Qarase Asked for Military: Helen Clark/John Howard

The investigation into Laisenia Qarase's alleged treason took a very interesting turn.

It is now being reported that in addition to seeking military assistance form Australian PM John Howard, Laisenia Qarase was also seeking military assistance from Helen Clark.

It is a known fact, thanks to the candid confessionas of PM Howard that Qarase called him on 3 occassions on December 4th and 5th and requested that the Australian Defence Force intervene in Fiji and engage the FMF to ensure that he remained in power.

BBC on December 5 ran the following story: Read the full article here

Australian Prime Minister John Howard earlier said he had turned down a request from Mr Qarase to send troops to prevent a coup.

"The possibility of Australia and Fijian troops firing on each other in the streets of Suva was not a prospect that I for a moment thought desirable," Mr Howard said.

A number of questions arise from this entire episode:

1. Would John Howard have any reason to lie to the world?

2. Did Laisenia Qarase actively encourage the Australian Defence Force to effectively invade Fiji and engage the FMF?

3. What did Qarase offer Helen Clark and John Howard in return?

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.

FICAC's MYSTERY Warrant

FICAC removed confidential documents form FIRCA last week on the basis of a "warrant" which they claim to have obtained.

FICAC has been conducting an "investigation" against Justice Daniel Fatiaki. In its desire to obatin incriminating evidence against him, FICAC removed his tax returns and other confidential documents form FIRCA.

Well, it now appears, the Chairman of FIRCA, Filipe Bole, did not see such a warranta and even if such a warrant did exist, it was not enough to remove confident ail FIRCA documents.

Fiji Islands Revenue and Customs Authority Board chairman Filipe Bole says he never sighted the purported search warrant for the tax office for suspended Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki's tax records.

He said he thought that even a search warrant was not enough to be used to extract tax information on an individual as a Magistrate Court would not have the powers to grant the FICAC permission to confiscate the tax records of any citizen.

The mystery of FICAC's "warrant" further heightened when it was revealed that Magistrates Court Registry had no records of such an order because it did not come through them.

Sources within FIRCA reveal that FIRCA has been abuzz with rumours that FICAC agents questioned staff about documents relating to an IG Minister.

• Did FICAC fake a warrant to obatin Daniel Fatiakis tax records?
• What other information were FICAC agents after, given the controvesy over a IG Ministers reported milliions stashed away in a bank account?

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.

IG Minsiter sits on Milliions $$$$$$$$$$$$$

It has been reported that a Minister in the Interim Government has failed to lodge his tax returns for a number of financial periods and he owed a significant sum of money to FIRCA for outstanding taxes.

It has also been reported that the same Minister has over $950,000 in one bank account.

If this is true, it would be an astonishing amount of money for any one person to accumulate .

Given that we don't have the business community represented in the IG cabinet, it is hard to fathom how anyone could have accumulated that much money.

I mean its almost a million dollars in cash, that is just sitting there. And furthermore, it was also reported that other bank accounts belonging to the same IG Minister remain unaccounted for.

Loyal Fijian stands against corruption and hypocrites, whoever you may be AND WE WILL ALWAYS REPORT THE FACTS INDEPENDENTLY AND IMPARTIALLY.

The IG Minister (who has not been named ) must immediately stand down from the IG cabinet until investigations have been completed.

We have previously written about how FICAC's actions have on occasion looked like settling personal scores.

Was there an ulterior motive in sacking Tevita Banuve, we wonder? Was he asking questions that had the Minister implicated all shook up? (Pardon the pun, it is the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death)

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.

FICAC "Agents" Malaysian Holiday

FICAC has announced that it is going to send its "agents" to Malaysia for training.

 

The first 2 agents will be leaving early September for a 2 month stint.

 

Given the embarrassing setbacks that have befallen the FICAC, it comes as no surprise to anyone that FICAC agents require further training.

 

FICAC has stumbled for one controversy to another in the last few months, with exaggerated claims of corruption, high profile raids into FHL and FDB, raids into PWD and confiscation of 370 files containing "evidence" of corruption, have all come to nought.

 

And not forgeting, Nasir Ali using FICAC to settle his personal agenda against senior Police Officers and finally appointing himself as Asst Police Comm.

 

The planned trip to Malaysia appears to be the "agents" cashing in while they can. Remember the Get Smart series on Fiji One, with Agent 99...........well we have our own version right here in FICAC.

Another FIJIAN Dies,DEATH THREAT blogs CELEBRATE

Another FIJIAN national working as a security guard in Iraq is believed to have died.

The as yet unnamed guard and three of his colleagues are seriously injured following an attack on the convoy they were escorting from Baghdad to Mosul at the weekend.

According to a Fijian guard with the same company, the deceased is from Namuka in Lau while one of the injured is from Kadavu and the other from Tailevu.

While most us will mourn the death of a fellow Fijian at the hands of terrorists, DEATH THREAT blogs celebrate.

Thats right, as hard to believe as it is, DEATH THREAT blogs have long been calling for soldiers and their families to be starved(previously referred to as HATE/INCITER Blogs) by being denied food and publishing instructions on bomb making taken from the websites who are behind such murders.

DEATH THREAT blogs rejoice as another FIJIAN who was trying to put food on the table for his family was killed by terrorists.

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.

NURSES DEMANDS

Monday Funnies!!!!

Strikes FAIL to Achieve CRITICAL MASS

In my previous post, I wrote about the failure of the FICTU/FNA strike to achieve CRITICAL MASS.

CRITICAL MASS is an expression that has its origins in nuclear physics, the point where an initial catalyst setting into motion a nuclear reaction reaches a point from which it cannot be stopped and results in a chain reaction releasing massive energy. There are 3 essential stages: initial catalyst, critical mass and finally chain reaction.

The strategy of the Anti-IG forces can be also described by using the 3 stages described above:

1. IGNITION/ CATALYST.

The initial catalyst in Fijis current impasse was hoped to be the FNA/FICTU strikes.

The strikes it was hoped would attract the support of the wider community, resulting in large crowds attending FICTU/FNA strike picket lines resulting in widespread disruption and impair the ability of the IG to govern.

2.CRITICAL MASS

It was hoped that the GCC and the Methodist Church would make a general call for Fijians to support the strikes and show their support by declining the cooperate with the authorities and making it impossible for them to govern.

Once the general population or large portion of it was involved, the action would spill over into a disobedience campaign.

It is also quite likely judging form posts being made on INCITER BLOGS, a campaign of bombings and attacks on security forces would follow.

INCITER blogs used by Anti-IG forces have in recent times called for ATTACKS ON TOURISTS AND PUBLISHED INSTRUCTIONS ON MAKING LETTER BOMBS. See earlier posts HERE and HERE.

It is clear evidence of intent and it is only matter of time before intent is matched with capability resulting in innocent tourists visiting our shores and Fijians becoming victims of violence.

3. CHAIN REACTION - EXPLOSION

The final action in such a campaign always involves a division in the security forces, with a faction aligning itself with anti-authority forces.

Once a division can be fomented, this provides a non-state player, in this case the FICTU/FNA/Anti-IG alliance access to resources and skills only the state has in stable nations.

No doubt, Anti-IG forces are liaising with elements in the Military to seek out the elements that may be sympathetic to their cause.

A spike in the number of visits to CRW soldiers held in Prison is a clear indicator of increase communication as a precursor to a planned action.

This was the strategy that the Anti-IG forces should have embarked upon. But the collapse of the FTA strike demonstrates the pathetic planning of the FTA/FICTU/FNA leadership.

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.

IG Stands Stronger than Ever

The Failed Strike by FICTU has proved to be a total disaster. Instead of providing the platform for a challenge to the IG, it has only served to make the IG appear stringer than before.

The FTA Strike was a TOTAL FAILURE. The FNA strike will also go that way. Here's why:

1. IG Stands Stronger than Before

The failed FTA strike has allowed the IG to demonstrate to Fijians and to the international community that it is firmly in control, that is has the “ACQUIESCENCE” of the people.

The failure of the Interim Government led by Laisenia Qarase in 2001 to demonstrate Acquiescence was key in the Chandrika Prased succeeding in his case against the abrogation of the 1990 constitution.

FTA’s poor timing and lack of planing has seen its handing the IG the one instrument of credibility that all regimes seek, the proof of acquiescence.

This wont be lost on the international community and the IG may even use its handling of the strike action as justification for extending is term.

2. Nurses Are on their Own

If I was a nurse today, I would have every reason to feel like the fight is NOT going my way. There is nothing worse than to find yo are on your own and the bills are piling up.

Nurse are in the lower end of our economic strata and are many are heavily in debt. With each passing pay day without the money coming in, the nurses will start to feel the pinch.

The payments of the Electricity Bill, the Widescreen TV which were purchased for watching the Hong Kong sevens will have to be paid for……except the money isnt coming in. Increasingly the statements by Kuini Lutua portray a person speaking from a position of weakness, not a person dictating the terms in this high-stakes gamble.

3. Questions over Motivations Arise?

No strike can succeed without support of the general public.

The international community which must be monitoring this situation is more likely to lend its support to the strikers if it can be convinced that the strike does not have any “hidden agendas” as union strikes in Fiji almost always do.

Increasingly, it appears that the membership of the FICTU/FNA alliance has been fed the line of having the 5% salary cut restored but the questions of hidden political agendas are increasingly being asked.

This will only alienate members who may have supported the action at the outset as it was strictly over working conditions but may now withdraw their support as the strikes appear increasingly politically motivated.

And it appears the IG may have outwitted Attar Singh/Kuini Lutua and Co. by declaring the strike legal and successfully painting the strikes as politically motivated one.

4. IG plays Smart

I Have been very critical of action taken by the IG but even I have to admit that the IG has played it smart.

By declaring the strikes legal, the IG took away any chance of international and local uproar over what would have been perceived as heavy handed tactics.

By declaring the strike legal, the IG further enhanced its standing as a Government upholding basic freedoms of its citizens.

And by calling a 2 week holiday a day after strikes commenced, the IG played a master stroke.

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.

IG Counterattack works ...for now!

The Fijian Teachers Union ended their strike on Friday after the IG announced that it was bringing the school holidays forward by 2 weeks.


The FTA was caught off guard and had no choice but to call of their day long strike.

Interim Education Minister, Netani Sukanaivalu says the decision to move school holidays forward by two weeks was a strategy to force the Fijian Teachers Association members to end their strike.

Sukanaivalu said if the FTA and its members will be "paying more then they have bargained for" if they are thinking of going back on strike after the holidays, then.

• Signs are also emerging that the FNA strike is beginning to flounder. The strategy behind the FNA/FICTU strikes was to create a "critical mass" that would grow to a wider campaign of resistance to the IG involving ordinary Fijians.

• The IG moved quickly to address this potential for unrest by withdrawing the suspension of the Chiefs and announcing the GCC will convene in the coming days to discuss issues. This was another strategic move to deny the FNA/FICTU alliance of the wider public support they were hoping to gain by winning the Chiefs endorsement.

Unfortunately for them, the Chiefs decided the loss of their allowances was to much of a gamble and they could rather get back their per-diems.

• Additionally, information gathered form retailers across the Southern Division, reveals that re-possessions of items purchased on credit are expected to sky-rocket. This is particularly so, as the majority of those who purchase items such as TV's, stereos, DVD players etc from Courts and BP are form the lower income bracket and this includes our nurses.

The nurses strike has begun to hit where it hurts, the nurses pockets. There is growing pressure from the membership to cut a deal, which will only increase now that they have lost their ally, the FTA.

The Anti-IG forces have revaled their lack of strategic planning ability. Wheres Mark Textor when you need him?

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.