVERNMENT of the DAY- Not something to be proud of, but its what you are therefore and if SDL or FLP were in Government they would be done the same but to a smaller scale because there is no gun pointing at anyone's brain like this ILLEGAL MILITARY GOVERNMENT is trying to downplay.

We forget so easily and we are trying to reward this illegal government of all things they have done- It is the normal transaction of the government of the day to do what this ILLEGAL MILITARY GOVERNMENT is doing.

I give a high five to what they are doing and thats all they will get- but you cannot reward them and forget how they got there in the first place. We must return to first base, if not, we are decriminalising the coup that happened.

We are not supposed to be here to start off with.  If we justify this, we will compromise everything.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig- You can put lipstick on this coup but its still a coup.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Police Hike Charges for its Public Services


Police increase service fees

Shalveen Chand



The Fiji Police Force has announced the increment in its charges for services.
Police started charging for these services in 2009.
In a statement, the police said, with the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) from 12.5 percent to 15 percent on January 1 this year the police clearance fees and charges have also increased by 2.5 percent.
The new police clearance fees and charges which came into effect on Tuesday 18 January 2011 are as follows:
- Police clearance application lodged within Fiji for migration and employment will cost $61.30 and for urgent one day processing will cost $122.65;
- Police clearance application lodged from overseas for Migration and Employment will cost $102.20 and for urgent one day processing will cost $153.30;
- Application for police vetting needed for government employment or police report will cost $23 and for urgent one day processing will cost $102.20;
- Application for bailiff license, moneylender license, hotel license, liquor license, and Fiji immigration will cost $153.30 and for urgent one day processing will cost $204.45;
- Application for rehabilitation certificate will cost $153.30;
- Police clearance application for Land Transport Authority will cost $102.20 and for urgent one day processing will cost $204.45;
- Police clearance application for Arms License (New License) will cost $102.20 and for renewal or for use and carry will now cost $51.10;
- Application to purchase or acquire arms and ammunition and application for license to import arms, license to export arms, and license for arms replacement will now cost $8.65; and
- Application for license to deal in arms and ammunition will now cost $258.75.



Lesson on logistics

Ioane Burese
Monday, January 24, 2011
THE disciplined forces are working towards an integrated logistics approach.
Addressing a workshop, the Police Commissioner Brigadier Ioane Naivalurua said the participants played an important role in the overall objectives of Government.
A Police Media Cell statement quoted Brig Naivalurua as saying: "A good logistician will ensure his resources are well utilised from the time the resources are bought in to the time they are used and produce the needed outcome.
"A good logistician will ensure the resources will last longer than anticipated and that there is no wastage.
"A good logistician will hit five birds with one stone and not the other way around."
Organised by the Fiji Police Force Inventory Management Cell, the workshop was attended by senior logistic officers of the police, military and prisons department.
They were taught the importance of a united approach and fostering interoperability to better use resources.