US Visa Denials Could Leave Pained Regime Twiddling Thumbs

Posted on Coup Four Point Five - Tuesday, December 7, 2010

TWIDDLING THUMBS: Kubuabola and Saumatua

The wings of the likes of the widely-travelled illegal foreign afffairs minister, Inoke Kubuabola (pictured left in this picture), may well have been clipped, if the US decision on visas continues.

The ubiquitous Kubuabola has a habit of popping up in many places and was one of the last from the regime to be in the US this year (remember that staged picture of him with Clinton?), along with Voreqe Bainimarama.

But it appears the US has taken a stand with the dictatorship and is refusing visas. Three have been denied in the past two weeks - to the illegal chief justice Anthony Gates, the illegal Fisheries PS, Viliame Naupoto, and the Minister for Local Government and Environment Colonel Samuela Saumatua (pictured above with Kubuabola).

The latter was supposed to leave for Mexico today to attend the 16th Conference on Climate Change.

The regime, especially Sayed-Khaiyum, is taking the rejections hard, describing the US embassy decisions as deplorable.

The US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, said when she visited New Zealand and Australia recently that America would join forces with the two countries to persuade Suva to return Fiji to democracy. Let's hope the visas is the start of that campaign.


Posted on Coup Four Point Five

Sayed-Khaiyum Spewing More Lies

The dictatorship's Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, is quite clearly suffering from Foot in the Mouth Disease, which is evident from his verbal defecation following the United States refusal to grant illegal Chief Justice Anthony Gates a visa.

Gates was to attend the 9th Session of theAssembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

1) Sayed-Khaiyum claims Fiji has made progress to ensure compliance with the Rome Statue through promulgation of the Crimes Decree, which now categorises genocide and crimes against humanity as criminal offences. It is a case of pot calling the kettle black. The regime continues to trample on fundamental freedoms and human rights in Fiji, protected by unlawful Decrees that are being legislated by Sayed-Khaiyum.

2) Sayed-Khaiyum says Fiji, as a responsible sovereign State, takes international obligations and responsibilities with utmost sincerity. His lie is as visible as his fake personality. What about the betrayal of commitments from the regime via  Sayed-Khaiyum, M P Chaudhry and Epeli Nailatikau, made in April 2007 to the European Union to hold elections in Fiji by March 2009? What about a similar commitment for elections to be held by first quarter of 2009, made by dictator Frank Bainimarama to the Pacific Islands Forum in October 2007? Can Sayed-Khaiyum say that as a sovereign State, the regime that he serves took these responsibilities and obligations with utmost sincerity?

3) Sayed Khaiyum is assuming the United States Embassy will give insufficient time for visa processing as the answer for the refusal! On what basis is he making this assumption?

4) In his attempt to dramatise the issue, Sayed Khaiyum has revealed that he along with the regime's permanent secretary for Fisheries, were also refused visas to travel to the United States this year. Why was Sayed-Khaiyum quiet all this time?

5) Sayed Khaiyum has labelled the US stand deplorable, undignified, demeaning, arbitrary, arrogant and contemptible. This is the harshest language ever used to criticise a member of the international community, and one who has been Fiji's ally.

Do Sayed-Khaiyum, Frank Bainimarama and the military regime therefore have the guts to walk their talk and inflict upon the United States, the treatment that they dished out to Australia and New Zealand for so-called  interference and visa related issues in conformity to their sanctions, by expelling their diplomats?

In June 2007, the regime expelled NZ High Commissioner Michael Green on the basis of interference, which the regime did not specify. In December 2008, the regime expelled acting NZ High Commissioner Caroline McDonald after the son of then permanent secretary to the President (Iloilo) Rupeni Nacewa was refused a student visa to study in New Zealand.

In November 2009, the regime expelled deputy NZ High Commissioner Todd Cleaver and Australian High Commissioner James Batley after accusing both countries of telling Sri Lankans recruited as magistrates and judges by the regime that they would be subjected to travel bans to New Zealand and Australia.

In July this year, the regime expelled Australia's acting High Commissioner Sarah Roberts after accusing her of interference and of influencing Vanuatu to refuse to hand over of the Melanesian Spearhead Group chairmanship to Frank Bainimarama.

The decision by the United States Embassy to refuse the regime's CJ Anthony Gates, Sayed-Khaiyum and permanent secretary for Fisheries travel visas to United States is far more serious on the regime's anti-Fiji behaviour measuring scale.

We will wait and see if the regime and Sayed-Khaiyum dish out similar treatment to US Ambassador Steven McGann and kick him out like five diplomats from Australia and New Zealand, or show the world that the strong condemnation of the US is just showmanship and verbal defecation.

Our final assessment is Sayed Khaiyum will eat his own vomit and come up with excuses to explain his harmless barrage of attack against the United States.

Pictures: Sarah Roberts (top) and Todd Cleaver (below).  

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Bound for Mexico, Illegal Fiji Minister Fails to Get US Visa

Posted on Radio New Zealand International - 07 December 2010

The Fiji interim government says the United States has refused to grant Fiji’s interim environment minister, Colonel Samuela Saumatua, a visa to attend the UN climate change conference in Mexico.

The attorney-general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, has told FBC News that it’s disappointing that Fiji is being frustrated through the deplorable conduct by the US Embassy.

This comes shortly after Mr Sayed-Khaiyum revealed that the British-born chief justice, Anthony Gates, and another senior Fiji official also recently failed to get a US visa.

The website Fijilive says two months ago, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum was himself denied a US visa.

Last month, Fiji expelled an American businessman for allegedly interfering in Fiji’s domestic affairs.

The US embassy in Suva didn’t comment and the Fiji interim regime refused to say whether he had broken a law.

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FDFM Answers Concerns about Planned Sukuna Park March

Posted on Coup Four Point Five - 07 December 2010

The call for people to march against the military government has caused a lot of debate since the plans were revealed last week on this blog and elsewhere. Part of the reason for the controversy is the lack of information about who is behind the Sukuna Park march and what the motives are. The Fiji Democracy Freedom Movement of Australia says it is supporting the Save Fiji Movement march. Its spokesperson, Usaia Peter Waqatairewa, answers Coupfourpointfive's questions about its own march in Sydney on Sunday and the planned Fiji march.

1) Did the march in Sydney go ahead yesterday and how many people attended? Yes, the march did go ahead and about sixty people attended

2) Where did supporters come from and did they include non-Fijians, eg Australians etc? Our supporters are mainly indigenous Fijians, part Europeans and an Indofijian, plus Mark Manning

3) Does FDFM feel it achieved its goal? We have achieved our goals by having the march go ahead and later on the rally at Martin Place where we gave people the opportunity to speak out. We achieve our goals by being able to march and demonstrate against Voreqe Bainimarama’s regime on the 4th anniversary of the coup. We achieve our goals because most of us left Fiji after the coup and in this great democracy we were able to sing, march and chant out our views of not agreeing with the coup and Voreqe Bainimarama’s dictatorship. These are the things we cannot do at home. The freedom to freely express ourselves and the freedom to gather and protest peacefully, and the freedom of association as members of an organised body of people. Australians took pictures of us and people clapped in support as we walked from the town hall to Martins Place via Hyde Park and Macquarie Street, past the NSW Parliament House.

4) Regarding the Sukuna Park march:

a) Why is FDFM supporting it? We support the right for people to freely express their views and frustration with the current regime. It is the regime’s obligation to ensure their safety but not block them from the basic right to march and their right to free speech, expression, and free fathering.

b) What support is there for the march that you know of? I do not even know who is organising the march but I do support the spirit in which they want to march.

c) Some people are saying key groups like SDL and the Methodist Church are not aware of the march ... what does FDFM have to say about this? If they want to march that is their basic human rights; it is our duty as rights advocate to encourage them. If the Military wants to beat the hell out of them than that is their prerogative and they will have to face the consequence of their action on the international arena. These people are not armed and it is the military that would be the aggressor. Bainimarama and Khaiyum must be aware that the world is watching and do not regret if they end up in the ICC one day. If the Methodist Church and SDL is not aware, then they must try to be aware because if they are not going to organise a march when the people want to march, then people will form another group to do it for them.

d) Does FDFM have concerns about this? Of course, we are concerned because we are mindful of the animalistic aggressive nature of the security forces and the people illegally in charge such as Khaiyum and Bainimarama and the last thing we want to see is people getting hurt but let us not lose sight of the fact that it is the people’s right to march and the PER and this government are the illegal elements not the marchers. This is an illegal government and no one should recognise them. And they have no right to go and start beating up anyone.

3) Does FDFM know the identity of the organiser or organisers of the Save Fiji Movement? We have no idea apart from what we read on the blog.

4) Is FDFM okay about asking people to break PER by marching? We are mindful of the thugs in government and we have not nor initiated this march nor asked people to break the PER. This question should be directed towards the organisers of the march.

5) Does it have any concerns about people getting beaten or worse for attending the march? People have a right to make up their mind and march. These people are adults and can make up their own mind. Let us not patronise them. However we are very concerned that the armed thugs in government will beat them and commit further human rights atrocities. These are fathers and mothers and they have had enough of the hardship brought about by the illegal regime and one must be mindful of the fact that we are dealing with human beings. We are dealing with people who are fathers, mothers and children of someone.

6) If the military is behind the march, is this not a concern for the Secretariat? Why does the military need people to march when it has guns? That is a big concern of ours but if the military are ware and want the people to march then the split in government and the military camp is far bigger then we initially thought. There are obviously certain elements within the RFMF who have had enough and would like to indirectly tell Khaiyum and Bainimarama that they have had enough and are not prepared to do their dirty work anymore by beating up any would-be marchers.

7) Have you seen the petition that is supposedly being prepared for Nailatikau? No but we are preparing one ourselves and already we have had fifty signatures on it.


8) Does the FDFM believe Nailatikau will act on it? We don’t know but given the purported powers given to him under the Executive Authority Decree if 2009 and if he still has any conscience and morals as a high chief of Kubuna, then for once think of the people and the Vanua and do something.

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Illegal AG& CJ together with Fisheries PS Denied US entry

Fiji Live News - December 07, 2010 

Fiji’s Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is among those who were denied entry into the United States after their visa applications were rejected by its embassy in Fiji.

Sayed-Khaiyum was scheduled to attend the United Nations General Assembly with the Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama in October but rather had his application rejected by the embassy.

“It is noted that this deplorable and undignified stand has recently been taken by the US embassy in relation to applications for visa by the AG,” he said in a statement.

Also denied US visas were Chief Justice Anthony Gates and Permanent Secretary, Viliame Naupoto who were scheduled to attend meetings in New York and Hawaii.

However, Sayed-Khaiyum said there were other senior government officials who allowed visas which implied that the embassy is only targeting certain members of the government.

“It seems that they are targeting only certain members of government by not allowing them US visas.” He added.

The government has come out strongly against the US embassy’s inability to issue a visa to Justice Gates saying that it was gravely disappointed that Fiji will not be adequately represented at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in New York.

The ICC, which has already begun, will end on Wednesday. 

Justice Gates was scheduled to make a presentation today but Fiji will now be represented by Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Peter Thompson and his deputy, Luke Daunivalu.

By Repeka Nasiko

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